大智度論 散華品Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Scattering Flowers

I. Structural Placement

Within the sequence in which the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa comments on the Larger Sūtra, this chapter belongs to the section of the Commentary on the Remaining Chapters and is tied to Fascicle 55. The title at the head of the fascicle reads 「大智度論釋散華品第二十九」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Scattering Flowers, the Twenty-ninth"〔T25 0451a11〕, and it comments as a whole on the corresponding chapter of the Larger Sūtra. This chapter occupies Fascicle 55 alone: chapter and fascicle begin together, the main text of the chapter ends with 「若破眾生相，餘一切易破」 tr. "if one breaks the mark of beings, all the rest is easily broken"〔T25 0456c22〕, and right where it ends comes the end-of-fascicle title 「大智度論卷第五十五」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Fifty-five"〔T25 0456c24〕; the whole fascicle holds this one chapter alone. The actual bounds of the chapter's body run from〔T25 0451a11〕to〔T25 0456c23〕; the rough working bounds〔0451a11–0457a02〕run from the format line at the head of the fascicle to the end of the opening shell of the next fascicle, before the opening title of Chapter 30, "Looking Round". The two differ in their level of precision, and both are recorded side by side.

Within the chapter, the structure is four 【經】 sections and four 【論】 sections in alternation, and the whole chapter is divided into two units for reading. The First Part takes in Sūtra ①, Treatise ①, Sūtra ②, and Treatise ②, over the range〔0451a11–0453c02前〕: Sūtra ① opens with the gods conjuring flowers and scattering them as an offering and with Subhūti discerning that they are not born from trees, and Treatise ① explains it; Sūtra ② establishes the meaning of 「不壞假名而說諸法實相」 tr. "teaching the real mark of all dharmas without destroying the provisional name", and Treatise ② explains it by the Buddha's praise of Subhūti and by inner and outer emptiness encompassing the emptiness of all dharmas, ending with 「此中略說故，但說『無學、無出』」 tr. "because here it is spoken of in brief, it says only ‘no training, no going forth’"〔T25 0453b29〕. The Last Part takes in Sūtra ③, Treatise ③, Sūtra ④, and Treatise ④, over the range〔0453c02–0456c23〕: Sūtra ③ begins with 「爾時，釋提桓因語舍利弗」 tr. "at that time, Śakra Devānām Indra said to Śāriputra"〔T25 0453c02〕, and the cutting point is tied here. Sūtra ③ makes clear 「當於須菩提品中求」 tr. "it should be sought in the chapter of Subhūti" and the unfindability of the Tathāgata, and Treatise ③ refutes the Tathāgata at length in the format of the fivefold search of the Middle Treatise; in Sūtra ④ Śakra Devānām Indra thrice praises prajñā, and Treatise ④ explains it, closing with 「若破眾生相，餘一切易破」 tr. "if one breaks the mark of beings, all the rest is easily broken". Where the preceding chapter numbered three Sūtra and three Treatise sections, this chapter increases the number to four Sūtra and four Treatise sections, and the density of the alternation—the eight occurrences of 「不壞假名」 tr. "without destroying provisional names" in Sūtra ②, the layer upon layer of the Tathāgata's unfindability in Sūtra ③, the linked sequence of the three praises in Sūtra ④—is in no way diminished.

The overall view within the chapter: in Sūtra ① the gods conjure flowers and scatter them over the Buddha, the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the assembly of bhikṣus, Subhūti, and the prajñāpāramitā; the flowers pervade space and are transformed into a flower-dais, upright, majestic, and exceedingly wondrous〔T25 0451a12〕. Subhūti discerns that they are not flowers born from trees, and from this discusses 「若不生，是不名為色」 tr. "if it does not arise, this is not called form", and so on up to omniscience of all kinds, all being thus〔T25 0451a26〕. Treatise ① sets out the reason for the gods' offering by the two similes of 「雨法雨」 tr. "raining the rain of Dharma" and 「惡風塵土」 tr. "evil winds and dust", and further makes clear by 「假名實相」 tr. "the real mark of provisional names" the suchness of the five aggregates, dharma-nature, and the limit of reality〔T25 0452a02〕. In Sūtra ② Śakra Devānām Indra reflects that Subhūti 「不壞假名而說諸法實相」 tr. "teaching the real mark of all dharmas without destroying the provisional name", and the Buddha, responding to his question, himself says 「色但假名，須菩提不壞假名而說諸法實相」 tr. "form is only a provisional name; Subhūti, without destroying provisional names, speaks of the real mark of all dharmas"〔T25 0452a15〕; Subhūti follows by making clear 「菩薩摩訶薩作如是學，為不學色」 tr. "the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who trains in this way does not train in form"〔T25 0452b01〕 and 「若如是不學空，是名學空，以不二故」 tr. "if one in this way does not train in emptiness, this is called training in emptiness, because of non-duality"〔T25 0452b17〕, and Treatise ② explains it by 「五眾相空者，以十八空觀故」 tr. "the marks of the five aggregates are empty because they are contemplated by the eighteen emptinesses" and by 「受色者無故說內空，色不可受故名外空」 tr. "because the one who receives form does not exist, it speaks of inner emptiness; because form cannot be received, it is called outer emptiness"〔T25 0453b11〕. In Sūtra ③ Śakra Devānām Indra asks 「當於何處求」 tr. "where should it be sought?" regarding prajñā, and Śāriputra answers 「當於須菩提品中求」 tr. "it should be sought in the chapter of Subhūti"〔T25 0453c04〕, unfolding the discussion of the Tathāgata's unfindability; Treatise ③ refutes it by the fivefold search 「五眾非如來，離五眾非如來，五眾不在如來中，如來不在五眾中，如來亦不有五眾」 tr. "the five aggregates are not the Tathāgata; apart from the five aggregates there is no Tathāgata; the five aggregates are not in the Tathāgata; the Tathāgata is not in the five aggregates; nor does the Tathāgata possess the five aggregates"〔T25 0454c18〕. In Sūtra ④ Śakra Devānām Indra thrice praises prajñā, calling it mahā, calling it measureless, calling it boundless〔T25 0455c04〕, and Treatise ④ explains the three praises by the unfindability of the three limits, the simile of space, the boundlessness of objects, and the boundlessness of beings, returning at the end to 「若破眾生相，餘一切易破」 tr. "if one breaks the mark of beings, all the rest is easily broken"〔T25 0456c22〕.

In the structure of its speakers, this chapter has a pattern of its own. The whole chapter takes Śakra Devānām Indra asking and Subhūti answering as its axis—in Sūtra ① Śakra Devānām Indra and Subhūti go back and forth distinguishing whether the flowers arise or do not arise, and in Sūtras ③ and ④ Śakra Devānām Indra asks and Subhūti responds. The Buddha enters the scene only once, in Sūtra ②: Śakra Devānām Indra thinks 「須菩提其智甚深，不壞假名而說諸法實相」 tr. "Subhūti's wisdom is very deep; without destroying provisional names, he speaks of the real mark of all dharmas", and the Buddha, knowing what he thinks in his mind, responds 「如是！如是！憍尸迦！」 tr. "So it is! So it is, Kauśika!"〔T25 0452a11〕; Śakra Devānām Indra addresses the Buddha and asks 「云何不壞假名而說諸法實相」 tr. "how is it that, without destroying provisional names, one speaks of the real mark of all dharmas?", and the Buddha tells Śakra Devānām Indra, going through form and so on up to the path of the Buddha, speaking of dharma after dharma〔T25 0452a13〕; and Treatise ② further records the Buddha's praise of Subhūti, 「如是！如是！如釋所言」 tr. "So it is! So it is! As you have explained it"〔T25 0453a05〕—this is the only true word of the Buddha at the narrative layer of the whole chapter, differing from the chapter-wide pattern of Śakra Devānām Indra asking and Subhūti answering. Within Sūtra ②, Śāriputra enters the questioning once, asking 「菩薩摩訶薩如是學般若波羅蜜，能到一切種智耶」 tr. "the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who trains thus in the prajñāpāramitā—can he reach omniscience of all kinds?"〔T25 0452c13〕. Sūtra ③ then turns to three parties, Śakra Devānām Indra, Śāriputra, and Subhūti, and Sūtra ④ returns to the questions and answers of Śakra Devānām Indra and Subhūti. Though the speakers of the whole chapter are many, the Buddha's words are only the one passage of Sūtra ②, and the rest is all the exchange between the śrāvaka disciples and the lord of the gods. This is the shape of this chapter's speakers, set down according to the actual marking in the source text, without habitually attributing the words to the Buddha.

II. Terms Examined

Scattering flowers as an offering · conjured flowers · the mind-tree. The flowers the gods scatter, not born from trees, have their mark made clear in Sūtra ①—「是華是化華，非樹生華，是諸天子所散華，從心樹生，非樹生華」 tr. "these flowers are conjured flowers, not flowers born from trees; they are flowers scattered by the gods, born from the heart-tree, not flowers born from trees"〔T25 0451a21〕. The treatise explains the division of the scattered offering among the Three Jewels—「華散佛上，是供養佛寶；散諸菩薩、須菩提及般若波羅蜜，是供養法寶；散諸比丘僧，是供養僧寶」 tr. "the flowers scattered over the Buddha are an offering to the Buddha Jewel; scattered over the bodhisattvas, Subhūti, and the prajñāpāramitā, they are an offering to the Dharma Jewel; scattered over the assembly of bhikṣus, they are an offering to the Saṅgha Jewel"〔T25 0451c08〕. As for 「意樹」 tr. "the mind-tree", the treatise explains it—「諸天隨意所念則得。以要言之，天樹隨意所欲，應念則至，故言『意樹』」 tr. "the gods obtain whatever they think of at will. To put it in brief, the heavenly trees yield whatever is desired at will, and it arrives in response to the thought; hence it says ‘mind-tree’"〔T25 0451c20〕; as for 「非生華」 tr. "flowers that are not arisen", the treatise explains them as 「是華無生、空、無所出」 tr. "these flowers are unarisen, empty, and come out from nothing"〔T25 0451c18〕.

Without destroying provisional names, speaking of the real mark of all dharmas. This is the backbone sentence of the chapter. In Sūtra ② Śakra Devānām Indra thinks it, the Buddha responds to it, and Subhūti takes it up; the one sentence appears eight times in all. Its meaning lies in there being neither destroying nor not destroying—「所以者何？是諸法實相，無壞不壞故，須菩提所說亦無壞不壞」 tr. "why is this? Because this real mark of all dharmas is neither destroyed nor not destroyed, what Subhūti speaks is also neither destroyed nor not destroyed"〔T25 0452a17〕: provisional names are not destroyed while the real mark remains just as it is; hence he speaks the Dharma without obstructing the real mark, and makes the real mark clear without losing provisional names.

The real mark of provisional names · the suchness of the five aggregates · dharma-nature · the limit of reality. Treatise ① explains the three names of 「假名實相」 tr. "the real mark of provisional names"—「『假名實相』者，所謂五眾如、法性、實際」 tr. "‘the real mark of provisional names’ means the suchness of the five aggregates, dharma-nature, and the limit of reality"〔T25 0452a02〕—the five aggregates arise from the coming together of causes and conditions, have no fixed nature, and have only provisional names; yet their suchness, their dharma-nature, and their limit of reality are the real mark: three names, one meaning.

Names as mundane truth · the real mark as the truth of the highest meaning. Treatise ① gathers it under the two truths—「聖人知名字是俗諦、實相是第一義諦；有所說者隨凡夫人，第一義諦中無彼此、亦無諍」 tr. "the noble ones know that names are mundane truth and the real mark is the truth of the highest meaning; whatever is said follows ordinary people, and within the truth of the highest meaning there is neither this nor that, nor is there any dispute"〔T25 0452a04〕—not destroying provisional names follows mundane truth, and speaking of the real mark of all dharmas relies on the truth of the highest meaning; the two truths are not two, and so he speaks without destroying.

Inner emptiness · outer emptiness (encompassing the emptiness of all dharmas). Treatise ② explains why, in Subhūti's 「一切法不受故能到一切種智」 tr. "because all dharmas are not received, one can reach omniscience of all kinds", only inner and outer emptiness are spoken of—「受色者無故說『內空』，色不可受故名『外空』。是內、外空，則攝一切法空」 tr. "because the one who receives form does not exist, it speaks of ‘inner emptiness’; because form cannot be received, it is called ‘outer emptiness’. These inner and outer emptinesses then encompass the emptiness of all dharmas"〔T25 0453b11〕—the emptiness of the receiver is inner emptiness, the emptiness of what is received is outer emptiness, and the two emptinesses, inner and outer, encompass the eighteen emptinesses and the emptiness of all dharmas.

The mahā, measureless, and boundless pāramitā (the three praises). In Sūtra ④ Śakra Devānām Indra thrice praises prajñā—「是摩訶波羅蜜，是菩薩摩訶薩般若波羅蜜！無量波羅蜜、無邊波羅蜜」 tr. "this is the mahāpāramitā, this is the prajñāpāramitā of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva! The immeasurable pāramitā, the boundless pāramitā"〔T25 0455c04〕. Treatise ④ sets out the meaning of the three names one by one—「大」 tr. "great" by the unfindability of the three limits〔T25 0456b17〕, 「無量」 tr. "measureless" by taking space as the simile〔T25 0456b20〕, and 「無邊」 tr. "boundless" by the unfindability of the five aggregates in the three times, together with the boundlessness of objects and the boundlessness of beings〔T25 0456b24〕—the three praises are explained name by name, each meaning with its own place.

The Tathāgata · the Thus-Gone. Treatise ③ explains the name Tathāgata—「或以佛名名為如來，或以眾生名字名為如來」 tr. "sometimes the name of the Buddha is called Tathāgata, sometimes the name of a being is called Tathāgata"〔T25 0454b26〕, 「如先世來，後世亦如是去，是亦名如來，亦名如去」 tr. "as he came from former lives, so in later lives he goes in the same way; this is called Thus-Come, and also called Thus-Gone"〔T25 0454b28〕, 「如錠光佛等智知諸法如，從如中來，故名如來；釋迦文佛亦如是來，故名如來」 tr. "as Dīpaṃkara Buddha and the others knew by wisdom the suchness of all dharmas and came from within suchness, they are called Tathāgata; Śākyamuni Buddha too came in this way, and so is called Tathāgata"〔T25 0454c03〕—coming and going are both named with reference to suchness, and so the Tathāgata is itself the mark of non-receiving, is itself ultimate emptiness.

Sarvajñā (omniscience). Treatise ② makes clear the culmination of prajñā by 「出到薩婆若」 tr. "going forth and arriving at sarvajñā"—「能如是學，則出到薩婆若，不見學相、不見出相，不見菩薩相、不見般若波羅蜜相」 tr. "if one can train in this way, then one goes forth and arrives at sarvajñā, not seeing the mark of training, not seeing the mark of going forth, not seeing the mark of the bodhisattva, not seeing the mark of the prajñāpāramitā"〔T25 0453b27〕; hence it concludes 「但說『無學、無出』」 tr. "it says only ‘no training, no going forth’"〔T25 0453b29〕—sarvajñā is the ocean of omniscience, and yet at the time of going forth and arriving there is nothing trained in and nothing arrived at.

III. Similes and Stories

The Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa is renowned for its similes. The similes of this chapter are scattered through the four Treatise sections, and as a rule they use matters of the world to show the mark of prajñā and the virtue of speaking the Dharma.

The simile of raining the rain of Dharma · timely rain and irrigation. Treatise ① explains the reason why the gods, on hearing prajñā, rejoice and make offerings—「須菩提所說法，無礙無障，譬如時雨」 tr. "the Dharma that Subhūti speaks is unobstructed and unhindered, like timely rain"〔T25 0451b14〕—and extends it: 「如有國土，溉灌種蒔及種種用水，常苦不足；若時雨普降，無不霑洽，無不如願」 tr. "as in a land where, for irrigation, sowing and planting, and all kinds of uses of water, one always suffers from insufficiency; if timely rain falls everywhere, there is nothing not soaked through, nothing not as one wished"〔T25 0451b15〕, 「譬如大雨遍滿閻浮提，無所不潤」 tr. "like a great rain filling all Jambudvīpa, there is nothing it does not moisten"〔T25 0451b20〕, 「又如地先雖有穀子，無雨則不生」 tr. "again, as when the ground already has seeds of grain, yet without rain they do not grow"〔T25 0451b21〕—the teachings of the Small Vehicle are measured and limited, like irrigation that always suffers from insufficiency; the Great Vehicle speaks only of the real mark of all dharmas, like timely rain that leaves nothing unmoistened.

The simile of evil winds, dust, and poisonous vapours vanishing when rain comes. 「譬如惡風、塵土、諸熱、毒氣等，得雨則消滅；法雨亦如是，惡覺觀塵土、三不善毒、邪見惡風、邪師惡蟲及諸惡知識等，得般若波羅蜜法雨，則皆除滅」 tr. "just as evil winds, dust, the various heats, poisonous vapours, and the like vanish when they meet rain, so too with the rain of Dharma: the dust of evil initial and sustained thought, the three unwholesome poisons, the evil winds of wrong views, the evil insects of wrong teachers, all evil friends, and the like, when they meet the Dharma-rain of the prajñāpāramitā, are all removed and extinguished"〔T25 0451b25〕—the rain of Dharma removes delusion as timely rain extinguishes dust.

The simile of a person riding a horse, not a horse riding a horse. Treatise ② makes clear that, in 「不學色」 tr. "not training in form", the emptiness of form does not itself train in the emptiness of form—「以諸法行於他相、不行自相故；譬如人乘馬，非馬乘馬」 tr. "because dharmas act upon other marks and do not act upon their own mark; just as a person rides a horse, not a horse riding a horse"〔T25 0453a20〕—the emptiness of form is what acts, form is what is acted upon; it is not that the emptiness of form acts upon the emptiness of form itself.

The simile of the great ocean not increased by the many streams · not decreased by a fire-pearl boiling it. Treatise ② makes clear that dharmas neither increase nor decrease—「譬如大海，眾流歸之不增，火珠煎之不減；諸法亦如是，法性常住故，一切法自性不可得故」 tr. "just as the great ocean is not increased when the many streams return to it, and not decreased when a fire-pearl boils it; dharmas too are like this, because dharma-nature always abides, because the own-nature of all dharmas is unfindable"〔T25 0453b25〕—the many streams return to the ocean and the ocean does not increase; the fire-pearl boils the ocean and the ocean does not decrease: a simile for dharma-nature always abiding, neither more nor less, neither increasing nor decreasing.

The simile of touching fire and burning one's hand · someone grasping fire to burn one. Treatise ③ makes clear why, for the practitioner who has reached the suchness of the five aggregates and whose mind is alarmed at the mark of dharmas, it is ultimately empty—「如人觸火燒手，則無慍心，以其火相自爾故；若人執火燒之，則忿然而怒，以其執火燒故」 tr. "as when a person touches fire and burns his hand, he has no resentment, because the mark of fire is naturally so; if someone takes hold of fire and burns him with it, he flares up in anger, because that one took hold of fire to burn him"〔T25 0455b05〕—the mark of fire is naturally so, and there is nothing to resent; the mark of dharmas is naturally so, and there is nothing to be alarmed at.

The simile of seeking heavy treasure in the great ocean and the treasure mountains. Treatise ③ makes clear that prajñā should not be sought within the five aggregates—「五眾虛誑無常，本無今有，已有還無，如幻如夢；般若波羅蜜是諸佛實智慧，云何當於五眾中求？譬如求重寶，必於大海寶山中求，不應在溝瀆臭穢處求」 tr. "the five aggregates are false, deceptive, and impermanent; formerly non-existent, now existent, having existed they return to non-existence, like an illusion, like a dream; the prajñāpāramitā is the real wisdom of the buddhas—how should it be sought within the five aggregates? Just as one who seeks heavy treasure must seek it in the great ocean and the treasure mountains, and should not seek it in ditches, drains, and stinking filthy places"〔T25 0455b16〕—heavy treasure should be sought in the treasure mountains; prajñā should not be sought in the false and deceptive five aggregates.

The simile of the measure of space being unfindable. Sūtra ④ explains prajñā as measureless—「憍尸迦！譬如虛空量不可得，色亦如是量不可得」 tr. "Kauśika! Just as the measure of space is unfindable, so too the measure of form is unfindable"〔T25 0455c25〕—because space is measureless, form is measureless; because form is measureless, prajñā is measureless.

The simile of Mount Sumeru, great yet having a measure. Treatise ④ distinguishes 「大」 tr. "great" from 「無量」 tr. "measureless"—「有法雖大，不必無量，是故不得以空為喻。如須彌山，於諸山中雖大而有量，所謂八萬四千由旬」 tr. "a dharma, though great, is not necessarily measureless, and therefore space cannot be taken as the simile for it. Like Mount Sumeru: among the mountains, though great, it has a measure, namely eighty-four thousand yojana"〔T25 0456b21〕—Sumeru is great yet has a measure, and so 「無量」 tr. "measureless" alone takes space as its simile, differing from 「大」 tr. "great".

The simile of fire definitely having somewhere to go · the name of beings having nothing real that goes. Treatise ④ explains 「亦無所趣」 tr. "and also has nowhere it goes"—「以眾生無有定法可趣向故；如火定有所趣，而眾生名，無實眾生可趣」 tr. "because beings have no fixed dharma that can go toward anything; as fire definitely has somewhere it goes, whereas for the name of beings there is no real being that can go"〔T25 0456c09〕—fire has a fixed direction; the name of beings has nothing real that can go.

The simile of the buddhas speaking the names of beings through lifespans of kalpas as many as the Ganges sands. Treatise ④ makes clear that the dharma of beings does not come to arise and cease through being spoken of—「譬如諸佛是一切實語人中第一，於無量恒河沙劫壽說眾生名字，是眾生法不以說故有生、有滅，何況餘人顛倒虛誑少時說」 tr. "just as the buddhas, foremost among all who speak truly, through lifespans of measureless kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges speak the names of beings, and yet this dharma of beings does not, through being spoken, have arising or have ceasing—how much less when other people, inverted, false, and deceptive, speak for a short time"〔T25 0456c13〕—even the true speech of the buddhas, speaking the names of beings, does not make the dharma of beings have arising and ceasing.

IV. The Sūtra Passage Explained

The four Sūtra sections cited by this treatise stand in succession with the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra translated by Kumārajīva of the Later Qin. The sūtra explained titles this chapter 「散花品」 tr. "Chapter on Scattering Flowers (with the second graph for flower)"〔T08 0277a05〕, while this treatise titles it 「散華品第二十九」 tr. "Chapter on Scattering Flowers, the Twenty-ninth"〔T25 0451a11〕—the two characters 「華」 tr. "flower (first graph)" and 「花」 tr. "flower (second graph)" are a systematic cross-textual variant writing in this chapter. This treatise, in the Taishō and in all editions, reads 「散華」 tr. "scattering flowers (first graph)" (the Ishiyama text's fascicle title likewise reads 「摩訶般若波羅蜜經散華品第二十八」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Chapter on Scattering Flowers, the Twenty-eighth", still with 「華」 tr. "flower (first graph)"; for the collation note see Section VIII), while the chapter title of the sūtra explained reads 「散花」 tr. "scattering flowers (second graph)"; the difference runs through the chapter title and a number of places where the character for flower appears, sixteen in all, and belongs to the writing of cross-textual variant graphs. The heading of this edition follows this treatise's base text in reading 「散華品」 tr. "Chapter on Scattering Flowers", recording both without judgement and without deciding on anyone's behalf which single name is correct. Within the sūtra explained, the internal chapter numbering of this chapter is out of step with the chapter as titled: its mulu attribute numbering counts one place more than the chapter number as titled (the numbering reads thirty, while the displayed title reads 「二十九散花品」 tr. "Twenty-nine, Chapter on Scattering Flowers"). This is an existing phenomenon of transcription in the electronic canon, continuing the trace of the preceding chapter, and is recorded as it stands.

In the comparative reading of this treatise's four 【經】 sections against the sūtra explained, every block is a full citation (corresponding word for word to the original, with only translation-style differences of punctuation convention, word order, and the addition or omission of single characters), with no abridged citation and no large-scale excision. The text of this treatise's four 【經】 sections was checked word by word against the whole chapter of the sūtra explained (this chapter of the sūtra explained has no 【論】 layer; the whole chapter is Sūtra text), and the density of agreement and difference is the norm for the comparative reading of the prajñā chapters. The differences fall into two classes: first, pure differences of punctuation convention—the editorial layer of the sūtra explained is sparser in its enumeration commas, seen especially in the enumerative phrase 「受、想、行、識」 tr. "feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness" written continuously; second, systematic variant writings and single instances of difference in wording. Besides 「華／花」 tr. "flower (first graph) / flower (second graph)", there are two separate two-sided collations that bear on doctrine and one comparison group, as follows.

Two-way check one: in 「不壞假名而說諸法實相」 tr. "teaching the real mark of all dharmas without destroying the provisional name", the character 「實」 tr. "real". In this treatise the sentence appears eight times in all. As for the presence or absence of the character 「實」 tr. "real", the three editions of this treatise, Song, Palace, and Shōgozō, all lack it〔collation note 「實【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'real' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Palace, and Shōgozō", tied to eight places,〔T25 0452a13〕〔0452a15〕〔0452a17〕〔0452a17〕〔0452a24〕〔0452a25〕〔0452a27〕〔0453a04〕; see Section VIII〕; that is, the three editions Song, Palace, and Shōgozō read 「不壞假名而說諸法相」 tr. "without destroying provisional names, he speaks of the mark of all dharmas", while the four texts Taishō, Yuan, Ming, and Ishiyama keep 「實」 tr. "real". In the sūtra explained the sentence appears seven times in all〔T08 0277b05／0277b08／0277b09／0277b11／0277b12／0277b20／0277b22〕, every one reading 「不壞假名而說諸法相」 tr. "without destroying provisional names, he speaks of the mark of all dharmas", not one keeping 「實」 tr. "real", and the sūtra explained's own collation has no variant reading at these seven places. The two texts each have their own transmission, yet on the presence or absence of 「實」 tr. "real" they show one and the same pattern of division—this treatise's Taishō, Yuan, Ming, and Ishiyama texts stand over against the whole line of the sūtra explained, while this treatise's Song, Palace, and Shōgozō editions agree with the whole line of the sūtra explained. This is a cross-attestation on a single character between two independent transmissions, and the meaning of the sentence depends on it (the 「實」 tr. "real" mark of all dharmas, or the mark of all dharmas); it is recorded without judgement, and does not decide on anyone's behalf which reading the text should follow. (There is separately the 「實」 tr. "real" of this treatise at〔T25 0452a10〕, whose variant reading is 「實【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】」 tr. "'real' in the Taishō; absent in the Song and Palace": the Song and Palace lack it while the Shōgozō keeps it, so the transmitted texts involved are narrower than at the eight places above; see Section VIII. It is not the same variant-reading event.)

Two-way check two: 「淨佛世界」 tr. "purifying the Buddha's world" / 「淨佛國土」 tr. "purifying the Buddha's land". This treatise's 「成就眾生、淨佛世界」 tr. "bringing beings to maturity and purifying the Buddha's world" appears twice〔T25 0455c10〕〔0455c16〕, and the three texts Yuan, Ming, and Ishiyama read 「淨佛國土」 tr. "purifying the Buddha's land"〔collation note 「世界【大】｜國土【元】【明】【石】」 tr. "'world' in the Taishō; 'land' in the Yuan, Ming, and Ishiyama"; see Section VIII〕; the two corresponding places in the sūtra explained〔T08 0278c26〕〔0279a04〕 read 「成就眾生、淨佛國土」 tr. "bringing beings to maturity and purifying the Buddha's land"—this treatise's Yuan, Ming, and Ishiyama texts agree with the sūtra explained. Recorded without judgement.

Control group: 「檀波羅蜜」 tr. "dān-pāramitā" / 「檀那波羅蜜」 tr. "dāna-pāramitā". This treatise reads 「檀波羅蜜」 tr. "dān-pāramitā" (abbreviated transliteration)〔T25 0451b02〕, and the sūtra explained reads 「檀那波羅蜜」 tr. "dāna-pāramitā" (full transliteration). Checking these six places back against this treatise's own collation, there is no record of a variant reading 「檀那」 tr. "dāna"; that is, there is internal support that the transmitted editions of this treatise have no variant reading for the character 「檀」 tr. "dān". This is purely a difference in the habitual translation conventions of the two texts, standing in contrast with the two items above, which have direct internal evidence in variant readings of this treatise's transmitted texts. It is recorded without judgement, and on this basis the restraint of the method is noted: not every difference is to be picked out.

V. The Prajñā Eye

The eye of this chapter lies in one 「不壞」 tr. "not destroying" and one 「不生」 tr. "not arising"—without destroying provisional names, one speaks of the real mark of all dharmas; all dharmas are unarisen and have only provisional names. The gods' scattering of flowers and what the Buddha's spiritual power manifests are all for drawing out this mark of the non-duality of the provisional and the real. Its meaning can be summed up in five layers.

First, the reason for the offering of scattered flowers, and the discernment of unarisen flowers. The gods hear prajñā—「一切法盡是實相，無所分別」 tr. "all dharmas are wholly the real mark, with nothing to discriminate"〔T25 0451b11〕—and, as if receiving timely rain, they rejoice, and so conjure flowers and scatter them in offering to the Three Jewels. And Subhūti at once discerns that they are not real flowers—as for 「是華非生華」 tr. "these flowers are not arisen flowers", 「是華無生、空、無所出」 tr. "these flowers are unarisen, empty, and come out from nothing"〔T25 0451c18〕; 「若不生，何以名華」 tr. "if they do not arise, why are they called flowers?"〔T25 0451c24〕. Offering unarisen flowers to the unarisen Dharma, the single act of scattering flowers has already entered prajñā.

Second, without destroying provisional names, speaking of the real mark of all dharmas (the two truths not two). This is the backbone of the chapter—「須菩提其智甚深，不壞假名而說諸法實相」 tr. "Subhūti's wisdom is very deep; without destroying provisional names, he speaks of the real mark of all dharmas"〔T25 0452a09〕. The treatise explains by the two truths why he is able to speak without destroying—「聖人知名字是俗諦、實相是第一義諦」 tr. "the noble ones know that names are mundane truth and the real mark is the truth of the highest meaning"〔T25 0452a04〕, 「是諸法實相，無壞不壞故，須菩提所說亦無壞不壞」 tr. "because this real mark of all dharmas is neither destroyed nor not destroyed, what Subhūti speaks is also neither destroyed nor not destroyed"〔T25 0452a17〕—not destroying provisional names follows mundane truth, and the real mark's not being hidden relies on the truth of the highest meaning; the two truths are not two, and so in a single sentence both the provisional and the real are displayed.

Third, training in this way is not training (because of non-duality). Subhūti, taking up the Buddha's intent, makes clear the bodhisattva's training—「菩薩摩訶薩作如是學，為不學色」 tr. "the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who trains in this way does not train in form"〔T25 0452b01〕, 「若如是不學空，是名學空，以不二故」 tr. "if one in this way does not train in emptiness, this is called training in emptiness, because of non-duality"〔T25 0452b17〕—because no form is seen that can be trained in, there is no training in it; one trains in its emptiness, trains in its non-duality, and so on up to not training for the increase of form, not training for the decrease of form, not training for the receiving of form, not training for the cessation of form〔T25 0452b25〕. The treatise explains it by 「色空即自不能學色空，以諸法行於他相、不行自相故」 tr. "the emptiness of form is itself unable to train in the emptiness of form, because dharmas act upon other marks and do not act upon their own mark"〔T25 0453a19〕.

Fourth, not arising, not ceasing, not receiving, not relinquishing, and nothing trained in, nothing arrived at. Śāriputra doubts how not receiving and not ceasing can reach sarvajñā, and Subhūti answers—「破一切法生相故不生，破一切法無常相故不滅；觀一切法種種過罪故不受，觀一切法種種利益故不捨；一切法性常清淨故不垢，一切法能生著心故不淨」 tr. "because it breaks the mark of arising of all dharmas, there is no arising; because it breaks the mark of impermanence of all dharmas, there is no ceasing; because it contemplates the various faults of all dharmas, there is no receiving; because it contemplates the various benefits of all dharmas, there is no relinquishing; because the nature of all dharmas is always pure, there is no stain; because all dharmas can give rise to a clinging mind, there is no purity"〔T25 0453b20〕, like the great ocean not increased by the many streams and not decreased by a fire-pearl boiling it〔T25 0453b25〕. Inner and outer emptiness encompass the emptiness of all dharmas〔T25 0453b11〕, and so 「能到一切種智，無所學、無所到故」 tr. "one can reach omniscience of all kinds, because there is nothing trained in and nothing arrived at"〔T25 0453a01〕—arriving and yet not arriving: this is the culmination of the meaning of 「學」 tr. "training" in this chapter.

Fifth, seeking it in the chapter of Subhūti · the Tathāgata unfindable · the three praises. Śakra Devānām Indra asks where prajñā should be sought, and Śāriputra answers 「當於須菩提品中求」 tr. "it should be sought in the chapter of Subhūti"〔T25 0453c04〕—the treatise makes clear that this does not ask about the substance of prajñā, but only about prajñā as spoken names, a matter that can be read and recited, because Subhūti 「常深入空，所說皆趣空，所說空亦空」 tr. "always enters deeply into emptiness; all he says tends toward emptiness, and the emptiness he speaks of is also empty"〔T25 0454b09〕. Next it distinguishes the Tathāgata's unfindability—「無受相、如相中，如來不可得」 tr. "within the mark of non-receiving and the mark of suchness, the Tathāgata is unfindable"—and the treatise refutes it by the fivefold search of the Middle Treatise: 「是五眾非如來，離五眾非如來，五眾不在如來中，如來不在五眾中，如來亦不有五眾」 tr. "these five aggregates are not the Tathāgata; apart from the five aggregates there is no Tathāgata; the five aggregates are not in the Tathāgata; the Tathāgata is not in the five aggregates; nor does the Tathāgata possess the five aggregates"〔T25 0454c18〕, 「但以戲論故，說有如來；以斷戲論故，無如來」 tr. "only because of idle discourse is it said that there is a Tathāgata; because idle discourse is cut off, there is no Tathāgata"〔T25 0455a17〕. At the end come Śakra Devānām Indra's three praises—「大」 tr. "great" by the unfindability of the three limits, 「無量」 tr. "measureless" by taking space as the simile, 「無邊」 tr. "boundless" by the boundlessness of objects and the boundlessness of beings—and as for beings, 「無有法名眾生，假名故為眾生」 tr. "there is no dharma called a being; it is by provisional name that there is a being"〔T25 0456a24〕, 「從本已來常清淨」 tr. "from the very beginning always pure"〔T25 0456b03〕; and so it gathers up the whole chapter in 「若破眾生相，餘一切易破」 tr. "if one breaks the mark of beings, all the rest is easily broken"〔T25 0456c22〕—the unarisen flowers, the undestroyed provisional names, the unfindable Tathāgata, the boundless three praises all return in the end alike to ultimate emptiness and constant purity: this is where the eye of meaning of the whole chapter comes home.

VI. Divergent Readings of the Masters

The Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa has no tradition of a complete commentary following the text throughout, and the ancient masters' citations and explanations are, as the facts stand, partial as a rule. The ancient masters' re-reading of this chapter is of two types: Jizang's commentary, which explains the sūtra explained, preserves a complete dedicated section, whose explanation of the chapter name and headings of structural analysis correspond one by one to this chapter's sūtra and treatise; Huiying's commentary, which explains the treatise, has a gap that does not cover this fascicle. Beyond this, the later network of citations of this chapter's backbone sentences, 「不壞假名而說諸法實相」 tr. "teaching the real mark of all dharmas without destroying the provisional name" and 「當於須菩提品中求」 tr. "it should be sought in the chapter of Subhūti", is quite dense. This section records the correspondence between what they comment on and cite and this chapter, and does not judge the relative merit of each master's interpretation.

Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451) has a passage-by-passage commentary on this chapter, "Chapter on Scattering Flowers, the Twenty-ninth", beginning at〔X24 0263b19〕 and ending at〔X24 0265b04〕 (before the start of the next chapter, "Chapter on the Three Praises, the Thirtieth",〔X24 0265b05〕), covering the whole of this chapter's four Sūtra and four Treatise sections. Six points in it may be recorded. First, the structural heading for the chapter title—「此第三諸天疑除悟解散華供養，故以目品」 tr. "this is the third: the gods' doubts being removed, they awaken to understanding and scatter flowers as an offering; hence it gives the chapter its name"〔X24 0263b20〕. Second, the overall twofold division—「品為二：第一諸天財供養須菩提，因此說般若；二者諸天法供養須菩提，因此說般若」 tr. "the chapter is in two: first, the gods make material offerings to Subhūti, and on this account prajñā is spoken; second, the gods make Dharma offerings to Subhūti, and on this account prajñā is spoken"〔X24 0263b20〕—it divides this chapter in two by material offering and Dharma offering, with this treatise's ① to ③ belonging to the material-offering section and Sūtra ④ and Treatise ④ to the Dharma-offering section. Third, the meaning of raining the rain of Dharma—「小乘文理未具如不足，大乘究竟具足猶如時雨無所不用也」 tr. "the text and principle of the Small Vehicle are not yet complete, like insufficiency; the Great Vehicle is ultimately complete, just like timely rain, for which there is no use it does not serve"〔X24 0263c02〕, matching the simile of 「雨法雨」 tr. "raining the rain of Dharma" in Treatise ①. Fourth, two explanations of the flower-dais—「一云是諸天力……二者是般若力，般若行因小得果大也」 tr. "one says it is the power of the gods … the second: it is the power of prajñā; the practice of prajñā has a small cause and obtains a great fruit"〔X24 0263c09〕—corresponding word for word to the two explanations in Treatise ①, 「是諸天力／有人言是佛神力」 tr. "it is the power of the gods / some say it is the Buddha's spiritual power". Fifth, the threefold division of the text and the three kinds of prajñā—「北人云：就文為三：初、學；二、示學相；三、示學處」 tr. "the northerners say: according to the text it is in three: first, training; second, showing the mark of training; third, showing the place of training"〔X24 0264a11〕, 「將三種般若是所學處，謂文字、實相、正觀」 tr. "taking the three kinds of prajñā as the place trained in, namely the textual, the real mark, and right contemplation"〔X24 0264a24〕—it structures by the three kinds of prajñā (textual, real mark, right contemplation) the concluding section on 「當於何處求」 tr. "where should it be sought?" in Treatise ③. Sixth, the lord of the gods weighing and praising prajñā, which is itself a Dharma offering—at〔X24 0265a06〕 the commentary treats the section of the three praises of 「摩訶波羅蜜」 tr. "mahāpāramitā" in Sūtra ④ and Treatise ④, finally commenting item by item on the structure of the three praises 「大／無量／無邊」 tr. "great / measureless / boundless", in word-for-word correspondence with Treatise ④. The commentary also explains the meaning of 「不壞假名」 tr. "without destroying provisional names"—「不壞假名者，若有一法實可論壞與不壞，未曾有一法實何有壞不壞耶」 tr. "as for not destroying provisional names: if there were a single dharma that was real, one could discuss destroying and not destroying; there has never been a single dharma that is real, so how could there be destroying or not destroying?"〔X24 0264a03〕. One instance of Jizang's own cross-reference between chapters: his commentary on the thirty-second chapter, "Great Illumination",〔X24 0289a11〕 cites 「如散華品三歎治受」 tr. "as in the Chapter on Scattering Flowers, the three praises cure receiving", pointing back to this chapter's three praises. This is a cross-reference internal to his own work; it is recorded, and not counted as independent coverage.

Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791) is the only ancient commentary explaining this treatise, and it survives only in fragmentary fascicles; the extant fascicles are Fascicles 1, 6, 14, 15, 17, 21, and 24. Fascicle 17 ends with Fascicle 45 of the treatise, and Fascicle 21 begins with Fascicle 59 of the treatise; Fascicle 55 of the treatise, to which this chapter belongs, falls right within the gap between these two fascicles, and the extant fascicles of Huiying's commentary do not cover this chapter at all. Searching back through the whole corpus for strings of words peculiar to this chapter, such as 「散華」 tr. "scattering flowers (first graph)", 「散花」 tr. "scattering flowers (second graph)", 「摩訶波羅蜜」 tr. "mahāpāramitā", 「不壞假名」 tr. "without destroying provisional names", and 「端嚴殊妙」 tr. "upright, majestic, and exceedingly wondrous", yielded zero hits for the passages of this chapter—the fragmentary fascicles of Huiying's commentary do not cover this chapter, and this is recorded as the facts stand.

Later citation of this chapter's backbone sentences is quite dense: a search of the whole corpus for 「不壞假名而說諸法實相」 tr. "teaching the real mark of all dharmas without destroying the provisional name" finds twenty-five works and thirty-two occurrences in all (including the eight occurrences in this chapter itself). Selecting the essentials: Zhiyi's Explanation of the Graded Dharma-Gates of Dhyānapāramitā (T46n1916)—「故《大品經》云：『須菩提！不壞假名而說諸法實相。』」 tr. "therefore the Larger Sūtra says: ‘Subhūti! Without destroying provisional names, he speaks of the real mark of all dharmas.’"〔T46 0483c03〕—explicitly citing the source of this sentence by name as the 「大品經」 tr. "Larger Sūtra". Jizang's Commentary on the Middle Treatise (T42n1824)—「所以經云『不壞假名而說諸法實相』，論云『因緣生法，我說即是空』」 tr. "hence the sūtra says ‘without destroying provisional names, he speaks of the real mark of all dharmas’, and the treatise says ‘dharmas arising from causes and conditions, I say, are emptiness’"〔T42 0024c28〕—raising sūtra and treatise together to attest the Middle Way meaning that provisional arising is itself non-arising. Daoxuan's Expanded Collection for Propagating and Clarifying (T52n2103)—「般若曰：不壞假名而說諸法實相。維摩曰：但除其病而不除法」 tr. "the Prajñā says: without destroying provisional names, he speaks of the real mark of all dharmas. Vimalakīrti says: only remove the sickness, and do not remove the dharmas"〔T52 0143a27〕—raised together with the Vimalakīrti Sūtra. Fazang's Record of the Meaning of the Treatise on the Awakening of Faith in the Great Vehicle (T44n1846)—「此順不壞假名而說諸法實相」 tr. "this accords with speaking of the real mark of all dharmas without destroying provisional names"〔T44 0286b04〕. Zhiyi's Treatise on Ten Doubts about the Pure Land (T47n1961)〔T47 0078a25〕, together with the Pure Land writings of later generations that successively inherited the same combined citation, derive from one chain of transmission and are not independent citations; their wide circulation is recorded without judgement.

The sentence 「當於須菩提品中求」 tr. "it should be sought in the chapter of Subhūti" is taken up in two of Zhiyi's commentaries as a methodological example. His Abridged Commentary on the Vimalakīrti Sūtra (T38n1778)—「如摩訶般若始終皆明般若，佛言欲求般若當於〈須菩提品〉中求。而須菩提對佛、釋提桓因、舍利弗問難，一向皆入真空實相，即般若正意，故勸此品中求。今品亦爾」 tr. "just as the Mahāprajñā from beginning to end makes prajñā clear, and the Buddha says that one who wishes to seek prajñā should seek it in the chapter of Subhūti. And Subhūti, in answering the questions and challenges of the Buddha, Śakra Devānām Indra, and Śāriputra, enters entirely into true emptiness and the real mark, which is the true intent of prajñā; hence it urges seeking within this chapter. The present chapter is likewise"〔T38 0668a15〕—taking this chapter's structural principle of 「般若義理總歸須菩提所說」 tr. "the doctrine of prajñā is gathered wholly into what Subhūti says" to argue why a single chapter of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra can encompass the whole sūtra. His Textual Commentary on the Vimalakīrti Sūtra (X18n0338)〔X18 0637b17〕 is nearly identical in content. (A recent author, Lü Cheng, also cites this sentence twice, in his Outline of Tibetan Buddhism and Lectures on the Essentials of Sūtras and Treatises; by convention these are excluded, their existence recorded but not adopted as the authority of the ancient masters.)

One matter of chapter names must be recorded to avoid confusion: this treatise's Chapter 30 is properly named "Looking Round"〔T25 0457a06〕, while the sūtra explained's Chapter 30 is properly named "The Three Praises"〔T08 0279b24〕, and its own interlinear note states plainly 「丹本作顧視品」 tr. "the Khitan edition has 'Chapter on Looking Round'"—the two texts' thirtieth chapters each have a different name, and only the Khitan edition's alternative name in the sūtra explained agrees with this treatise's proper title. The citations and commentary concerning this chapter (Chapter 29) are not to be entangled with the alternative names of Chapter 30; each is recorded separately as it stands.

VII. Cross-reading and Further Resonances

The line of meaning of this chapter has three threads of continuity before and after, all recorded in this section without deciding on a reading.

First, the treatise's self-references and the connection of chapter with chapter. The treatise repeatedly uses the method of cross-reference—「無受及如來義，如先說」 tr. "the meaning of non-receiving and of the Tathāgata is as explained before"〔T25 0454c07〕, 「如相、法相相，如先說」 tr. "the mark of suchness and the mark of the mark of dharmas are as explained before"〔T25 0455c02〕, 「種種如先破」 tr. "the various kinds are as refuted before"〔T25 0455b27〕, 「如十四置難中說」 tr. "as explained among the fourteen set-aside difficult questions"〔T25 0454b29〕—all clear proof that in this treatise chapter connects with chapter and meaning is formed by cross-reference.

Second, the linked chain with the chapters before and after. This chapter's Sūtra ①, 「是般若波羅蜜多說諸法空，又上欲得如化人聽法，隨其相故，以化華供養」 tr. "this prajñāpāramitā mostly speaks of the emptiness of dharmas, and moreover above it wished to have [listeners] hear the Dharma like conjured persons; in accord with that mark, they make offerings with conjured flowers"〔T25 0451c03〕—the phrase 「上欲得如化人聽法」 tr. "above it wished to have [listeners] hear the Dharma like conjured persons" takes up directly the meaning of conjured persons hearing the Dharma in the preceding chapter, and so they make offerings of conjured flowers to the unarisen Dharma. The word-for-word parallel of this chapter of the sūtra explained, "Scattering Flowers" (Section IV), and the passage-by-passage commentary of Jizang's section on "Scattering Flowers" (Section VI) together form the outer connections of this chapter's line of meaning.

Third, the downstream transmission of the backbone sentence and of the format for refuting the Tathāgata. This chapter's 「不壞假名而說諸法實相」 tr. "teaching the real mark of all dharmas without destroying the provisional name" is the model sentence of the prajñā meaning 「假生宛然即是無生」 tr. "provisional arising, just as it is, is itself non-arising", taken up and cited by Zhiyi, Jizang, Daoxuan, and Fazang (Section VI), and it flowed on into a fixed teaching formula of prajñā and the Middle Way, 「假名不壞而實相不隱」 tr. "provisional names are not destroyed and the real mark is not hidden"; 「當於須菩提品中求」 tr. "it should be sought in the chapter of Subhūti" was taken up by Zhiyi's two commentaries on the Vimalakīrti as a methodological example of 「一品統攝全經」 tr. "a single chapter encompassing the whole sūtra". Treatise ③'s refutation of the Tathāgata's unfindability uses the format of the fivefold search of the Middle Treatise (the five aggregates are not the Tathāgata; apart from the five aggregates there is no Tathāgata; the five aggregates are not in the Tathāgata; the Tathāgata is not in the five aggregates; the Tathāgata does not possess the five aggregates)〔T25 0454c18〕, in continuity with the line of meaning of the chapter "Contemplating the Tathāgata" in the Middle Contemplation Treatise. These further resonances lie in the continuity of the line of meaning; this section merely records their traces.

VIII. Witnesses and Editions

The base text of this chapter is Fascicle 55 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa〔T25 0451a11–0456c23〕; the collation text for the sūtra explained is the chapter "Scattering Flowers" of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra〔T08 0277a05–0279b23〕; the collation text for the ancient-master commentary is Fascicle 6 of Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451, covering this chapter at〔X24 0263b19–0265b04〕), while the fragmentary fascicles of Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791) 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, and Palace editions, the Shōgozō manuscript, and the Ishiyama-dera manuscript; there is in addition a layer of characters supplied from the second carving of the Korean canon (K14n0549).

The collation notes at the end of the working base text number one hundred and sixty in all, counting together the proper notes of variant readings among the transmitted texts and the marks of recursive recurrence. The recursive marks are tied to the places 「【論】」 tr. "the treatise label", 「實」 tr. "real", 「減」 tr. "decrease", 「非」 tr. "not", and 「世界」 tr. "world" (places where the same variant reading appears again or many times, each expanded into its own item in the working base text)—the 「【論】」 tr. "the treatise label" tag (absent in both Song and Shōgozō) recurs four times〔0451b10〕〔0453a03〕〔0454a19〕〔0456b05〕, tied precisely to the openings of the four 【論】 sections; the character 「實」 tr. "real" (absent in the Song, Palace, and Shōgozō) recurs eight times from〔0452a13〕 on, which is the backbone of two-sided collation one above; 「減／咸」 tr. "decrease / all" (Shōgozō) recurs four times from〔0452b26〕 on; 「非／不」 tr. "not (one graph) / not (another graph)" (Ishiyama) recurs three times from〔0454a06〕 on; and 「世界／國土」 tr. "world / land" (Yuan, Ming, Ishiyama) recurs twice〔0455c10〕〔0455c16〕, which is the backbone of two-sided collation two. There are separately two items of characters supplied from the second carving of the Korean canon—「想」 tr. "perception" supplied on the basis of K14n0549〔T25 0451a29〕, and 「力」 tr. "power" supplied on the basis of K14n0549〔T25 0451c12〕—which differ in nature from variant readings among the traditional editions, and are recorded as a separate layer as they stand. All one hundred and sixty items of the whole ledger fall within the bounds of this chapter: the first item is tied to the chapter and fascicle title〔T25 0451a11〕, and the last two items to the end-of-fascicle title〔T25 0456c24〕.

Chapter title and chapter number off track. The first collation note—「大智度論釋散華品第二十九【大】｜釋第二十八品【聖】｜摩訶般若波羅蜜經散華品第二十八【石】｜釋散華品第二十九【明】」 tr. "'Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Scattering Flowers, the Twenty-ninth' in the Taishō; 'Commentary on the Twenty-eighth Chapter' in the Shōgozō; 'Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Chapter on Scattering Flowers, the Twenty-eighth' in the Ishiyama; 'Commentary on the Chapter on Scattering Flowers, the Twenty-ninth' in the Ming"〔T25 0451a11〕—the Shōgozō gives the chapter number as 「第二十八品」 tr. "the Twenty-eighth Chapter" and the Ishiyama text as 「散華品第二十八」 tr. "Chapter on Scattering Flowers, the Twenty-eighth", one less than the Taishō's 「第二十九」 tr. "the Twenty-ninth": a trace of the chapter number running off track. The Ming edition deletes the four characters 「大智度論」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa" and reads 「釋散華品第二十九」 tr. "Commentary on the Chapter on Scattering Flowers, the Twenty-ninth". The three items at the end of the fascicle—「破【大】｜破釋第二十八品竟【石】」 tr. "'broken' in the Taishō; 'broken; commentary on the Twenty-eighth Chapter ended' in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0456c23〕, 「論【大】｜論釋【宋】【宮】｜經論【聖】【石】」 tr. "'treatise' in the Taishō; 'treatise commentary' in the Song and Palace; 'sūtra-treatise' in the Shōgozō and Ishiyama"〔T25 0456c24〕, 「五【大】｜五釋第二十七品訖第二十八品【聖】｜七【石】」 tr. "'five' in the Taishō; 'five, commentary on the Twenty-seventh Chapter through the Twenty-eighth Chapter' in the Shōgozō; 'seven' in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0456c24〕—the Shōgozō, Ishiyama, and other texts at the end of the fascicle all read 「第二十八品」 tr. "the Twenty-eighth Chapter", matching the first item's Shōgozō and Ishiyama readings, consistent from head to tail. This divergence in the internal counting of chapter numbers among the transmitted editions of this treatise differs in nature from the off-by-one in the mulu attribute numbering of the electronic canon text of the sūtra explained (Section IV, a matter of numbering within a single electronic canon text being out of step with its titles); each is recorded separately as it stands, and they should not be confused.

Two places bearing on doctrine, variant readings at the level of sentence meaning, listed separately and cited in full (recorded without judgement). First, the presence or absence of the character 「實」 tr. "real". For this treatise's sentence 「不壞假名而說諸法實相」 tr. "teaching the real mark of all dharmas without destroying the provisional name", its 「實」 tr. "real", the collation note reads 「實【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "'real' in the Taishō; absent in the Song, Palace, and Shōgozō"〔T25 0452a13〕 (tied also to〔0452a15〕〔0452a17〕〔0452a17〕〔0452a24〕〔0452a25〕〔0452a27〕〔0453a04〕, eight places in all)—the three editions Song, Palace, and Shōgozō all lack 「實」 tr. "real" and read 「諸法相」 tr. "the mark of all dharmas", agreeing with the whole line of the sūtra explained in lacking 「實」 tr. "real" (two-sided collation one; see Section IV); the 「實」 tr. "real" mark of all dharmas or the mark of all dharmas—the sentence meaning depends on it, and the variant readings of the six texts are cited together without omission. Second, 「世界／國土」 tr. "world / land". For this treatise's sentence 「成就眾生、淨佛世界」 tr. "bringing beings to maturity and purifying the Buddha's world", the collation note reads 「世界【大】｜國土【元】【明】【石】」 tr. "'world' in the Taishō; 'land' in the Yuan, Ming, and Ishiyama"〔T25 0455c10〕 (tied also to〔0455c16〕)—the three texts Yuan, Ming, and Ishiyama read 「國土」 tr. "land", agreeing with the sūtra explained's 「淨佛國土」 tr. "purifying the Buddha's land" (two-sided collation two; see Section IV); the variant readings of all the texts are cited together without omission, recorded without judgement, and without deciding on anyone's behalf which reading the text should follow.

Full collation ledger (all one hundred and sixty items reconciled · transcribed raw as it stands). Below, transcribed exactly as it stands at the end of the working base text, 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:

• 〔T25 0451a11〕大智度論釋散華品第二十九【大】｜釋第二十八品【聖】｜摩訶般若波羅蜜經散華品第二十八【石】｜釋散華品第二十九【明】
• 〔T25 0451a11〕論釋【大】｜釋論【宋】【宮】
• 〔T25 0451a11〕九【大】｜九品【宮】
• 〔T25 0451a14〕寧【大】｜曼【聖】
• 〔T25 0451a14〕可【大】｜〔－〕【宮】
• 〔T25 0451a19〕殊【大】｜姝【聖】
• 〔T25 0451a20〕諸【大】｜〔－〕【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0451a23〕語【大】｜諸【聖】
• 〔T25 0451a25〕是【大】｜是華【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
• 〔T25 0451a29〕想（K14n0549_p1049b22）【CB】【麗-CB】｜相【大】
• 〔T25 0451b10〕【論】【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【聖】
• 〔T25 0451b15〕蒔【大】｜殖【石】
• 〔T25 0451b16〕霑【大】｜沾【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】｜活【聖】
• 〔T25 0451b20〕唯【大】｜雖【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】【石】
• 〔T25 0451b27〕惡【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
• 〔T25 0451b28〕蒙【大】｜家【聖】
• 〔T25 0451c05〕化【大】｜化共【聖】
• 〔T25 0451c06〕故【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
• 〔T25 0451c12〕力（K14n0549_p1050a23）【CB】【麗-CB】｜方【大】
• 〔T25 0451c14〕是【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
• 〔T25 0451c15〕少【大】｜小【聖】
• 〔T25 0451c15〕現【大】｜現敢現【聖】
• 〔T25 0451c19〕說【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
• 〔T25 0451c23〕反【大】｜友【聖】
• 〔T25 0452a01〕如是【大】｜如是（此處舊有六行半文今依校正移入于後）【元】
• 〔T25 0452a01〕五眾從因緣和合生，無有定性，但有假名。「假名實相」 tr. "the real mark of provisional names"者，所謂五眾如、法性、實際。須菩提所說，不違此理；何以故？聖人知名字是俗諦、實相是第一義諦；有所說者隨凡夫人，第一義諦中無彼此、亦無諍。乃至一切種智亦如是。眾生空乃至知者、見者空故，須陀洹但有假名，乃至佛亦如是。【大】｜〔－〕【元】
• 〔T25 0452a06〕諍【大】｜諦【聖】
• 〔T25 0452a08〕是【大】｜是（已上一百九字依舊藏本移入於此）【明】
• 〔T25 0452a09〕是【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】【石】
• 〔T25 0452a10〕實【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】
• 〔T25 0452a10〕知【大】｜智【聖】
• 〔T25 0452a13〕實【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0452a15〕實【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0452a17〕實【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0452a17〕實【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0452a24〕實【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0452a25〕實【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0452a27〕實【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0452a29〕但假名【大】｜假名但【宋】【宮】
• 〔T25 0452b01〕如【大】｜〔－〕【石】
• 〔T25 0452b09〕何以【大】｜不可得【聖】
• 〔T25 0452b19〕以【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0452b26〕減【大】｜咸【聖】
• 〔T25 0452b27〕減【大】｜咸【聖】
• 〔T25 0452b28〕減【大】｜咸【聖】
• 〔T25 0452b29〕減【大】｜咸【聖】
• 〔T25 0452b29〕色受【大】｜受色【石】
• 〔T25 0452b29〕色滅【大】｜滅色【石】
• 〔T25 0452c02〕種【大】｜種種【聖】
• 〔T25 0452c05〕菩薩【大】｜菩提【石】
• 〔T25 0452c14〕能【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
• 〔T25 0452c24〕減【大】｜滅咸【聖】
• 〔T25 0452c29〕減【大】｜滅【石】
• 〔T25 0453a03〕【論】【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【聖】
• 〔T25 0453a04〕實【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0453a09〕吾【大】｜五【聖】
• 〔T25 0453a11〕深【大】｜深五眾從因緣和合生無有定性但有假名假名實相者所謂五眾如法性實際須菩提所說不違此理何以故聖人知名字是俗諦實相是第一義諦有所說者隨凡夫人第一義諦中無彼此亦無諍乃至一切種智亦如是眾生空乃至知者見者空故須陀洹但有假名乃至佛亦如是【元】
• 〔T25 0453a11〕菩薩【大】｜（已上一百九字舊藏在前釋依下竺本校移入于此）菩薩【元】
• 〔T25 0453a17〕言【大】｜曰【石】
• 〔T25 0453a23〕空【大】｜〔－〕【石】
• 〔T25 0453a26〕以【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
• 〔T25 0453a26〕可【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】
• 〔T25 0453a26〕空【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0453a27〕空【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0453a27〕是【大】｜是如是【石】
• 〔T25 0453b02〕減【大】｜咸【聖】
• 〔T25 0453b03〕不【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0453b05〕染【大】｜深【石】
• 〔T25 0453b06〕使【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
• 〔T25 0453b06〕是【大】｜〔－〕【石】
• 〔T25 0453b19〕須菩提【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
• 〔T25 0453b20〕破【大】｜滅【宮】
• 〔T25 0453b25〕之【大】｜趣【石】
• 〔T25 0453b27〕到【大】｜至【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0453c05〕言【大】｜語【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
• 〔T25 0453c09〕故【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0453c28〕應【大】｜〔－〕【石】
• 〔T25 0454a06〕非【大】｜不【石】
• 〔T25 0454a06〕非【大】｜不【石】
• 〔T25 0454a07〕非【大】｜不【石】
• 〔T25 0454a11〕非一切種智如【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
• 〔T25 0454a19〕【論】【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【聖】
• 〔T25 0454a21〕波羅蜜【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0454b02〕墮【大】｜隨【聖】
• 〔T25 0454b03〕落【大】｜洛【石】
• 〔T25 0454b03〕解、所應【大】｜〔－〕【石】
• 〔T25 0454b06〕有【大】｜〔－〕【石】
• 〔T25 0454b07〕受【大】｜無受【石】
• 〔T25 0454b08〕名為「般【大】｜〔－〕【石】
• 〔T25 0454b09〕言【大】｜示【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0454b09〕又【大】｜〔－〕【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0454b13〕讚【大】｜讚嘆【石】
• 〔T25 0454b15〕云何言是佛所受神力？若離無受相，如來不【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
• 〔T25 0454b18〕言定【大】｜定言【宮】
• 〔T25 0454b19〕所【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
• 〔T25 0454b20〕無【大】｜無所【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
• 〔T25 0454b20〕今【大】｜令【元】【明】
• 〔T25 0454b22〕中【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
• 〔T25 0454b25〕然【大】｜無【宋】｜然可【石】
• 〔T25 0454b27〕名【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
• 〔T25 0454c03〕來，故名【大】｜如來故【宮】
• 〔T25 0454c03〕錠【大】｜定【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】
• 〔T25 0454c04〕知【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
• 〔T25 0454c06〕如【大】｜佛【聖】
• 〔T25 0454c07〕是【大】｜〔－〕【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0454c15〕如【大】｜如來【石】
• 〔T25 0454c20〕生【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
• 〔T25 0454c26〕聞【大】｜間【元】
• 〔T25 0454c27〕覺【大】｜學【石】
• 〔T25 0455a01〕色【大】｜眼【宮】【聖】【石】
• 〔T25 0455a03〕見【大】｜見者【石】
• 〔T25 0455a03〕以是故【大】｜是以【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0455a04〕根【大】｜相【聖】
• 〔T25 0455a08〕知【大】｜欲【聖】
• 〔T25 0455a12〕不【大】｜五【石】
• 〔T25 0455a21〕墮【大】｜隨【聖】
• 〔T25 0455a21〕有、無【大】｜無有【聖】
• 〔T25 0455a23〕相【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0455a28〕或【大】｜惑【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
• 〔T25 0455b01〕如【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
• 〔T25 0455b03〕相【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】
• 〔T25 0455b04〕法【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】【石】
• 〔T25 0455b05〕慍【大】｜慢【聖】｜怨【石】
• 〔T25 0455b06〕火【大】｜火來【石】
• 〔T25 0455b08〕即【大】｜如即【元】【明】｜則【宮】
• 〔T25 0455b10〕無【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0455b16〕言【大】｜說【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
• 〔T25 0455b18〕當【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
• 〔T25 0455b20〕瀆【大】｜濁【石】
• 〔T25 0455b21〕無作無起【大】｜無起無作【石】
• 〔T25 0455b26〕相【大】｜切【聖】
• 〔T25 0455c06〕是【大】｜是為【石】
• 〔T25 0455c07〕果【大】｜果是果【石】
• 〔T25 0455c10〕世界【大】｜國土【元】【明】【石】
• 〔T25 0455c16〕世界【大】｜國土【元】【明】【石】
• 〔T25 0455c21〕前際不可得，後際不可得，中際不可得。乃至一切種智亦如是。以是因緣故，憍尸迦！是摩訶【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
• 〔T25 0456a05〕迦【大】｜迦是【元】【明】
• 〔T25 0456a10〕前、後【大】｜前際後際【石】
• 〔T25 0456a10〕際【大】｜際皆【石】
• 〔T25 0456a11〕邊【大】｜邊故【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】
• 〔T25 0456a16〕須菩提言：「緣【大】｜云何緣一切【聖】
• 〔T25 0456a25〕故為【大】｜〔－〕【石】
• 〔T25 0456a25〕生；是名字本無有法，亦無所趣，強為作名【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
• 〔T25 0456a28〕中【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0456a28〕實不說【大】｜不說實【元】【明】
• 〔T25 0456b01〕佛【大】｜佛壽如【石】
• 〔T25 0456b01〕壽【大】｜〔－〕【石】
• 〔T25 0456b01〕眾生【大】｜〔－〕【石】
• 〔T25 0456b05〕【論】【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【聖】
• 〔T25 0456b08〕是【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】
• 〔T25 0456b15〕是般若波羅蜜【大】｜〔－〕【宮】【聖】【石】
• 〔T25 0456b26〕墮【大】｜隨【聖】
• 〔T25 0456c02〕者【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
• 〔T25 0456c05〕眾【大】｜眾是【石】
• 〔T25 0456c13〕語人【大】｜悟入【聖】
• 〔T25 0456c14〕壽【大】｜壽命【石】
• 〔T25 0456c16〕我【大】｜滅【石】
• 〔T25 0456c23〕破【大】｜破釋第二十八品竟【石】
• 〔T25 0456c24〕論【大】｜論釋【宋】【宮】｜經論【聖】【石】
• 〔T25 0456c24〕五【大】｜五釋第二十七品訖第二十八品【聖】｜七【石】

The one hundred and sixty items above agree entirely and mechanically with the count at the end of the working base text. The two places bearing on doctrine (the 「實」 tr. "real" at eight places, including〔0452a13〕, and the 「世界」 tr. "world" at〔0455c10〕〔0455c16〕) have been listed separately and cited in full above, and collated in both directions against the sūtra explained (Section IV); for the remaining items the readings of the variant editions are preserved side by side, the main text follows the reading of the current base text, and they are recorded without judgement.