大智度論 述誠品Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Declaring the Truth
述誠品：佛述說並印可帝釋所歎——受持供養般若得無邊福德，一切佛法皆從般若中生，般若在世則三寶不滅（經＋論）
上一品〈寶塔校量品〉，佛把供養般若的福德，一級一級抬到極處——七寶塔起滿三千大千世界、乃至十方恒沙世界一一眾生各起，都不如受持這一部般若；帝釋到此自己也領會了，覆陳供養般若「則為供養過去、未來、現在佛」，「一切善法皆入般若波羅蜜中」。這一品緊接著，便是佛對帝釋這一番格量的「述成」——「述」是佛述說帝釋的話，「成」是印可它不謬。帝釋究竟不是一切智人，他所說的難免有錯，所以佛親自把他的話再說一遍、確認一遍：「如是！如是！憍尸迦！」品名「述誠（述成）」的意思就在這裡。佛先重申前品的福量：善男子善女人書寫、受持、親近、讀、誦、正憶念般若，加以華香、瓔珞等供養，「當得無量無數、不可思議、不可稱量、無邊福德」——何以故？諸佛的一切智、一切種智，六波羅蜜，內空乃至無法有法空，四念處乃至十八不共法，諸佛五眼，成就眾生、淨佛世界，乃至聲聞乘、辟支佛乘、佛乘，一連五輪「皆從般若波羅蜜中生」。正因一切善法都從般若生，供養般若的福便「過出前供養七寶塔，百分、千分、千億萬分」，算數譬喻所不能及。往下佛更說出本品最要緊的一句：「若般若波羅蜜在於世者，佛寶、法寶、比丘僧寶終不滅」——般若若在世，則三寶不滅，十善道、四禪、四無量、六波羅蜜乃至一切種智皆現於世，世間便有剎利大姓、婆羅門大姓乃至四天王天、須陀洹果乃至阿羅漢果、辟支佛道、菩薩、無上佛道。到論主釋曰，先把這段敘事收攏——帝釋答佛說供養般若福德甚多，更有大天生疑，帝釋非一切智人所說或錯，所以佛印可其說，說「如是！如是！」接著論主設兩番問答，替這一品解開兩處疑難。頭一問問得極利：般若的相，「一切諸觀滅，語言道斷，不生不滅，如虛空相」——既是這樣，般若哪有在世不在世可說？今何以說「般若在世，三寶不滅」？論答得也乾脆：「般若波羅蜜體性，有佛、無佛，常住不滅」——般若的體性，不論有佛出世、無佛出世，都常住不滅，本沒有生滅在不在。那麼所謂「在世」是指什麼？是指「般若經卷，可修習讀誦者」，這是「因中說果」——拿般若的果（可讀誦的經卷）來說般若的在世，不是說般若體性有生有滅。論主打了一個極貼切的比方：「譬如井深，綆短不及，便言失井，井實不失」——井很深，汲水的繩子短了，打不著水，便說井沒有了，其實井不曾失；般若的實相就像這口深井，經卷就是那條綆，行者不能書寫、修習，才說般若滅了，其實般若何嘗滅？滅的不是般若，是人汲它不著罷了。第二問問三寶與諸善法的分際：既說三寶盡攝一切善人、善法，何以又說般若在世則世間有十善道乃至一切種智？論答：「此諸法及諸道，皆廣解三寶中義」——這些法、這些道，都是三寶中義的廣解。佛寶，是佛法所攝的無學五眾；法寶，是第三諦，也就是涅槃，除了四沙門所攝的學、無學功德，其餘殘的辟支佛功德、菩薩功德也都入法寶；僧寶，是四向、四果的學、無學五眾。至於其餘的十善道、四禪、四無量等，「皆是道方便門，是故別說」——它們不是三寶之外別有的東西，只是入道的方便門，所以才分開來說。這一品雖短，一經一論而已，卻把前品「校量」抬到極處後的一個轉身說得分明：般若可貴，不在它那部經卷的在或不在，而在它常住不滅的體性；經卷在世、可讀可誦，是這常住般若在因地上顯出的果——握著這一部經、依它而修的人，所汲取的正是那口不曾失、也不會失的深井。
In the previous chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", the Buddha lifted the merit of offerings to prajñā step by step to its furthest point: stūpas of the seven jewels raised until they fill a three-thousand great-thousand world, and even every single being in worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges each raising one, none of it equals receiving and upholding this one scroll of prajñā; and Śakra by then had himself grasped it, restating that to make offerings to prajñā ‘is to make offerings to the buddhas of the past, the future, and the present’, and that ‘all wholesome dharmas enter into prajñāpāramitā’. This chapter, following straight on, is the Buddha's ‘declaring and confirming’ of that weighing by Śakra: ‘declaring’ is the Buddha restating Śakra's words, ‘confirming’ is his sealing them as not mistaken. Śakra is after all not an omniscient person, and what he says may well contain error; so the Buddha himself says his words over again and confirms them once more: ‘Just so! Just so! Kauśika!’ The meaning of the chapter's title, ‘Declaring the Truth’ (declaring and confirming), lies just here. The Buddha first restates the measure of merit from the previous chapter: a good man or good woman who writes out, receives and upholds, draws near to, reads, recites, and rightly recollects prajñā, and adds to this offerings of flowers, incense, and necklaces, ‘will gain merit immeasurable, innumerable, inconceivable, incalculable, and boundless’. Why? The omniscience and omniscience of all kinds of the buddhas, the six perfections, inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent dharmas and existent dharmas, the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, the five eyes of the buddhas, the bringing of beings to maturity and the purifying of buddha-worlds, and on to the śrāvaka vehicle, the pratyekabuddha vehicle, and the Buddha vehicle, in five successive rounds ‘are all born from within prajñāpāramitā’. Precisely because all wholesome dharmas are born from prajñā, the merit of offerings to prajñā ‘exceeds the earlier offering of stūpas of the seven jewels by a hundredfold, a thousandfold, a thousand koṭi ten-thousandfold’, beyond what calculation and simile can reach. Going on, the Buddha speaks the most important sentence of the chapter: ‘if prajñāpāramitā is present in the world, then the Buddha Jewel, the Dharma Jewel, and the Jewel of the Bhikṣu Saṅgha will never perish’. If prajñā is in the world, the Three Jewels do not perish, the ten wholesome paths, the four dhyānas, the four immeasurables, the six perfections and so on up to omniscience of all kinds all appear in the world, and the world then has great kṣatriya clans, great brahmin clans, and so on up to the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings, the fruit of srota-āpanna and so on up to the fruit of arhat, the path of the pratyekabuddha, the bodhisattva, and the unsurpassed Buddha path. When the treatise-author comes to explain, he first gathers up the narrative: Śakra answered the Buddha that the merit of offerings to prajñā is very great; other great gods raised doubts; Śakra is not an omniscient person and what he says may be mistaken; and so the Buddha sealed his words, saying ‘Just so! Just so!’ Then the treatise-author sets out two rounds of question and answer, untying two difficulties for this chapter. The first question is sharp indeed: the mark of prajñā is that ‘all contemplations cease, the path of speech is cut off, it is non-arising and non-ceasing, like the mark of space’; that being so, how can prajñā be said to be present in the world or not present? Why then is it now said that ‘when prajñā is in the world the Three Jewels do not perish’? The treatise answers just as crisply: ‘the nature of prajñāpāramitā, whether there is a Buddha or no Buddha, abides always and does not perish’. The nature of prajñā, whether a Buddha appears in the world or no Buddha appears, abides always and does not perish; there is from the start no arising and ceasing, no present and absent, in it. Then what does ‘present in the world’ refer to? It refers to ‘the scroll of the prajñā sūtra, which can be studied, read, and recited’, and this is ‘speaking of the result in the cause’: taking the result of prajñā (the scroll that can be read and recited) to speak of prajñā's presence in the world, not saying that the nature of prajñā has arising and ceasing. The treatise-author gives a most apt comparison: ‘it is like a well that is deep and a rope that is too short to reach; one then says the well is lost, but the well is not really lost’. The well is very deep, the rope for drawing water is short and cannot reach the water, and so one says the well is gone, but in truth the well was never lost; the real mark of prajñā is like this deep well, the scroll is that rope, and it is because practitioners cannot write it out and study it that one says prajñā has perished, but when did prajñā ever perish? What perishes is not prajñā; it is only that people can no longer draw from it. The second question asks about the boundary between the Three Jewels and the wholesome dharmas: since the Three Jewels are said to include all wholesome persons and wholesome dharmas, why is it further said that when prajñā is in the world the world has the ten wholesome paths and so on up to omniscience of all kinds? The treatise answers: ‘these dharmas and these paths are all the broad explanation of the meaning within the Three Jewels’. These dharmas and these paths are all the broad unfolding of what the Three Jewels mean. The Buddha Jewel is the five aggregates of one beyond training, included in the Buddha's dharmas; the Dharma Jewel is the third truth, that is, nirvāṇa, and apart from the merits of training and beyond training included in the four śramaṇa fruits, the remaining merits of the pratyekabuddha and the merits of the bodhisattva also enter the Dharma Jewel; the Saṅgha Jewel is the five aggregates of those in training and beyond training of the four directions and four fruits. As for the rest, the ten wholesome paths, the four dhyānas, the four immeasurables, and the like, ‘they are all gates of skilful means to the path, and therefore they are spoken of separately’. They are not something existing apart from the Three Jewels; they are only the gates of skilful means for entering the path, and that is why they are set out separately. This chapter, though short, one passage of sūtra and one of treatise and no more, makes clear the turn that comes once the previous chapter's ‘weighing’ has been lifted to its furthest point: prajñā is precious not for the presence or absence of its scroll but for its nature that abides always and does not perish; the scroll's presence in the world, its being readable and recitable, is the result shown on the ground of the cause by this ever-abiding prajñā; and what the one who holds this scroll and practises according to it draws up is precisely that deep well which was never lost and never will be.
卷57 〔T25 0467b21〕
大智度論釋述誠品第三十三 【經】 爾時，佛告釋提桓因：「如是！如是！憍尸迦！是諸善男子、善女人書是般若波羅蜜，持經卷受學，親近、讀、誦、說、正憶念，加復供養華香、瓔珞、擣香、澤香、幢蓋、伎樂，當得無量無數、不可思議、不可稱量、無邊福德！何以故？諸佛一切智、一切種智，皆從般若波羅蜜中生。諸菩薩摩訶薩禪波羅蜜、毘梨耶波羅蜜、羼提波羅蜜、尸羅波羅蜜、檀波羅蜜，皆從般若波羅〔T25 0467c〕蜜中生。內空乃至無法有法空，四念處乃至十八不共法，皆從般若波羅蜜中生。諸佛五眼，皆從般若波羅蜜中生。成就眾生、淨佛世界、道種智、一切種智、諸佛法，皆從般若波羅蜜中生。聲聞乘、辟支佛乘、佛乘，皆從般若波羅蜜中生。以是故，憍尸迦！善男子、善女人書是般若波羅蜜，受持經卷，親近、讀、誦、說、正憶念，加復供養華香乃至伎樂，過出前供養七寶塔，百分、千分、千億萬分，乃至算數譬喻所不能及！何以故？憍尸迦！若般若波羅蜜在於世者，佛寶、法寶、比丘僧寶終不滅。若般若波羅蜜在於世者，十善道、四禪、四無量心、四無色定、檀波羅蜜乃至般若波羅蜜、四念處乃至十八不共法、一切智、一切種智，皆現於世。若般若波羅蜜在於世者，世間便有剎利大姓、婆羅門大姓、居士大家，四天王天乃至阿迦尼吒諸天，須陀洹果乃至阿羅漢果、辟支佛道、菩薩摩訶薩、無上佛道、轉法輪、成就眾生、淨佛世界。」 【論】 釋曰： 上帝釋答佛，言：「供養般若，福德甚多。」更有大天，以帝釋非一切智人故，所說或錯，是以佛印可所說，言：「如是！如是！」 問曰： 若般若波羅蜜相，一切諸觀滅，語言道斷，不生不滅，如虛空相；今何以說「般若在世者，三寶不滅」？ 答曰： 般若波羅蜜體性，有佛、無佛，常住不滅。 此言「在世」者，所謂般若經卷，可修習讀誦者，是因中說果。譬如井深，綆短不及，便言失井，井實不失；般若波羅蜜實相如深井，經卷名為綆，行者不能書〔T25 0468a〕寫、修習故言滅。 問曰： 若說三寶，盡攝一切善人、善法，何以復言「般若在世者，世間有十善道乃至一切種智」？ 答曰： 此諸法及諸道，皆廣解三寶中義。佛寶者，佛法所攝無學五眾。法寶者，第三諦，所謂涅槃，除四沙門所攝學、無學功德，餘殘辟支佛功德、菩薩功德。僧寶者，四向、四果學、無學五眾。 餘十善道、四禪、四無量等皆是道方便門，是故別說。 大智度論卷第五十七
《大智度論》卷57 · T25n1509 0467b21–0468a12
The canonical text stands in Chinese only. This edition renders the essence, the plain reading, the exposition and the apparatus into English — never the sūtra itself. Switch to 漢讀本 or 並行雙語 above to read it.
受持供養般若得無邊福德，一切佛法皆從般若中生
那時，佛告訴釋提桓因（帝釋，即忉利天主）：『正是這樣！正是這樣！憍尸迦（帝釋的本姓）！這些善男子、善女人書寫這般若波羅蜜，執持經卷、承受修學，親近、讀誦、宣說、正確地憶念，又加以供養華香、瓔珞、擣香（搗碎的香末）、澤香（塗身的香油）、幢蓋、伎樂，當得到無量無數、不可思議、不可稱量、無邊的福德！為什麼呢？諸佛的一切智、一切種智，都從般若波羅蜜中生。諸位菩薩摩訶薩的禪定禪波羅蜜、精進毘梨耶波羅蜜、忍辱羼提波羅蜜、持戒尸羅波羅蜜、布施檀波羅蜜，都從般若波羅蜜中生。內空乃至無法有法空，四念處乃至十八不共法，都從般若波羅蜜中生。諸佛的五眼（肉眼、天眼、慧眼、法眼、佛眼），都從般若波羅蜜中生。成就眾生、清淨佛世界、道種智、一切種智、諸佛之法，都從般若波羅蜜中生。聲聞乘、辟支佛乘、佛乘，都從般若波羅蜜中生。』
受持般若之福過出供養七寶塔
『以此緣故，憍尸迦！善男子、善女人書寫這般若波羅蜜，受持經卷，親近、讀誦、宣說、正確地憶念，又加以供養華香乃至伎樂，勝過前面（前品所說）供養七寶塔的福德——縱以百分、千分、千億萬分來相比，乃至用算數譬喻也不能及！』
般若在世則三寶不滅、萬善顯現於世
『為什麼呢？憍尸迦！若般若波羅蜜在世間，佛寶、法寶、比丘僧寶終究不滅。若般若波羅蜜在世間，十善道、四禪、四無量心、四無色定、布施的檀波羅蜜乃至智慧的般若波羅蜜、四念處乃至十八不共法、一切智、一切種智，都顯現於世間。若般若波羅蜜在世間，世間便有剎利大姓（王族）、婆羅門大姓、居士大家（富貴之家），有四天王天乃至阿迦尼吒諸天（色界之頂，色究竟天），有須陀洹果乃至阿羅漢果、辟支佛道、菩薩摩訶薩、無上佛道、轉法輪、成就眾生、清淨佛世界。』
以下是論釋。
論主釋品名：佛述說並印可帝釋所歎，故名「述誠」
論主釋道：上面帝釋回答佛，說：『供養般若，福德甚多。』帝釋既如此說，座中更有大天，因為帝釋不是一切智人的緣故，所說的或許有錯，所以佛親自印可他所說的，說：『如是！如是！』——這一句，正是本品品名「述誠」的本義：佛述說並認可帝釋的格量之言。
難一：般若相寂滅如虛空，何以說在世三寶不滅
有人問：若般若波羅蜜的體相，是一切諸觀皆滅、語言之道斷絕、不生不滅、猶如虛空之相；那麼如今為什麼說「般若在世者，三寶不滅」呢？
論主回答：般若波羅蜜的體性，無論有佛出世、無佛出世，都常住不滅。這裡說「在世」，指的是般若經卷，是可以修習讀誦的那個經卷——這是在因上說果（因中說果，把「般若」這果地之名，安在經卷這因地之物上）。
深井喻：實相如深井，經卷如綆
譬如井很深，汲水的繩索（綆）太短，搆不到水，便說井水失去了，其實井水並沒有失去；般若波羅蜜的實相就像那口深井，經卷好比那條繩索，行者若不能書寫、修習，所以才說（般若）滅了——滅的是修習之緣，不是般若實相本身。
難二：三寶既攝一切善法，何以復列十善乃至一切種智
有人又問：若說三寶已經總攝一切善人、善法，為什麼又說「般若在世者，世間有十善道乃至一切種智」呢？
論主回答：這些法以及這些道，都是廣釋三寶當中的義理。佛寶，是佛法所攝的無學五眾（無學聖者五蘊所成之身）。法寶，是四諦中的第三諦，也就是涅槃，除去四沙門果所攝的有學、無學功德（那些歸屬僧寶），其餘剩下的辟支佛功德、菩薩功德（也攝在法寶中）。僧寶，是四向、四果的有學、無學五眾。
餘者皆道之方便門，是故別說
至於其餘的十善道、四禪、四無量等，都是趣向於道的方便法門，所以另外別立而說（不併入三寶中）。
Receiving, Upholding, and Making Offerings to Prajñā Gains Boundless Merit; All the Dharmas of the Buddhas Are Born from within Prajñā
At that time the Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra (Śakra, that is, the lord of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven): ‘Just so! Just so! Kauśika (Śakra's original clan name)! These good men and good women who write out this prajñāpāramitā (the perfection of wisdom), hold the scroll of the sūtra, receive it and study it, draw near to it, read and recite it, expound it, and rightly recollect it, and who further make offerings of flowers and incense, necklaces, powdered incense (incense pounded into powder), scented ointment (fragrant oil for anointing the body), banners and canopies, and music, will gain merit immeasurable, innumerable, inconceivable, incalculable, and boundless! Why? The omniscience and the omniscience of all kinds of the buddhas are all born from within prajñāpāramitā. The bodhisattva-mahāsattvas' dhyānapāramitā of meditative concentration, vīryapāramitā of diligence, kṣāntipāramitā of forbearance, śīlapāramitā of keeping the precepts, and dānapāramitā of giving are all born from within prajñāpāramitā. Inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent dharmas and existent dharmas, and the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, are all born from within prajñāpāramitā. The five eyes of the buddhas (the flesh eye, the heavenly eye, the wisdom eye, the Dharma eye, and the Buddha eye) are all born from within prajñāpāramitā. Bringing beings to maturity, purifying buddha-worlds, the knowledge of the kinds of paths, the omniscience of all kinds, and the dharmas of the buddhas are all born from within prajñāpāramitā. The śrāvaka vehicle, the pratyekabuddha vehicle, and the Buddha vehicle are all born from within prajñāpāramitā.’
The Merit of Receiving and Upholding Prajñā Surpasses Making Offerings to Stūpas of the Seven Jewels
‘For this reason, Kauśika! Good men and good women who write out this prajñāpāramitā, receive and uphold the scroll of the sūtra, draw near to it, read and recite it, expound it, and rightly recollect it, and who further make offerings of flowers and incense and so on up to music, surpass the merit of the earlier offering (the one spoken of in the previous chapter) to stūpas of the seven jewels—even if it is compared as a hundredth part, a thousandth part, or a thousand-koṭi-ten-thousandth part, and so on up to calculation and simile, it cannot reach it!’
When Prajñā Is in the World the Three Jewels Do Not Perish, and the Myriad Goods Appear in the World
‘Why? Kauśika! If prajñāpāramitā is in the world, the Buddha Jewel, the Dharma Jewel, and the Jewel of the Bhikṣu Saṅgha will never perish. If prajñāpāramitā is in the world, the ten wholesome paths, the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, dānapāramitā, which is giving, and so on up to prajñāpāramitā, which is wisdom, the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, omniscience, and the omniscience of all kinds all appear in the world. If prajñāpāramitā is in the world, the world then has great kṣatriya clans (the royal clan), great brahmin clans, and great householder families (families of wealth and rank); it has the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha heavens (the summit of the form realm, the Heaven of Ultimate Form); it has the fruit of srota-āpanna and so on up to the fruit of arhat, the pratyekabuddha path, bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the unsurpassed Buddha path, the turning of the Dharma wheel, the bringing of beings to maturity, and the purifying of buddha-worlds.’
What follows is the treatise's explanation.
The Treatise-Author Explains the Chapter's Name: The Buddha Declares and Seals What Śakra Praised, and So It Is Named "Declaring the Truth"
The treatise-author explains: above, Śakra answered the Buddha, saying: ‘The merit of making offerings to prajñā is very great.’ Since Śakra had spoken thus, and there were in the assembly still greater gods—and because Śakra is not an omniscient person, what he said might be mistaken—therefore the Buddha himself sealed what he had said, saying: ‘Just so! Just so!’—this phrase is precisely the root meaning of this chapter's name, 「述誠」 tr. "Declaring the Truth": the Buddha declares and confirms Śakra's words of weighing.
First Difficulty: The Mark of Prajñā Is Quiescent like Space—Why Say That While It Is in the World the Three Jewels Do Not Perish?
Someone asks: if the substance and mark of prajñāpāramitā is that all contemplations cease, the path of speech is cut off, it neither arises nor ceases, and it is like the mark of space, then why is it now said 「般若在世者，三寶不滅」 tr. "when prajñā is in the world, the Three Jewels do not perish"?
The treatise-author answers: the nature of prajñāpāramitā, whether a Buddha appears in the world or no Buddha appears in the world, abides always and does not perish. What is here called 「在世」 tr. "in the world" refers to the scroll of the prajñā sūtra, the scroll that can be studied, read, and recited—this is speaking of the result in the cause (speaking of the result in the cause: taking 「般若」 tr. "prajñā", the name that belongs to the ground of the result, and placing it upon the scroll, a thing that belongs to the ground of the cause).
The Simile of the Deep Well: The Real Mark Is like a Deep Well, the Scroll like a Rope
It is like a well that is very deep, and the rope for drawing water (the well-rope) is too short to reach the water, so one says the well-water is lost; yet in truth the well-water is not lost. The real mark of prajñāpāramitā is like that deep well, and the scroll is like that rope; it is because practitioners cannot write it out or study it that one says (prajñā) has perished—what perishes is the condition for studying it, not the real mark of prajñā itself.
Second Difficulty: Since the Three Jewels Already Include All Wholesome Dharmas, Why Further List the Ten Wholesome Paths and So On up to the Omniscience of All Kinds?
Someone further asks: if it is said that the Three Jewels already include in full all wholesome persons and wholesome dharmas, why is it further said 「般若在世者，世間有十善道乃至一切種智」 tr. "when prajñā is in the world, the world has the ten wholesome paths and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds"?
The treatise-author answers: these dharmas and these paths are all the broad explanation of the meaning within the Three Jewels. The Buddha Jewel is the five aggregates of one beyond training, included in the Buddha's dharmas (the body made of the five aggregates of a noble one beyond training). The Dharma Jewel is the third truth among the four truths, that is, nirvāṇa; excluding the merits of those in training and beyond training included in the four fruits of the śramaṇa (those belong to the Saṅgha Jewel), the remaining merits of the pratyekabuddha and merits of the bodhisattva (are also included in the Dharma Jewel). The Saṅgha Jewel is the five aggregates of those in training and beyond training of the four directions and four fruits.
The Rest Are All Gates of Skilful Means to the Path, and Therefore They Are Spoken of Separately
As for the rest—the ten wholesome paths, the four dhyānas, the four immeasurables, and so on—they are all gates of skilful means that lead toward the path, and therefore they are set up separately and spoken of (not merged into the Three Jewels).
述誠品：佛何以親自印可帝釋所歎，般若「在世」何義，三寶又何以廣攝萬善
在問什麼
這一品的品名叫「述誠」（所釋的《大品》同品作『述成』）。「述」是述說、承接前語；『誠（成）』是確認、印可。品名的眼目，正落在論主開篇那一句：前品帝釋自行格量塔與般若之功德，說「供養般若，福德甚多」；帝釋既非一切智人，其所說或恐有謬，於是佛親自述說並印可他的話，答一句「如是！如是！」——這一『述而成之』，便是全品得名之由。一部品，就環繞著佛承帝釋之歎、再為之廣顯般若功德這一樞紐而展開。
底下壓著幾個難處。第一，經初一連五輪說「皆從般若波羅蜜中生」，從諸佛一切智、菩薩六度，到十八空、道品、五眼、三乘——為什麼一切佛法都要歸到般若這一源頭？第二，前品已作塔與般若的校量，本品何以又說受持般若之福「過出前供養七寶塔」，乃至「算數譬喻所不能及」？第三，也是全品義理最深的一問：般若的體相明明是「一切諸觀滅，語言道斷，不生不滅，如虛空相」，這樣一個寂滅無相之法，怎麼又說它「在於世」、還說它一在世三寶便不滅？第四，三寶既已總攝一切善人善法，經文何以又要另列十善道、四禪乃至一切種智，豈非重複？這幾問，正是本品經、論要一一交代的。
逐段解明
一、品名「述誠」之義——佛述說並印可帝釋之格量。 論主釋經不從大義起，先點明本品在全經脈絡中的位置：上一品帝釋自行格量，稱「供養般若，福德甚多」。此時座中「更有大天」，心生疑慮——帝釋畢竟「非一切智人」，所歎般若之福或恐言過而有錯，若無印證，眾心難安。於是佛不別開新義，只親口承接帝釋之言而確認之，答「如是！如是！」。這一「述」（承前語）、一『誠／成』（印可使定），正是品名的本義：不是佛新說一法，而是佛述說並成立帝釋已說之法，令天眾之疑得釋、令般若之福得信。全品的性格由此定調——它是一品『印可之品』，非『新議之品』。
二、一切佛法皆從般若中生——五輪「皆從般若波羅蜜中生」。 佛承帝釋之歎，先廣顯般若功德之所以無邊。書寫、受持、讀誦、正憶念般若，又以華香、瓔珞、擣香、澤香、幢蓋、伎樂供養，便「當得無量無數、不可思議、不可稱量、無邊福德」。何以福德如此無邊？經以一串排比作答：諸佛的一切智、一切種智，菩薩的禪、精進、忍辱、持戒、布施六波羅蜜，內空乃至無法有法空、四念處乃至十八不共法，諸佛五眼，成就眾生、淨佛世界、道種智、一切種智、諸佛之法，乃至聲聞、辟支佛、佛三乘——凡此一切佛法，「皆從般若波羅蜜中生」。這連續五輪的同一句，是全品經文的義理骨幹：般若是一切佛法的生處與根源，故供養般若即是供養一切佛法之本，福德所以無邊。
三、受持般若過出供養七寶塔——承前品塔校量之義。 經接著把這無邊之福，放回前品塔與般若的校量脈絡裡再作一結：受持供養般若之福，「過出前供養七寶塔」，縱以「百分、千分、千億萬分」相比，「乃至算數譬喻所不能及」。這一段不是另起爐灶，正是承前品塔校量而來——七寶塔所供養的是佛的舍利之身，般若所生的卻是諸佛之所以為佛的一切智；供養根源之福，自然過出供養枝末之福，故校量懸絕如此。
四、般若在世則三寶不滅、萬善顯於世。 顯過福德之後，經以三重「若般若波羅蜜在於世者」把般若之在世與世間一切善法的存續繫在一起：其一，「佛寶、法寶、比丘僧寶終不滅」——三寶得以住世；其二，十善道、四禪、四無量心、四無色定、六波羅蜜、四念處乃至十八不共法、一切智一切種智「皆現於世」——出世諸法得以顯現；其三，世間便有剎利、婆羅門、居士諸大姓，四天王天乃至阿迦尼吒諸天，須陀洹果乃至阿羅漢果、辟支佛道、菩薩、無上佛道、轉法輪、成就眾生淨佛世界——人天善趣與四果三乘得以相續。一句話：般若若在世間，則上自諸佛、下至人天的一切善法皆隨之而存。這正把第二段一切佛法皆從般若中生的義，推到『般若在則萬善在』的結論上。
五、難一之答——般若體性常住，「在世」是因中說果。 這是全品義理最要緊的一結。有人以般若的實相立難：般若相既是「一切諸觀滅，語言道斷，不生不滅，如虛空相」，這樣一個離相寂滅之法，本無所謂在世不在世，怎麼又說它一在世三寶便不滅？論主分兩層答。先就體性說：般若波羅蜜的體性，「有佛、無佛，常住不滅」——它不因佛之出世而生、不因佛之滅度而滅，本自常住，說它「滅」原無所滅。次就名言說：那麼經裡說的「在世」究竟指什麼？指的是「般若經卷，可修習讀誦者」——是那可以書寫讀誦的經卷在世，不是那離相的實相有出沒。以可修可誦的經卷（因），寄名為般若（果），這叫「因中說果」。認清這一層，前難自消：寂滅的是實相之體，在世的是文字之經，二者不相礙。
六、深井喻——實相如深井，經卷如綆。 論以一喻申明上義：譬如井本甚深，只因汲水的繩索（綆）太短，搆不到水，人便說『井水失了』，其實井水一直都在，失的只是及水之緣。般若波羅蜜的實相就像那口深井之水，本自常在；經卷則像那條繩索，是及取實相的憑藉。行者若不能書寫、修習經卷，繩索既斷，便說般若「滅」了——可滅的只是修習之緣，深井之水（實相）何嘗有損。這一喻把第五段『體常住、經在世』的分別說得極明白：說滅說在，皆就綆（經卷之緣）而言，非就水（實相之體）而言。
七、難二之答——三寶廣攝萬善，佛寶、法寶、僧寶各有所指。 又有人以三寶之攝立難：三寶既已盡攝一切善人善法，經何必又別列十善乃至一切種智？論主答：這些法與道，「皆廣解三寶中義」——不是三寶之外別有一批善法，正是把三寶所含之義展開來廣說而已。隨即論主逐一界定三寶之體：「佛寶」是佛法所攝的「無學五眾」（佛以無漏五蘊所成之聖身）；「法寶」是四諦中的第三諦，即涅槃（滅諦），並攝除四沙門果所收的學無學功德之外、其餘辟支佛與菩薩的功德；「僧寶」則是四向四果的學無學五眾（賢聖僧以無漏五蘊所成之身）。三寶如此界定，則經前所列的十善、諸禪、道品、一切智等，或屬佛法、或屬賢聖之所修證，無不可以收歸三寶之義中——別列而說，正為廣解，非為重出。
八、餘者皆道之方便門，是故別說。 末後論主為那別列之法補一結語：其餘的十善道、四禪、四無量等，「皆是道方便門」——它們是趣向聖道的方便階漸，尚未即是三寶之正體，所以經文才把它們從三寶中提出來、另外別說。這一句與第七段合看，義乃圓足：可攝歸三寶之義者，廣解於三寶之中；屬趣道方便而未成正體者，則別立而列——一攝一別，各有分際，於是『三寶已攝，何以復說』之難盡釋。
不要讀錯
不要把「述誠」讀成佛在另發一番新論。品名的「述」正是承前、『誠（成）』正是印可——佛所作的，只是述說並成立帝釋已歎之言。認清這一層，才知本品是一品『印可之品』，佛語處處扣著帝釋前說而確認之，不是憑空另起爐灶。
不要把般若「在於世」讀成那離相寂滅的實相有生有滅、有來有去。論說得分明：般若體性「有佛、無佛，常住不滅」，說「在世」者只是「般若經卷可修習讀誦者」——在世的是文字經卷，常住的是實相之體。深井喻更把話點死：說井水失、說般若滅，都只就那條太短的繩索（經卷之緣）說，井水（實相）何嘗真失。若把「在世」「滅」讀到實相體上去，便全盤讀反了。
不要把經文別列十善乃至一切種智，讀成與三寶重複、或讀成三寶之外別有一批善法。論說得清楚，這些「皆廣解三寶中義」——是把三寶所含展開來說；而其中「皆是道方便門」者則另行別說。一是廣解、一是別立，各有分際，不是床上疊床的重出。
修行作用
這一品先給用功人立一個根本的信解：一切佛法「皆從般若波羅蜜中生」。日常持誦供養，最易把功德寄在香華幢蓋這些外相上；本品卻把無邊之福的根源，一路收歸到般若這一源頭——供養般若之所以過出供養七寶塔者，正因所供的是諸佛之所以成佛的一切智之本。學這一品，供養讀誦之際，心要認得所貴在般若、不在外飾。
般若「在世」是因中說果一義，尤堪用功人自省。手上有經卷可讀可誦，固然是般若在世的憑藉；但若只在文字綆索上盤桓、不肯真去書寫修習，那口深井之水終究搆不到手。論以「行者不能書寫、修習故言滅」一句提醒：般若之在不在世，不在經卷之有無，而在自己修習之緣的續與斷——莫執綆而忘水，莫守經卷而不修實相。
三寶廣攝萬善這一節，可作日用歸依的一面照子。十善、諸禪、道品、一切智，看似繁多，論一一收歸佛、法、僧三寶之義；而未成正體者則判為「道方便門」。用功人於萬善之中，既要識得何者可歸依為究竟之三寶、何者只是趣道之方便階漸，便不致把方便錯認作究竟，也不致把究竟看輕為一善。
承衍
本品的骨幹，是一條由「述誠」二字串起的線：佛承帝釋「供養般若，福德甚多」之歎而親口印可，遂為之廣顯般若功德——一切佛法皆從般若中生，故受持供養之福過出供養七寶塔；復以『般若在世則三寶不滅、萬善現於世』一結，把般若之在世繫於一切善法之存續。中經二難二答收束義理：一答明般若體性常住、「在世」乃因中說果，以深井綆水之喻定其分際；二答明三寶廣攝萬善，逐一界定佛法僧三寶之體，而以『餘皆道方便門，是故別說』判其攝別。一品之義，總在『佛述而成之』一事——不新立法，只承前印可、廣為顯發，令天眾於般若無邊之福得決定信。
品名一事，可附帶一提。本品在本論底本題作「述誠品」，而所釋的《大品般若》同品傳世作『述成品』（成字），古來經錄目錄亦成、誠二字互見，同一書之內尚有兩處用字不一者。『述成』取承前印可、述說而成之義，『述誠』則兼取誠信印可之意，二名所指是同一事，古來傳譯稱謂互見參差，並錄以備參，不判其孰是；本版讀本從本論底本，題作「述誠品」。
Declaring the Truth: Why the Buddha Himself Seals What Śakra Praised, What It Means That Prajñā Is ‘In the World’, and Why the Three Jewels Broadly Gather In the Myriad Goods
What Is Being Asked
This chapter’s name is 「述誠」 tr. "declaring the truth" (in the Larger Sūtra that it explains, the same chapter is called ‘declaring and confirming’). 「述」 tr. "Declaring" means to state, taking up the words that went before; ‘truth (confirming)’ means to affirm, to seal. The eye of the chapter’s name falls exactly on the treatise-author’s opening sentence: in the previous chapter Śakra himself weighed the merit of stūpas against that of prajñā, saying 「供養般若，福德甚多」 tr. "making offerings to prajñā, the merit is very great"; since Śakra is not an omniscient person, what he said might contain error, and so the Buddha himself declared and sealed his words, answering with one line, 「如是！如是！」 tr. "Just so! Just so!"—this ‘declaring it and so confirming it’ is precisely how the whole chapter gets its name. The entire chapter unfolds around this one pivot: the Buddha takes up Śakra’s praise and then, for his sake, broadly displays the merit of prajñā.
Several difficulties press underneath. First, at the opening of the sūtra, five rounds in a row say 「皆從般若波羅蜜中生」 tr. "all are born from within prajñāpāramitā"—from the omniscience of the buddhas and the six perfections of the bodhisattvas, to the eighteen emptinesses, the limbs of the path, the five eyes, and the three vehicles: why must all the dharmas of the Buddha be traced back to prajñā as their one source? Second, the previous chapter has already weighed stūpas against prajñā; why does this chapter say again that the merit of receiving and upholding prajñā 「過出前供養七寶塔」 tr. "exceeds the earlier offering of stūpas of the seven jewels," even to the point that 「算數譬喻所不能及」 tr. "calculation and simile cannot reach it"? Third—and this is the question of deepest doctrinal meaning in the whole chapter—the substance and mark of prajñā is plainly 「一切諸觀滅，語言道斷，不生不滅，如虛空相」 tr. "all contemplations cease, the path of speech is cut off, not arising and not ceasing, like the mark of space"; how, then, can such a dharma, quiescent and signless, be said to be 「在於世」 tr. "present in the world," and further be said to be such that once it is in the world the Three Jewels do not perish? Fourth, since the Three Jewels already gather in all wholesome persons and wholesome dharmas, why does the sūtra list separately the ten wholesome paths, the four dhyānas, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds—is this not repetition? These few questions are exactly what the sūtra and the treatise of this chapter set out to account for one by one.
Passage by Passage
1. The meaning of the chapter name 「述誠」 tr. "declaring the truth" —the Buddha declares and seals Śakra’s weighing. In explaining the sūtra, the treatise-author does not begin from the great meaning, but first points out this chapter’s place in the context of the whole sūtra: in the previous chapter Śakra himself carried out the weighing, declaring 「供養般若，福德甚多」 tr. "making offerings to prajñā, the merit is very great." At this point, in the assembly, 「更有大天」 tr. "there were further great gods," in whose minds doubts arose—Śakra is after all 「非一切智人」 tr. "not an omniscient person," and the merit of prajñā that he praised might be overstated and mistaken; without confirmation, the minds of the assembly could hardly be at ease. So the Buddha does not open a separate new meaning; he only takes up Śakra’s words with his own mouth and affirms them, answering 「如是！如是！」 tr. "Just so! Just so!" This 「述」 tr. "declaring" (taking up the preceding words) and this ‘truth / confirming’ (sealing so that it is settled) are the root meaning of the chapter’s name: it is not that the Buddha speaks a new dharma, but that the Buddha declares and establishes the dharma Śakra has already spoken, so that the doubts of the assembly of gods are resolved and the merit of prajñā is believed. The character of the whole chapter is set by this—it is a ‘chapter of sealing,’ not a ‘chapter of new argument.’
2. All the dharmas of the Buddha are born from within prajñā—the five rounds of 「皆從般若波羅蜜中生」 tr. "all are born from within prajñāpāramitā" . Taking up Śakra’s praise, the Buddha first broadly displays why the merit of prajñā is boundless. One who writes out, receives and upholds, reads and recites, and rightly recollects prajñā, and further makes offerings to it with flowers and incense, necklaces, powdered incense, scented ointment, banners and canopies, and music, 「當得無量無數、不可思議、不可稱量、無邊福德」 tr. "will gain merit immeasurable, innumerable, inconceivable, incalculable, and boundless." Why is the merit so boundless? The sūtra answers with a string of parallel clauses: the omniscience and the omniscience of all kinds of the buddhas; the six perfections of the bodhisattvas—meditation, vigour, patience, morality, and giving; inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent dharmas and existent dharmas; the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; the five eyes of the buddhas; bringing beings to maturity, purifying buddha-worlds, the knowledge of the kinds of paths, the omniscience of all kinds, the dharmas of the buddhas; and so on up to the three vehicles of the śrāvaka, the pratyekabuddha, and the Buddha—all these dharmas of the Buddha 「皆從般若波羅蜜中生」 tr. "are all born from within prajñāpāramitā." This same sentence, repeated through seven successive rounds, is the doctrinal backbone of the chapter’s sūtra text: prajñā is the birthplace and root-source of all the dharmas of the Buddha, and so making offerings to prajñā is making offerings to the root of all the dharmas of the Buddha—that is why the merit is boundless.
3. Receiving and upholding prajñā exceeds offerings to stūpas of the seven jewels—continuing the meaning of the previous chapter’s weighing of stūpas. The sūtra then sets this boundless merit back into the context of the previous chapter’s weighing of stūpas against prajñā, and draws one more conclusion: the merit of receiving, upholding, and making offerings to prajñā 「過出前供養七寶塔」 tr. "exceeds the earlier offering of stūpas of the seven jewels"; even compared by 「百分、千分、千億萬分」 tr. "a hundredfold, a thousandfold, a thousand koṭi ten-thousandfold," it is such that 「乃至算數譬喻所不能及」 tr. "even calculation and simile cannot reach it." This passage does not start afresh; it comes precisely from the previous chapter’s weighing of stūpas—what the stūpa of the seven jewels receives offerings for is the Buddha’s body of relics, whereas what prajñā gives birth to is the omniscience by which the buddhas are buddhas; the merit of making offerings to the root-source naturally exceeds the merit of making offerings to the branches, and so the weighing shows so vast a gap.
4. When prajñā is in the world, the Three Jewels do not perish, and the myriad goods appear in the world. Having shown the merit that surpasses, the sūtra, with three layers of 「若般若波羅蜜在於世者」 tr. "if prajñāpāramitā is present in the world," binds the presence of prajñā in the world to the continued existence of all wholesome dharmas in the world. First, 「佛寶、法寶、比丘僧寶終不滅」 tr. "the Buddha Jewel, the Dharma Jewel, and the Jewel of the Bhikṣu Saṅgha will never perish"—the Three Jewels are able to abide in the world. Second, the ten wholesome paths, the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, the six perfections, the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, omniscience and the omniscience of all kinds 「皆現於世」 tr. "all appear in the world"—the world-transcending dharmas are able to become manifest. Third, the world then has the great clans of kṣatriyas, brahmins, and householders, the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha gods, the fruit of srota-āpanna and so on up to the fruit of arhat, the path of the pratyekabuddha, the bodhisattvas, the unsurpassed Buddha path, the turning of the Dharma wheel, and the bringing of beings to maturity and the purifying of buddha-worlds—the good destinies of humans and gods, and the four fruits and the three vehicles, are able to continue. In a word: if prajñā is in the world, then all wholesome dharmas, from the buddhas above down to humans and gods below, remain along with it. This carries the meaning of the second passage—that all the dharmas of the Buddha are born from within prajñā—on to the conclusion that ‘where prajñā is, the myriad goods are.’
5. The answer to the first difficulty—the nature of prajñā abides always, and 「在世」 tr. "being in the world" is speaking of the result in the cause. This is the most crucial knot of doctrinal meaning in the whole chapter. Someone raises a difficulty from the real mark of prajñā: since the mark of prajñā is 「一切諸觀滅，語言道斷，不生不滅，如虛空相」 tr. "all contemplations cease, the path of speech is cut off, not arising and not ceasing, like the mark of space," such a dharma, apart from marks and quiescent, has from the start nothing that could be called being in the world or not being in the world; how, then, can it be said that once it is in the world the Three Jewels do not perish? The treatise-author answers in two layers. First, in terms of its nature: the nature of prajñāpāramitā, 「有佛、無佛，常住不滅」 tr. "whether there is a Buddha or no Buddha, abides always and does not perish"—it does not arise because a Buddha appears in the world, nor perish because a Buddha passes into nirvāṇa; it abides always of itself, and when one speaks of it as 「滅」 tr. "perishing," there was never anything to perish. Second, in terms of names and words: then what exactly does the 「在世」 tr. "being in the world" spoken of in the sūtra refer to? It refers to 「般若經卷，可修習讀誦者」 tr. "the scroll of the prajñā sūtra, which can be studied, read, and recited"—it is the scroll that can be written out, read, and recited that is in the world, not the real mark, apart from marks, that appears and disappears. Taking the scroll that can be studied and recited (the cause) and lending it the name prajñā (the result)—this is called 「因中說果」 tr. "speaking of the result in the cause." Once this layer is seen clearly, the earlier difficulty dissolves of itself: what is quiescent is the substance of the real mark; what is in the world is the sūtra of written words; the two do not obstruct each other.
6. The simile of the deep well—the real mark is like a deep well, the scroll like a rope. The treatise makes the above meaning plain with a simile: it is as if a well is very deep, and only because the cord for drawing water (the well-rope) is too short to reach the water, people say ‘the well-water is lost’; in fact the well-water has been there all along, and what is lost is only the condition for reaching the water. The real mark of prajñāpāramitā is like the water of that deep well, always present of itself; the scroll is like that rope, the means by which one reaches and draws up the real mark. If practitioners cannot write out and study the scroll, the rope being broken, they say that prajñā has 「滅」 tr. "perished"—what can perish is only the condition of study; when has the water of the deep well (the real mark) ever been harmed? This simile makes the distinction of the fifth passage—‘the substance abides always, the sūtra is in the world’—utterly clear: speaking of perishing and speaking of being present are both said with respect to the rope (the condition of the scroll), not with respect to the water (the substance of the real mark).
7. The answer to the second difficulty—the Three Jewels broadly gather in the myriad goods, and the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha Jewels each have their own referent. Someone further raises a difficulty from what the Three Jewels gather in: since the Three Jewels already gather in without remainder all wholesome persons and wholesome dharmas, why must the sūtra list separately the ten wholesome paths and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds? The treatise-author answers that these dharmas and these paths 「皆廣解三寶中義」 tr. "all broadly explain the meaning within the Three Jewels"—it is not that there is a separate batch of wholesome dharmas outside the Three Jewels; it is only that the meaning contained in the Three Jewels is unfolded and spoken of broadly. The treatise-author then defines the substance of the Three Jewels one by one: the 「佛寶」 tr. "Buddha Jewel" is the 「無學五眾」 tr. "five aggregates of one beyond training" gathered in the Buddha’s dharmas (the noble body the Buddha has formed from the five aggregates without outflows); the 「法寶」 tr. "Dharma Jewel" is the third of the four truths, namely nirvāṇa (the truth of cessation), and it also gathers in the remaining merits of the pratyekabuddhas and of the bodhisattvas, apart from the merits of training and beyond training included in the four śramaṇa fruits; the 「僧寶」 tr. "Saṅgha Jewel" is the five aggregates, in training and beyond training, of the four directions and four fruits (the body the Saṅgha of the worthy and noble ones has formed from the five aggregates without outflows). With the Three Jewels defined in this way, the ten wholesome paths, the dhyānas, the limbs of the path, omniscience, and the rest listed earlier in the sūtra—whether they belong to the Buddha’s dharmas or to what the worthy and noble ones cultivate and realise—can all without exception be gathered back into the meaning of the Three Jewels: listing them separately serves precisely for broad explanation, not for a second statement of the same.
8. The rest are all gates of skilful means to the path, and therefore they are spoken of separately. At the very end, the treatise-author adds a concluding word for the dharmas listed separately: the remaining ten wholesome paths, four dhyānas, four immeasurables, and the like 「皆是道方便門」 tr. "are all gates of skilful means to the path"—they are the gradual steps of skilful means that lead toward the noble path, and are not yet the proper substance of the Three Jewels itself, and that is why the sūtra draws them out of the Three Jewels and speaks of them separately. Read together with the seventh passage, this sentence makes the meaning complete: what can be gathered back into the meaning of the Three Jewels is broadly explained within the Three Jewels; what belongs to the skilful means leading to the path and has not yet become the proper substance is set up and listed separately—one gathered in, one set apart, each with its own boundary; and so the difficulty ‘the Three Jewels already gather these in, so why speak of them again?’ is entirely resolved.
Do Not Misread
Do not read 「述誠」 tr. "declaring the truth" as the Buddha putting forward a separate new discourse. The 「述」 tr. "declaring" of the chapter’s name is precisely taking up what went before, and ‘truth (confirming)’ is precisely sealing—what the Buddha does is only to declare and establish the words Śakra has already praised. Only by seeing this layer clearly does one know that this chapter is a ‘chapter of sealing’: the Buddha’s words at every point hold fast to what Śakra said before and affirm it; they do not start afresh out of nothing.
Do not read prajñā’s 「在於世」 tr. "being present in the world" as meaning that the real mark, apart from marks and quiescent, arises and ceases, comes and goes. The treatise says it plainly: the nature of prajñā 「有佛、無佛，常住不滅」 tr. "whether there is a Buddha or no Buddha, abides always and does not perish," and what is called 「在世」 tr. "being in the world" is only 「般若經卷可修習讀誦者」 tr. "the scroll of the prajñā sūtra, which can be studied, read, and recited"—what is in the world is the scroll of written words; what abides always is the substance of the real mark. The simile of the deep well pins the words down further: saying the well-water is lost, saying prajñā has perished—both are said only of that too-short rope (the condition of the scroll); when has the well-water (the real mark) ever truly been lost? If one reads 「在世」 tr. "being in the world" and 「滅」 tr. "perishing" onto the substance of the real mark, one has read the whole thing backwards.
Do not read the sūtra’s separate listing of the ten wholesome paths and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds as a repetition of the Three Jewels, or as meaning that there is a separate batch of wholesome dharmas outside the Three Jewels. The treatise says it clearly: these 「皆廣解三寶中義」 tr. "all broadly explain the meaning within the Three Jewels"—they unfold what the Three Jewels contain; and those among them that 「皆是道方便門」 tr. "are all gates of skilful means to the path" are spoken of separately. The one is broad explanation, the other is setting apart; each has its own boundary, and it is not a bed piled upon a bed, a second statement of the same.
Bearing on Practice
This chapter first sets up for the one who applies effort a fundamental faith and understanding: all the dharmas of the Buddha 「皆從般若波羅蜜中生」 tr. "are all born from within prajñāpāramitā." In daily upholding, recitation, and offering, it is all too easy to lodge one’s merit in outward marks such as incense, flowers, banners, and canopies; this chapter, however, gathers the root-source of boundless merit all the way back to prajñā as its one source—the reason making offerings to prajñā exceeds making offerings to stūpas of the seven jewels is precisely that what is offered to is the root of the omniscience by which the buddhas become buddhas. Studying this chapter, at the moment of making offerings and of reading and reciting, the mind must recognise that what is precious lies in prajñā, not in outward adornment.
The meaning that prajñā’s 「在世」 tr. "being in the world" is speaking of the result in the cause is especially worth the self-examination of the one who applies effort. Having a scroll in hand that can be read and recited is indeed the means by which prajñā is in the world; but if one only lingers on the rope of written words and is unwilling truly to write it out and study it, the water of that deep well will never come within reach. The treatise gives a reminder with the sentence 「行者不能書寫、修習故言滅」 tr. "because practitioners cannot write it out and study it, one says it has perished": whether prajñā is in the world or not lies not in whether there is a scroll, but in whether one’s own condition of study continues or is broken off—do not grasp the rope and forget the water; do not guard the scroll and fail to cultivate the real mark.
The section on the Three Jewels broadly gathering in the myriad goods can serve as a mirror for the taking of refuge in daily life. The ten wholesome paths, the dhyānas, the limbs of the path, omniscience—they look many and various, yet the treatise gathers each of them back into the meaning of the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha; and those that have not yet become the proper substance it judges to be 「道方便門」 tr. "gates of skilful means to the path." Among the myriad goods, the one who applies effort must recognise which can be taken refuge in as the ultimate Three Jewels and which are only the gradual steps of skilful means leading to the path; then one will neither mistake skilful means for the ultimate, nor make light of the ultimate as merely one good among others.
Further Resonances
The backbone of this chapter is a single thread strung on the two words 「述誠」 tr. "declaring the truth": the Buddha takes up Śakra’s praise, 「供養般若，福德甚多」 tr. "making offerings to prajñā, the merit is very great," and seals it with his own mouth, and then for its sake broadly displays the merit of prajñā—all the dharmas of the Buddha are born from within prajñā, and so the merit of receiving, upholding, and making offerings exceeds that of making offerings to stūpas of the seven jewels; and further, with the one conclusion ‘when prajñā is in the world, the Three Jewels do not perish and the myriad goods appear in the world,’ it binds prajñā’s being in the world to the continued existence of all wholesome dharmas. In the middle, two difficulties and two answers gather up the doctrinal meaning: the first answer makes clear that the nature of prajñā abides always and that 「在世」 tr. "being in the world" is speaking of the result in the cause, fixing the boundary with the simile of the deep well, the rope, and the water; the second answer makes clear that the Three Jewels broadly gather in the myriad goods, defines one by one the substance of the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and with ‘the rest are all gates of skilful means to the path, and therefore they are spoken of separately’ judges what is gathered in and what is set apart. The meaning of the whole chapter lies altogether in the one matter ‘the Buddha declares it and so confirms it’—establishing no new dharma, only taking up what went before, sealing it, and broadly bringing it to light, so that the assembly of gods may gain decisive faith in the boundless merit of prajñā.
The matter of the chapter’s name may be mentioned in passing. In this treatise’s base text the chapter is titled 「述誠品」 tr. "the chapter Declaring the Truth," while the same chapter of the Larger Sūtra that it explains has come down under the title ‘the chapter Declaring and Confirming’ (with the character for ‘confirming’); the sūtra catalogues and registers of old likewise show the two characters, ‘confirming’ and ‘truth,’ alternating, and even within a single book there are two places where the wording differs. ‘Declaring and confirming’ takes the meaning of taking up what went before and sealing it, declaring it and so bringing it to completion; ‘declaring the truth’ also takes in the sense of sealing in truthful faith; the two names refer to one and the same matter, and from of old the designations in transmission and translation have been seen to differ; they are recorded side by side for reference, without judging which is right; this edition’s reading text follows the treatise’s base text and titles it 「述誠品」 tr. "Declaring the Truth."
考據Apparatus
一、科判
本品在《大智度論》釋《大品般若》之次第中屬〈釋餘品〉一段，繫卷五十七，為卷五十七之次品。前品〈寶塔校量品第三十二〉別起卷五十七、開卷之殼並列卷端題與造者譯者二行署名，本品承其卷未訖而起——品身正文終於「餘十善道、四禪、四無量等皆是道方便門，是故別說。」〔T25 0468a07〕，本品之〈品〉隨即閉合，緊接卷末題「大智度論卷第五十七」〔T25 0468a09〕，故本品身兼卷五十七之訖；次品〈勸受持品第三十四〉別起卷五十八〔T25 0468a12〕。本品之界單純：品身 mulu 與卷端 jhead 同繫〔T25 0467b21〕（同行），因非卷首品（前品已開卷殼），本品不重出卷題、不重出二行署名——此與前品〈寶塔校量品〉之「卷首品先起卷殼、卷端題與署名別繫、品身 mulu 相隔五行」不同型，而與同卷承續之品（如前卷〈滅諍亂品〉承〈顧視品〉）之「jhead 與 mulu 同位」同型，據實誌之。
品內結構一【經】一【論】交替，全品作一單元讀之，不拆（純漢字七百五十八，遠不及分拆之量）。經〔0467b21–0467c19〕佛告帝釋書寫、受持、供養般若當得無邊福德，五輪「皆從般若波羅蜜中生」，福過供養七寶塔，若般若在世則三寶不滅、諸善法現於世；論〔0467c20–0468a09〕以「釋曰」開篇，承前品帝釋格量而述佛之印可，復以問答二番釋「般若在世／三寶不滅」與「三寶廣攝諸法」二疑，收品兼收卷。本品一經一論之數，較前品〈寶塔校量品〉之三經三論、前卷〈滅諍亂品〉之二經二論皆簡——為釋餘品諸品中結構最簡之一，據底本各自定，不沿他品之格局。
品內二標籤皆恰在塊首，異於前品之鑲嵌型過渡。【經】標籤繫〔T25 0467b22〕，緊接品題「大智度論釋述誠品第三十三」之後、經文首句「爾時，佛告釋提桓因」之前，獨立成塊。【論】標籤繫〔T25 0467c20〕，獨立成塊，塊首緊接「釋曰」。前品〈寶塔校量品〉之【經】二標籤皆鑲嵌於段內（一鑲品題署名之後、一鑲論①末句之中），本品此二標籤則皆落塊首，無鑲嵌型過渡結構，據實誌其相異。
說者之結構，本品最為單純。論之開篇語唯一「釋曰」〔T25 0467c20〕（前品〈寶塔校量品〉論①②以「問曰」起、論③以「釋曰」起，前卷〈滅諍亂品〉論②逕以「問曰」起——本品則以「釋曰」開篇，據實誌其字面）；「復次」全品零見。論開篇一段敘事過渡——「上帝釋答佛，言：『供養般若，福德甚多。』更有大天，以帝釋非一切智人故，所說或錯，是以佛印可所說，言：『如是！如是！』」〔T25 0467c20〕——承前品帝釋自陳供養般若之格量，述佛之印可，即品名「述誠／述成」之義理本旨（見第二目、第六目）。其下問答二番，逐一配對，無孤問孤答：問①〔T25 0467c23〕／答①〔T25 0467c25〕，問②〔T25 0468a01〕／答②〔T25 0468a03〕。本品無帝釋覆講、無連環反問之複雜說者結構，符合「佛述說並印可、非新開議題」之品旨。
二、術語考
述誠·述成（品名之所繫）。 本品品名之義，論開篇具之。前品〈寶塔校量品〉帝釋自行格量塔與般若之功德，帝釋非一切智人，其格量恐有謬，故佛親自述說並印可之——「上帝釋答佛，言：『供養般若，福德甚多。』更有大天，以帝釋非一切智人故，所說或錯，是以佛印可所說，言：『如是！如是！』」〔T25 0467c20〕。「述」者佛述說帝釋之格量，「誠／成」者印可其說之不謬（吉藏疏「佛述成天主格量」，見第六目）。品名底本作「述誠」（見第四目），所釋經及多數傳本作「述成」，二字並存，義皆歸於「佛述說並確認帝釋之說」。
三寶不滅·般若在世。 經末之樞語。經明「若般若波羅蜜在於世者，佛寶、法寶、比丘僧寶終不滅」〔T25 0467c10〕，復言般若在世則十善道乃至一切智一切種智「皆現於世」、世間便有剎利大姓乃至無上佛道。論釋其義——「般若波羅蜜體性，有佛、無佛，常住不滅」〔T25 0467c25〕；此云「在世」者，非謂般若體性有生滅在不在，乃「所謂般若經卷，可修習讀誦者，是因中說果」〔T25 0467c26〕——以般若之果（可讀誦之經卷）說般若之在世，非般若體性有在不在。此為答①之樞義，深井喻明之（見第三目）。
三寶廣釋（義理錨點）。 答②之奠基語。經既言般若在世則三寶不滅、又言般若在世則世間有十善道乃至一切種智，論乃辨三寶與諸善法之攝——「此諸法及諸道，皆廣解三寶中義」〔T25 0468a03〕：「佛寶者，佛法所攝無學五眾」〔T25 0468a04〕；「法寶者，第三諦，所謂涅槃」〔T25 0468a05〕，除四沙門所攝之學、無學功德，其餘殘辟支佛功德、菩薩功德亦攝於法寶；「僧寶者，四向、四果學、無學五眾」〔T25 0468a07〕。餘十善道、四禪、四無量等，則「皆是道方便門，是故別說」〔T25 0468a08〕——非別於三寶，乃入道之方便門，故別立而說。
無邊福德。 經首讚頌之樞語。書寫受持供養般若者「當得無量無數、不可思議、不可稱量、無邊福德」〔T25 0467b25〕。吉藏疏據此句立本品別稱「無邊福德」（見第四目、第六目）。「無邊福德」一詞於本論全書非本品獨有（另五見，見第六目），故僅為別稱命名之背景，不升列為本品之獨有措辭。
六波羅蜜（略譯）。 經枚舉六度用略譯與音譯——禪、毘梨耶、羼提、尸羅、檀。此六度略譯與所釋經之音譯全式「禪那」「檀那」有系統性之異（本論略「那」尾，所釋經補「那」尾），本品經段有一輪六度枚舉句，此異即現，與前諸品所誌吻合，且本品獲兩側對勘最強之內證（第四目發現一）。
三、譬喻與故事
《大智度論》以譬喻著稱，本品系列最小、一經一論，其喻僅論①一用，然為答①「三寶不滅／般若在世」表面矛盾之關鍵。
深井喻（本品獨有樞喻）。 論①釋「般若體性常住不滅、而『在世』者是因中說果」之義——「譬如井深，綆短不及，便言失井，井實不失；般若波羅蜜實相如深井，經卷名為綆，行者不能書寫、修習故言滅。」〔T25 0467c27〕。井深而綆（汲水之繩）短，汲之不及，便妄言井已失，其實井未嘗失；般若波羅蜜之實相如深井，經卷如綆，行者不能書寫、修習，故言般若滅——實則般若體性常住不滅，所滅者非般若，乃行者不能汲取耳。深井者，般若實相之喻依（不失）；綆者，經卷之喻依（短則汲不及）；綆短妄言失井者，行者不能修習而妄言般若滅之所顯。此喻明「在世」之為因中說果——經卷之在不在，非般若體性之在不在。
四、所釋經文
品名多造：述誠／述成（並錄不判）。 本品品名跨底本、跨傳本、跨經錄目錄呈多種變體，其字之別在「誠」與「成」，惟分佈廣、層級多，為本品第一須辨之事，逐一據底本誌之。
其一，本論（T25n1509）側之底本。卷端 jhead「大智度論釋述誠品第三十三」〔T25 0467b21〕，品身 mulu 作「述誠品」〔T25 0467b21〕（同行同位）。「述誠」取論開篇「佛述說並印可帝釋格量」之義而立名。
其二，本論側之品題句校記（校記見第八目）。品題句「大智度論釋述誠品第三十三」十二字下有整句校勘——聖本作「釋第三十二品」（無描述性品名，僅存品次「三十二」，較顯文「三十三」少一階，見品次離軌條）；石本作「摩訶般若波羅蜜經述成品第二」（以所釋經名「摩訶般若波羅蜜經」為冠，用「成」字，末繫「第二」，此「第二」既非「三十二」亦非「三十三」，語意未解，第八目存疑）；明本作「釋述誠品第三十三」（僅省「大智度論」四字冠首，用「誠」字）。
其三，本論側之內外層校記表面矛盾（本品獨有之發現，逐字並陳不調解）。品題句內另有單字子句校記，於「誠」字下記「誠【大】｜成【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」〔T25 0467b21〕——即本論傳世宋、元、明、宮四本於此字位皆讀「成」。然其二所引外層整句校記之明本異讀卻作「釋述誠品第三十三」（含「誠」而非「成」）——同一明本，於外層整句異讀讀「誠」，於內層單字異讀讀「成」，二層對同一字位給出不同結果。本目如實並陳此表面矛盾，不揣測何者為明本之實際讀法；其成因或係外層「整句替換」與內層「逐字疊加」分屬不同校勘範圍之並存現象（大正藏電子校本同題複合校記與獨立單字校記分屬不同校勘趟次），屬未證假說，不作結論，逐字錄出兩造供參。
其四，所釋經（T223）側之底本。後秦鳩摩羅什譯《摩訶般若波羅蜜經》此品題作「述成品」〔T08 0285c23〕，用「成」字，取論「佛述成帝釋格量」之義。
其五，古德疏及經錄目錄之異名。吉藏《大品經義疏》（X24n0451）用「述成品」〔X24n0451 0269a04〕（成，同 T223），並別記本品別稱「無邊福德」〔X24n0451 0269a05〕（源自經首讚頌句，見第六目）。唐玄逸《大唐開元釋教廣品歷章》（A097n1267）著錄「摩訶般若波羅蜜經述成品第三十二」〔A097n1267 0813a05〕（成，品次少一階，見下）。宋惟白《大藏經綱目指要錄》（C056n1159）同書兩處著錄不一致——卷二作「述成品」〔C056n1159 0139a10〕（成），卷五「釋般若中寶塔品．校量品．述誠品義」〔C056n1159 0185c09〕作「述誠品」（誠，同本論底本）——同書兩處用字不同，並錄不判。
合觀，本品品名跨傳承呈「述誠／述成」二字之多造，其 witness 分佈廣泛偏向「成」——所釋經 T223 底本、本論宋元明宮四本內層子句校記、吉藏 X24、A097、C056 卷二皆讀「成」；僅本論大正／麗藏底本、明本外層整句異讀（見其三之矛盾）、C056 卷五保「誠」字。本版品名從本論底本作「述誠品」（本版品名主軸為本論底本，非所釋經、非次要版本、非經錄）；「述成品」及別稱「無邊福德」諸名皆逐字保留於對讀敘述，不逕改，並錄不判，不代定一名之正。此傳本分佈之新增事實（有底本字據之如實記錄），非重審已裁，並錄供參。
品次離軌與『負一階』計數。 所釋經此品之 mulu 屬性標序作三十四而顯文題「述成品」（顯文品次三十三），屬性較顯文多算一位——延續品二十七以來所釋經電子藏本之既定品次離軌現象（標序＝顯文加一；下品〈勸持品〉所釋經 mulu 標序三十五對顯文三十四，同向）；本論此品 mulu 屬性標序作三十三對顯文品次三十三，編號自洽，下品〈勸受持品〉本論標序三十四對顯文三十四，亦無離軌——此屬所釋經電子藏本單方之結構性現象，本論一側未見，據實誌錄，不判其成因。
別有一『負一階』計數之跡，於本品獲數重見證，惟量級不一，誠實層並陳。其一，本論〔聖〕本品題整句校記以「釋第三十二品」稱本品，較顯文少一階。其二，A097 經錄本品作「述成品第三十二」〔A097n1267 0813a05〕，較本論、所釋經之「第三十三」少一階，且與其著錄鄰品同方向——前品作「舍利寶塔品第三十一」〔A097n1267 0813a02〕（品三十二）、後品作「勸持品第三十三」〔A097n1267 0813a06〕（品三十四），三個連續條目一致少一階，A097 全帙此段採統一之負一階計數。
石本訖界 colophon 之相鄰雙點對照（負二階跳負一階）。 本論〔石〕本卷末跋語復自以品次稱本品訖界，而與前品之石本跋語直接相鄰可比。前品〈寶塔校量品〉末字「報」校記「報【大】｜報釋第三十品竟【石】」〔T25 0467b20〕，石本以「第三十品」稱前品訖界（前品 lem 三十二 → 石之計數三十，即負兩階）；本品末字「說」校記「說【大】｜說釋第三十二品竟【石】」〔T25 0468a08〕，石本以「第三十二品」稱本品訖界（本品 lem 三十三 → 石之計數三十二，即負一階）。此二則出自同一石本、同一 colophon 慣例位置（皆繫於該品最後一實字之後、句末句點前）、時序緊鄰（相隔僅一品），而 offset 量級由負二階跳為負一階——即石本自身計數在 lem 品三十二→三十三之間前進了二階，而 lem 僅前進一階。本目如實記錄此一手相鄰數據對照，不強加調解（成因或係石本自身卷帙分割與大正／麗藏不同、其品界未必與本論底本一一對應，或係前品「報釋第三十品竟」實指他品訖界之重複標記——均屬未證假說，待以石山寺本原卷核校，非本目職權）。此石本之「負二／負一階」量級跳動，與 A097 之全帙穩定負一階屬不同源（不同書、不同編纂脈絡），二者皆誠實並錄，不強加統一解釋。
全量牒經對讀。 本論一段【經】文（剝【經】／【論】標籤後之連續漢字流，〔T08 對讀計本論側五百三十九字、所釋經側五百二十七字〕）與所釋經全品〈述成品〉逐字對校，逐字契合率屬般若諸品對讀之常態；所釋經此品無【論】層，全品皆〈經〉文，逐段皆屬全引，無節引大幅刪削。其差異可分二類：一者純標點慣例差，所釋經編輯層頓號密度較疏，屬編輯層慣例互異，非文字異文；二者系統性異寫及義理或音寫攸關之兩側對勘諸事，如次。
兩側對勘發現一（本品最強·「禪那／檀那」之「那」尾·連二見同 canonical note 皆吻合）。 經枚舉六度處，本論底本作「禪波羅蜜」「檀波羅蜜」（略「那」尾），所釋經底本作「禪那波羅蜜」「檀那波羅蜜」（補「那」尾）。反查所釋經自身校勘：於「禪那」有校記「那【大】＊，〔－〕【聖】＊」〔T08 0286a04〕——即所釋經傳世〔聖〕本於「禪那」之「那」字缺（讀「禪波羅蜜」，與本論底本吻合）；第二見「檀那」之「那」〔T08 0286a05〕為同一 canonical note 之遞歸重引（corresp 同校記），〔聖〕本亦缺「那」。二見皆獲所釋經自身〔聖〕本 witness 直接佐證，皆與本論底本（二見皆無「那」）吻合——此為本品所釋經對讀信度最高、且同一 witness、同一 canonical note、連續二見皆同向之材料，並錄不判。
兩側對勘發現二（「千億萬分」數字段·所釋經聖本與本論底本幾逐字同）。 經校量福德之數字段，本論底本作「百分、千分、千億萬分」〔T25 0467c09〕，所釋經底本作「百分千分萬分百千萬分不及一」〔T08 0286a14〕。反查所釋經自身校勘：於此有校記「（萬分…一）九字【大】，千億萬分【聖】」〔T08 0286a14〕——即所釋經傳世〔聖〕本於此九字片段讀「千億萬分」，與本論底本「千億萬分」幾近逐字相同（僅標點頓號差）。此示所釋經現存底本之擴展句式（「百千萬分不及一」）與本論底本明顯有別，然所釋經自身〔聖〕本 witness 與本論底本高度一致——二本或共享更早之共同底本讀法（較近本論現存底本），所釋經現存底本之擴展句式或為後起編纂層之衍伸（此屬基於雙向 witness 對照之觀察，非結論性文獻學判定，誌錄供參）。並錄不判。
對照組核對（負向對照·並錄不判）。 上二發現之外，本品所釋經對讀別有三類異文，逐一回查本論、所釋經雙向自身校勘，皆無內部傳本異讀之佐證，純屬兩本各自譯例之別，據以誌方法之克制。其一，「世界」／「國土」——本論「淨佛世界」（二見）／所釋經「淨佛國土」，雙側自身校勘於此皆零命中（與前品〈寶塔校量品〉「世界／國土」獲石本佐證者不同，本品此詞無佐證，如實分層）。其二，「擣」／「搗」——本論「擣香」〔T25 0467b25〕／所釋經「搗香」，異體字（音義皆同「以杵舂物」）；本論於此 loc 之校記讀「擣【大】｜揭【石】」（遞歸重引前品 canonical note，見第八目#7），非「搗」，所釋經此處自身無異讀，兩側皆零佐證彼此，純屬異體字差異。其三，「華」／「花」——本論二見皆「華」〔T25 0467b24／0467c08〕／所釋經第一見「華香」、第二見「花香」（所釋經自身兩見用字不一致，非全篇統一「花」），本論於此字之 witness 零命中——並錄不判，且據此修正本論全書慣稱「T223 全用花」之泛稱於本品不成立（本品個案之精確記錄，非翻案 corpus 級判準）。本品兩側對勘之「有佐證／無佐證」比為二比三，與前品〈寶塔校量品〉相近，示範方法之一致克制。
五、般若義眼
本品之眼，在一「述成（佛印可）」與一「常住不滅」——帝釋格量般若之福，佛親自述說並印可；而般若體性常住不滅，其所謂「在世」者乃因中說果，非般若體性有生滅在不在。其義可約為三重（本品系列最小，義約三重，不強敷五）。
其一，佛述說並印可帝釋之格量。承前品〈寶塔校量品〉帝釋自陳「供養般若則為供養三世佛」「一切善法皆入般若」之格量——帝釋非一切智人，其所說或錯，故佛以「如是！如是！」印可其說〔T25 0467c20〕。此「述成」非別開新義，乃佛就前品帝釋之格量述而確認之——品名「述誠／述成」之義理本旨在此。
其二，般若體性常住不滅，「在世」者是因中說果。答①釋一表面之疑——般若波羅蜜相「一切諸觀滅，語言道斷，不生不滅，如虛空相」〔T25 0467c23〕，若如是則般若無在不在可言，今何以說「般若在世者，三寶不滅」？論答：「般若波羅蜜體性，有佛、無佛，常住不滅」〔T25 0467c25〕；此云「在世」者，「所謂般若經卷，可修習讀誦者，是因中說果」〔T25 0467c26〕——以般若之果（可讀誦之經卷）名般若之在世，非般若體性有生滅在不在。深井喻明之：井實不失，綆短則汲不及而妄言失井；般若實相如深井（常住），經卷如綆（可汲之具），行者不能書寫修習故言般若滅，實則般若未嘗滅。般若之在不在，繫乎經卷之流通與行者之修習，非繫乎般若體性——此「在世」之為因中說果，答①之樞義。
其三，三寶廣攝一切善法，餘法為道方便門。答②釋又一疑——既言三寶盡攝一切善人善法，何以復言般若在世則世間有十善道乃至一切種智？論答：「此諸法及諸道，皆廣解三寶中義」〔T25 0468a03〕——佛寶者佛法所攝無學五眾，法寶者第三諦所謂涅槃（除四沙門所攝學無學功德，餘殘辟支佛功德、菩薩功德亦入法寶），僧寶者四向四果學無學五眾；餘十善道、四禪、四無量等「皆是道方便門，是故別說」〔T25 0468a08〕。諸善法非別於三寶而立，乃三寶中義之廣解、入道之方便門，故別立而說之——般若在世則此諸法現於世，正以其皆廣攝於三寶、皆歸般若故。此本品收束之所歸。
六、諸家異釋
《大智度論》本無逐文全疏之傳統，古德引釋率屬據實偏倚。本品古德覆讀有二型：釋所釋經之吉藏疏存完整專章（雖篇幅短），品名之釋、科判之目與本品經論逐一相應；釋論之慧影疏斷層不覆本卷。此外別有經錄、目錄之品名著錄。此目誌錄其所疏所引與本品之對應，不判各家詮釋高下。
吉藏《大品經義疏》（X24n0451）。 於本品之逐文疏，起〔X24n0451 0269a04〕（品題「述成品第三十三」，緊接前品〈大明品／寶塔校量品〉訖界之後），迄〔X24n0451 0269a21〕前（次品〈勸持品第三十四〉起前），覆本品經論全篇，共約三百五十三字（篇幅遠小於前品〈寶塔校量品〉之二千三百餘字，符本品系列最小之量級比例）。吉藏全文用「述成品」名（同所釋經 T223，不用本論底本「述誠品」）——此為古德疏依所釋經品名而非依本論底本命名之第三個連續實例（前卷〈滅諍亂品〉、前品〈寶塔校量品〉、本品），三品連續復現，鞏固「吉藏系統性依循《大品經》（T223）品名體系疏文」之觀察，誌錄供參。其可誌者五。
其一，雙重命名之根據——「亦云無邊福德者，文中佛述天主格量，辯般若有無邊福德故。以自品述成者，即天主格量中第二段佛述天主」〔X24n0451 0269a05〕：別稱「無邊福德」源自經首讚頌句（見第二目「無邊福德」），正名「述成」義為「佛述說並認可（述成）天主〔帝釋〕之格量」，承前品帝釋自行格量之段。其二，帝釋格量疑謬之承接——「上云十方恒沙世界一一眾生起一七寶塔，不及供養般若，更有大天及時會疑也。天主品品天主未得一切智，格量或可有謬，故佛述成」〔X24n0451 0269a07〕，逐字呼應論開篇「上帝釋答佛……更有大天，以帝釋非一切智人故，所說或錯，是以佛印可所說」，義理框架完全一致。其三，科判架構——「頌天主不假明般若福深品二：初直述歎般若功德無邊，次佛格量勝劣。兩中各二」〔X24n0451 0269a09〕，四層科判逐字對應經段先讚歎功德（五輪「皆從般若波羅蜜中生」）、後校量福德（「過出前供養七寶塔百分千分千億萬分」）之推進次序。其四，三重般若辨析——「般若未曾生滅無生滅在不在，今為方便為物故有生滅無生滅在不在……觀有二種：一者無□生滅，無為般若如來智則常在，菩薩觀是無生滅生滅在不常在，文字般若隨法住久遠近故有在不在也。今云般若世，是文字般若也」〔X24n0451 0269a14〕（其中「□」為底本原缺字符，忠實保留，非缺陷）——申論論①「般若體性常住不滅、『在世』者是經卷」之義，吉藏析出三重般若架構（無為般若／如來智——常在；菩薩觀——生滅在不常在；文字般若——隨法住久遠有在不在），較論①之「經卷」「實相」二分更精細，可供義疏層引作深化辨析之材料。其五，疏末收束——「此是一法，不定為物故作此開，何處離文字別有實相耶？」〔X24n0451 0269a19〕，呼應「一法」（般若體性唯一，因應教化方便而開文字／觀智／如來智三層）之框架，緊接本品疏訖、勸持品起。
慧影《大智度論疏》（X46n0791）。 為釋本論之唯一古疏，僅殘卷存世；卷十七訖釋論卷四十五、卷二十一起釋論卷五十九，本品所繫之論卷五十七正落於此二卷之間之缺口內，慧影疏現存諸卷完全未覆本品。全庫回搜「述誠品」「述成品」「無邊福德」等本品獨有詞串，於本品段落皆零命中——慧影疏殘卷不覆本品，延續前諸品所誌之結論，據實誌錄。
均正《大乘四論玄義》（X46n0784）。 全書回搜「述誠品」「述成品」「無邊福德」諸串，本品皆零命中——與前卷〈滅諍亂品〉、前品〈寶塔校量品〉情形相同，本品未見均正之具名徵引，據實誌其闕，不強求。
書目類著錄（品名之佐證）。 唐玄逸《大唐開元釋教廣品歷章》（A097n1267）著錄本品作「摩訶般若波羅蜜經述成品第三十二」〔A097n1267 0813a05〕，用「述成品」名而品次少一階（見第四目）。宋惟白《大藏經綱目指要錄》（C056n1159）兩處著錄——卷二「述成品」〔C056n1159 0139a10〕（摘要「一切智智一切善法。般若中生」，與經段「一切智一切種智皆從般若波羅蜜中生」呼應）、卷五「述誠品」〔C056n1159 0185c09〕（三段式「寶塔品．校量品．述誠品」並列）——同書兩處用字不一（成／誠），並錄不判。二書之著錄，為本品品名多造流通之佐證。
本論自釋（闕如）。 全庫檢本論 body 內「述誠品」一詞，僅本品自身品題〔T25 0467b21〕一見；「述成品」一詞 body 內零見——本品在本論全書中無品外自我互證材料，據實記錄其闕。另檢「無邊福德」一詞，本品內一見〔T25 0467b26〕之外，本論 body 內另五見〔T25 0271c25／0414a28／0501b26／0516a25／0583a09〕，分佈於全書多處，屬本論常見之泛稱用語，非本品獨有措辭，僅供吉藏「無邊福德」別稱命名之背景參照，不升列為「自釋」證據。
近代著述（依例排除）。 凡近代學者之釋，依例排除，不採為古德權威、不引入義理徵引。
七、互讀與承衍
本品之義脈，前後相承者有三，皆此目所誌，不代定讀。
其一，論內敘事之承前品。論開篇「上帝釋答佛，言：『供養般若，福德甚多。』更有大天……是以佛印可所說」〔T25 0467c20〕，直承前品〈寶塔校量品〉經③帝釋自陳「則為供養過去、未來、現在佛」「一切善法皆入般若波羅蜜中」之格量段——本品「述成」即佛就前品帝釋之格量述而印可之，二品義脈直接相續，為本論品品相貫、承前起後之明證。
其二，前品〈寶塔校量品〉考據所誌「大明呪」承衍線索之精確界定。前品第六目誌「下品〈述誠品〉復述『般若波羅蜜是大明呪』並展開廣釋〔T25 0468b18 一帶〕」——然本品〈述誠品〉正文（〔T25 0467b21–0468a08〕，本品範圍訖〔0468a12〕前）內無「大明呪」字樣（本目回搜確認）；前品所指〔T25 0468b18〕之「大明呪」復述，實落於本品訖界〔0468a12〕之後、次品〈勸受持品第三十四〉（卷五十八，mulu〔T25 0468a17〕）之範圍內〔0468b18／0468b21 二見〕。故「大明呪」之向下承衍確有其實，惟其展開處在次品〈勸受持品〉而非本品〈述誠品〉——本目據實界定其位，誌其線索之精確落點，不展開次品內容（屬品三十四範圍），俟後品考據。
其三，古德科判之承引。吉藏以本品〈述成品〉為「頌天主不假明般若福深」之品、以「佛述成天主格量」為命名之邏輯（見第六目），並判本品承前品「天主格量」之第二段而立；其疏「無為般若如來智常在／菩薩觀／文字般若隨法住」之三重般若辨析，與本論論①「般若體性常住不滅／『在世』者是經卷」逐字相呼應——此屬古德一家之科判承引，本目誌其迹，不代定其為經文自證之結構斷言。
八、校本與版本說明
本品底本為《大智度論》卷五十七〔T25 0467b21–0468a08〕（品身正文終於〔T25 0468a08〕「是故別說」句，卷末題「大智度論卷第五十七」〔T25 0468a09〕，次品〈勸受持品〉起〔T25 0468a12〕）；所釋經校本為《摩訶般若波羅蜜經》〈述成品〉〔T08 0285c23 起〕；古德疏校本為吉藏《大品經義疏》（X24n0451，覆本品〔X24n0451 0269a04–0269a21〕前），慧影《大智度論疏》（X46n0791）殘卷不覆本品，均正《大乘四論玄義》（X46n0784）無徵引。異讀校記依大正校勘，涉大正底本與宋、元、明、宮、聖、石（石山寺本）諸本之異。
品題複合校記（多造之底據·內外層矛盾專列）。 品首四條校記並陳品題整句、論名、單字之異文，其品名攸關者三。其一，品題整句校記〔T25 0467b21〕——「大智度論釋述誠品第三十三【大】｜釋第三十二品【聖】｜摩訶般若波羅蜜經述成品第二【石】｜釋述誠品第三十三【明】」，四本題句各異，聖本以「第三十二品」計（負一階），石本題「述成品第二」（用「成」，「第二」語意未解，第八目存疑），明本省冠首而讀「誠」。其二，論名字序校記〔T25 0467b21〕——「論釋【大】｜譯論【宋】【元】」，宋元二本論名字序異，非品名。其三，「誠」字單字校記〔T25 0467b21〕——「誠【大】｜成【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」，本論宋元明宮四本此字位讀「成」；第四條「三【大】｜三品【宮】」〔T25 0467b21〕為品次數字之異。此中其一（外層整句）之明本讀「誠」與其三（內層單字）之明本讀「成」，就同一 witness 同一字位表面不一——係大正藏電子校本同題整句校記與獨立單字校記分屬不同校勘範圍之並存現象，如實兩存並錄，不強加調解（見第四目其三）。此諸條即品名多造於本論一側之底據，用於第四目品名之判。
石本訖界之『負一階』colophon（與前品『負二階』相鄰對照）。 本品末字校記「說【大】｜說釋第三十二品竟【石】」〔T25 0468a08〕，石本以「第三十二品」稱本品訖界（本品 lem 三十三 → 石之計數三十二，負一階）；卷末題校記「大智度論卷第五十七【大】｜〔－〕【石】」〔T25 0468a09〕（石本闕卷題），及「七【大】｜七（釋第三十一品註第三十二品）【聖】」〔T25 0468a09〕（聖本以「第三十一至第三十二品」稱卷五十七所釋，負一階）。前品〈寶塔校量品〉末字石本跋語「報釋第三十品竟」（負二階，見第四目）與本品此則「說釋第三十二品竟」（負一階）相鄰而 offset 量級跳動，誠實誌其存，不強調解（見第四目）。此石本異例，計數所繫，並引無遺，正文從現行底本讀法。
校勘總帳（二十三條全量對帳·底本原樣）。 下依工作底本檔末原樣傳錄（本品自身錨點校記二十條，另跨品外引前品〈寶塔校量品〉之全域 canonical note 三條以 star 型遞歸重引——【經】標籤、【論】標籤、「擣／揭」三高頻異文於本論全書採單一 canonical note＋全域 star 重引機制，其 own 定義處在前品範圍，本品為其後引處之 star 重引，據實標明）；異本讀法並列保存，正文仍從現行底本讀法：
- 〔T25 0467b21〕大智度論釋述誠品第三十三【大】｜釋第三十二品【聖】｜摩訶般若波羅蜜經述成品第二【石】｜釋述誠品第三十三【明】
- 〔T25 0467b21〕論釋【大】｜譯論【宋】【元】
- 〔T25 0467b21〕誠【大】｜成【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0467b21〕三【大】｜三品【宮】
- 〔T25 0467b22〕（star·跨品外引前品 canonical note）【經】【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
- 〔T25 0467b24〕卷【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
- 〔T25 0467b25〕（star·跨品外引前品 canonical note）擣【大】｜揭【石】
- 〔T25 0467c07〕受【大】｜〔－〕【聖】【石】
- 〔T25 0467c09〕乃至【大】｜及【聖】
- 〔T25 0467c11〕終【大】｜亦終【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0467c20〕（star·跨品外引前品 canonical note）【論】【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
- 〔T25 0467c20〕上帝釋【大】｜帝釋上【聖】
- 〔T25 0467c20〕帝釋【大】｜〔－〕【宮】
- 〔T25 0467c22〕印【大】｜即【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0467c28〕短【大】｜𢬎【聖】
- 〔T25 0467c29〕實【大】｜多【聖】
- 〔T25 0468a01〕攝【大】｜脩【聖】
- 〔T25 0468a06〕餘【大】｜〔－〕【宮】
- 〔T25 0468a07〕果【大】｜得【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】
- 〔T25 0468a08〕說【大】｜說釋第三十二品竟【石】
- 〔T25 0468a09〕大智度論卷第五十七【大】｜〔－〕【石】
- 〔T25 0468a09〕論【大】｜經論【聖】
- 〔T25 0468a09〕七【大】｜七（釋第三十一品註第三十二品）【聖】
以上二十三條，與工作底本錨點校記之數機械相合（本品自身直錄二十條，另跨品外引前品全域 canonical note 三條以 star 型遞歸重引）。義理、音寫或計數攸關之數處（品題整句〔0467b21〕四本異名、「誠／成」內外層矛盾、卷末〔0468a08〕石本負一階跋語與〔0468a09〕聖本負一階卷末計數）已於上文專列，並與所釋經雙向對校（第四目）；餘條異本讀法並列保存，正文從現行底本讀法，並錄不判。
I. Structural Placement
Within the sequence in which the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa comments on the Larger Sūtra, this chapter belongs to the section of the Commentary on the Remaining Chapters and falls in Fascicle 57, as the second chapter of Fascicle 57. The preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", Chapter 32, begins Fascicle 57 on its own, opening the shell of the fascicle and setting out both the fascicle-head title and the two-line signature of author and translator; this chapter arises while that fascicle has not yet ended—the main text of the chapter ends at 「餘十善道、四禪、四無量等皆是道方便門，是故別說。」 tr. "The remaining ten wholesome paths, the four dhyānas, the four immeasurables, and so on are all gates of skilful means to the path; therefore they are spoken of separately."〔T25 0468a07〕, the chapter unit of this chapter then closes, and it is followed directly by the fascicle-end title 「大智度論卷第五十七」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Fifty-seven"〔T25 0468a09〕; thus this chapter also constitutes the close of Fascicle 57, and the next chapter, "Exhortation to Receive and Uphold", Chapter 34, begins separately with Fascicle 58〔T25 0468a12〕. The boundaries of this chapter are simple: the mulu entry of the chapter body and the fascicle-head title (jhead) are both anchored at〔T25 0467b21〕 (on the same line); since it is not the first chapter of the fascicle (the preceding chapter has already opened the shell of the fascicle), this chapter repeats neither the fascicle title nor the two-line signature—this differs in type from the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", with its 「卷首品先起卷殼、卷端題與署名別繫、品身 mulu 相隔五行」 tr. "the first chapter of the fascicle first opens the shell of the fascicle, the fascicle-head title and the signature are anchored separately, and the mulu of the chapter body is five lines away", and agrees in type with the 「jhead 與 mulu 同位」 tr. "jhead and mulu at the same place" of chapters that continue within the same fascicle (as, in the preceding fascicle, "Quelling Strife" continues after "Looking Round"); this is recorded as it is.
Within the chapter, one Sūtra section and one Treatise section alternate, and the whole chapter is read as a single unit, not split (seven hundred and fifty-eight Chinese characters in all, far short of an amount that would call for splitting). The Sūtra〔0467b21–0467c19〕: the Buddha tells Śakra that one who writes out, receives and upholds, and makes offerings to prajñā will obtain boundless merit; five rounds of 「皆從般若波羅蜜中生」 tr. "all are born from prajñāpāramitā"; the merit surpasses that of making offerings to a stūpa of the seven jewels; and if prajñā is present in the world, the Three Jewels do not perish and all wholesome dharmas appear in the world. The Treatise〔0467c20–0468a09〕 opens with 「釋曰」 tr. "Explanation:", carries on from Śakra's weighing in the preceding chapter and declares the Buddha's seal, and further, in two rounds of question and answer, explains the two doubts of 「般若在世／三寶不滅」 tr. "prajñā present in the world / the Three Jewels do not perish" and 「三寶廣攝諸法」 tr. "the Three Jewels broadly include all dharmas", closing the chapter and at the same time the fascicle. This chapter's count of one Sūtra and one Treatise section is simpler than both the three Sūtra and three Treatise sections of the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", and the two Sūtra and two Treatise sections of "Quelling Strife" in the preceding fascicle—among the chapters of the Commentary on the Remaining Chapters it is one of the simplest in structure; each is determined on its own from the base text, not by following the layout of other chapters.
Both markers within the chapter fall exactly at the head of a block, unlike the embedded transitions of the preceding chapter. The 【經】 marker is anchored at〔T25 0467b22〕, immediately after the chapter title 「大智度論釋述誠品第三十三」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Declaring the Truth, the Thirty-third" and before the first sentence of the sūtra text, 「爾時，佛告釋提桓因」 tr. "At that time the Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra", forming a block of its own. The 【論】 marker is anchored at〔T25 0467c20〕, forming a block of its own, with 「釋曰」 tr. "Explanation:" immediately at the head of the block. In the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", both 【經】 markers are embedded within paragraphs (one embedded after the chapter title and signature, one in the middle of the last sentence of Treatise ①), whereas both markers of this chapter fall at the head of a block, with no embedded transitional structure; the difference is recorded as it is.
As to the structure of speakers, this chapter is the simplest. The opening word of the Treatise is a single 「釋曰」 tr. "Explanation:"〔T25 0467c20〕 (in the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", Treatises ① and ② begin with 「問曰」 tr. "Question:" and Treatise ③ with 「釋曰」 tr. "Explanation:"; in "Quelling Strife" of the preceding fascicle, Treatise ② begins directly with 「問曰」 tr. "Question:"—this chapter opens with 「釋曰」 tr. "Explanation:", and its literal wording is recorded as it is); 「復次」 tr. "furthermore" does not appear anywhere in the chapter. The opening of the Treatise is a narrative transition—「上帝釋答佛，言：『供養般若，福德甚多。』更有大天，以帝釋非一切智人故，所說或錯，是以佛印可所說，言：『如是！如是！』」 tr. "Above, Śakra answered the Buddha, saying: ‘The merit of making offerings to prajñā is very great.’ There were further greater gods, and because Śakra is not an omniscient person, what he said might be mistaken; therefore the Buddha sealed what he had said, saying: ‘Just so! Just so!’"〔T25 0467c20〕—carrying on from Śakra's own statement, in the preceding chapter, of the weighing of offerings to prajñā, it declares the Buddha's seal, which is the doctrinal root of the chapter name 「述誠／述成」 tr. "declaring the truth / declaring and confirming" (see Sections II and VI). Below it come two rounds of question and answer, paired one by one, with no isolated question and no isolated answer: Question ①〔T25 0467c23〕 / Answer ①〔T25 0467c25〕, Question ②〔T25 0468a01〕 / Answer ②〔T25 0468a03〕. This chapter has no complex speaker structure, no retelling by Śakra and no chain of counter-questions, in keeping with the chapter's purpose, 「佛述說並印可、非新開議題」 tr. "the Buddha declares and seals; it is not the opening of a new topic".
II. Terms Examined
Declaring the Truth · declaring and confirming (what the chapter name is bound to). The meaning of this chapter's name is fully given in the opening of the Treatise. In the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", Śakra himself weighed the merit of stūpas against that of prajñā; Śakra is not an omniscient person, and his weighing might be mistaken, so the Buddha himself declared and sealed it—「上帝釋答佛，言：『供養般若，福德甚多。』更有大天，以帝釋非一切智人故，所說或錯，是以佛印可所說，言：『如是！如是！』」 tr. "Above, Śakra answered the Buddha, saying: ‘The merit of making offerings to prajñā is very great.’ There were further greater gods, and because Śakra is not an omniscient person, what he said might be mistaken; therefore the Buddha sealed what he had said, saying: ‘Just so! Just so!’"〔T25 0467c20〕. 「述」 tr. "declare" means that the Buddha declares Śakra's weighing; 「誠／成」 tr. "truth / confirm" means that he seals Śakra's statement as not mistaken (Jizang's commentary: 「佛述成天主格量」 tr. "the Buddha declares and confirms the weighing of the lord of the gods"; see Section VI). The base text writes the chapter name as 「述誠」 tr. "declaring the truth" (see Section IV), while the sūtra explained and most transmitted texts write 「述成」 tr. "declaring and confirming"; the two characters stand side by side, and in both the meaning comes back to 「佛述說並確認帝釋之說」 tr. "the Buddha declares and confirms Śakra's statement".
The Three Jewels do not perish · prajñā present in the world. The key sentence at the end of the Sūtra. The Sūtra makes clear that 「若般若波羅蜜在於世者，佛寶、法寶、比丘僧寶終不滅」 tr. "if prajñāpāramitā is present in the world, the Buddha Jewel, the Dharma Jewel, and the Jewel of the Bhikṣu Saṅgha will never perish"〔T25 0467c10〕, and further says that when prajñā is in the world, the ten wholesome paths and so on up to omniscience and omniscience of all kinds 「皆現於世」 tr. "all appear in the world", and the world then has great kṣatriya clans and so on up to the unsurpassed Buddha path. The Treatise explains the meaning—「般若波羅蜜體性，有佛、無佛，常住不滅」 tr. "the substance and nature of prajñāpāramitā, whether there is a Buddha or there is no Buddha, abides permanently and does not perish"〔T25 0467c25〕; 「在世」 tr. "present in the world" here does not mean that the substance and nature of prajñā arises and perishes, is present or not present, but rather 「所謂般若經卷，可修習讀誦者，是因中說果」 tr. "namely the scrolls of the prajñā sūtra, which can be cultivated, read, and recited: this is speaking of the result in the cause"〔T25 0467c26〕—the presence of prajñā in the world is spoken of by way of the result of prajñā (the scrolls that can be read and recited), not because the substance and nature of prajñā is present or not present. This is the key meaning of Answer ①, made clear by the simile of the deep well (see Section III).
The broad explanation of the Three Jewels (doctrinal anchor). The founding sentence of Answer ②. Since the Sūtra says both that when prajñā is in the world the Three Jewels do not perish, and that when prajñā is in the world the world has the ten wholesome paths and so on up to omniscience of all kinds, the Treatise sorts out how the Three Jewels include the wholesome dharmas—「此諸法及諸道，皆廣解三寶中義」 tr. "these dharmas and these paths all broadly explain the meaning within the Three Jewels"〔T25 0468a03〕: 「佛寶者，佛法所攝無學五眾」 tr. "the Buddha Jewel is the five aggregates of one beyond training, included in the Buddha's Dharma"〔T25 0468a04〕; 「法寶者，第三諦，所謂涅槃」 tr. "the Dharma Jewel is the third truth, namely nirvāṇa"〔T25 0468a05〕, and apart from the merits of those in training and beyond training included in the four śramaṇa fruits, the remaining merits of pratyekabuddhas and merits of bodhisattvas are also included in the Dharma Jewel; 「僧寶者，四向、四果學、無學五眾」 tr. "the Saṅgha Jewel is the five aggregates of those in training and beyond training in the four directions and the four fruits"〔T25 0468a07〕. As for the remaining ten wholesome paths, four dhyānas, four immeasurables, and so on, 「皆是道方便門，是故別說」 tr. "they are all gates of skilful means to the path; therefore they are spoken of separately"〔T25 0468a08〕—they are not separate from the Three Jewels, but are gates of skilful means for entering the path, and are therefore set apart and spoken of separately.
Boundless merit. The key word of the praise at the head of the Sūtra. One who writes out, receives and upholds, and makes offerings to prajñā 「當得無量無數、不可思議、不可稱量、無邊福德」 tr. "will obtain immeasurable, countless, inconceivable, incalculable, boundless merit"〔T25 0467b25〕. Jizang's commentary establishes on this sentence the alternative name of this chapter, 「無邊福德」 tr. "Boundless Merit" (see Sections IV and VI). The term 「無邊福德」 tr. "boundless merit" is not unique to this chapter within the whole treatise (it appears five more times; see Section VI), and so it serves only as background to the naming of the alternative title and is not raised to the status of wording unique to this chapter.
The six perfections (abbreviated forms). The Sūtra enumerates the six perfections using abbreviated and transliterated forms—dhyān, vīrya, kṣānti, śīla, dān. These abbreviated forms of the six perfections differ systematically from the full transliterated forms 「禪那」 tr. "dhyāna" and 「檀那」 tr. "dāna" of the sūtra explained (this treatise omits the final 「那」 tr. "na", and the sūtra explained supplies the final 「那」 tr. "na"); the Sūtra section of this chapter contains one round of the sentence enumerating the six perfections, where this difference appears, agreeing with what was recorded for the preceding chapters, and in this chapter it gains the strongest internal evidence of the two-sided collation (Section IV, the first finding).
III. Similes and Stories
The Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa is renowned for its similes; this chapter is the smallest in the series, with one Sūtra and one Treatise section, and it uses a simile only once, in Treatise ①, yet that simile is the key to Answer ①'s apparent contradiction of 「三寶不滅／般若在世」 tr. "the Three Jewels do not perish / prajñā present in the world".
The simile of the deep well (the pivotal simile unique to this chapter). Treatise ① explains the meaning of 「般若體性常住不滅、而『在世』者是因中說果」 tr. "the substance and nature of prajñā abides permanently and does not perish, while ‘present in the world’ is speaking of the result in the cause"—「譬如井深，綆短不及，便言失井，井實不失；般若波羅蜜實相如深井，經卷名為綆，行者不能書寫、修習故言滅。」 tr. "It is like a deep well: the rope is short and does not reach, and one then says the well is lost, yet the well is in fact not lost. The real mark of prajñāpāramitā is like a deep well, and the scrolls are called the rope; because practitioners cannot write it out and cultivate it, it is said to perish."〔T25 0467c27〕. The well is deep and the rope (the cord for drawing water) is short, so that drawing does not reach the water, and one then wrongly says that the well is already lost, though in fact the well was never lost; the real mark of prajñāpāramitā is like the deep well, the scrolls are like the rope, and because practitioners cannot write it out and cultivate it, prajñā is said to perish—in truth the substance and nature of prajñā abides permanently and does not perish; what perishes is not prajñā, only the practitioner's ability to draw from it. The deep well is the vehicle of the simile for the real mark of prajñā (not lost); the rope is the vehicle for the scrolls (when short, the drawing does not reach); the rope being short and one wrongly saying that the well is lost shows the practitioner who cannot cultivate and wrongly says that prajñā perishes. This simile makes clear that 「在世」 tr. "present in the world" is speaking of the result in the cause—whether the scrolls are present or not is not whether the substance and nature of prajñā is present or not.
IV. The Sūtra Passage Explained
Many forms of the chapter name: Declaring the Truth / Declaring and Confirming (recorded side by side without judgement). The name of this chapter appears in several variant forms across base texts, across transmitted texts, and across catalogues and bibliographies; the difference of character lies between 「誠」 tr. "truth" and 「成」 tr. "confirm", but its distribution is wide and its levels many, and this is the first matter in the chapter that must be sorted out; each is recorded in turn on the basis of the base text.
First, the base text on the side of this treatise (T25n1509). The fascicle-head title (jhead) reads 「大智度論釋述誠品第三十三」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Declaring the Truth, the Thirty-third"〔T25 0467b21〕, and the mulu of the chapter body reads 「述誠品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring the Truth"〔T25 0467b21〕 (on the same line, at the same place). 「述誠」 tr. "declaring the truth" takes its name from the meaning, at the opening of the Treatise, of 「佛述說並印可帝釋格量」 tr. "the Buddha declares and seals Śakra's weighing".
Second, the collation notes on the chapter-title sentence on the side of this treatise (collation notes in Section VIII). Under the twelve characters of the chapter-title sentence 「大智度論釋述誠品第三十三」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Declaring the Truth, the Thirty-third" there is a collation note on the whole sentence—the Shōgozō reads 「釋第三十二品」 tr. "explanation of the thirty-second chapter" (with no descriptive chapter name, keeping only the chapter number 「三十二」 tr. "thirty-two", one step fewer than the displayed 「三十三」 tr. "thirty-three"; see the item on chapter-number misalignment); the Ishiyama text reads 「摩訶般若波羅蜜經述成品第二」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Chapter on Declaring and Confirming, the Second" (headed by the name of the sūtra explained, 「摩訶般若波羅蜜經」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra", using the character 「成」 tr. "confirm", and ending with 「第二」 tr. "the second"; this 「第二」 tr. "the second" is neither 「三十二」 tr. "thirty-two" nor 「三十三」 tr. "thirty-three", its sense is unresolved, and the doubt is kept in Section VIII); the Ming edition reads 「釋述誠品第三十三」 tr. "Commentary on the Chapter on Declaring the Truth, the Thirty-third" (only omitting the four heading characters 「大智度論」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa", and using the character 「誠」 tr. "truth").
Third, the apparent contradiction between the inner and outer layers of collation notes on the side of this treatise (a finding unique to this chapter, set out word for word side by side without reconciliation). Within the chapter-title sentence there is a further single-character sub-clause collation note, recorded under the character 「誠」 tr. "truth" as 「誠【大】｜成【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "‘truth’ in the Taishō; ‘confirm’ in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace"〔T25 0467b21〕—that is, the four transmitted editions of this treatise, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace, all read 「成」 tr. "confirm" at this character position. Yet the Ming reading in the outer-layer whole-sentence collation note cited under the second point reads 「釋述誠品第三十三」 tr. "Commentary on the Chapter on Declaring the Truth, the Thirty-third" (containing 「誠」 tr. "truth", not 「成」 tr. "confirm")—the same Ming edition reads 「誠」 tr. "truth" in the outer-layer whole-sentence variant and 「成」 tr. "confirm" in the inner-layer single-character variant: the two layers give different results for the same character position. This section sets out this apparent contradiction side by side as it is and does not guess which is the Ming edition's actual reading; its cause may be that the outer layer's 「整句替換」 tr. "whole-sentence replacement" and the inner layer's 「逐字疊加」 tr. "character-by-character overlay" belong to different collation scopes that exist side by side (the compound collation notes on a title and the independent single-character collation notes of the Taishō electronic collated text belonging to different collation passes), but this is an unproven hypothesis; no conclusion is drawn, and both sides are recorded word for word for reference.
Fourth, the base text on the side of the sūtra explained (T223). The Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra translated by Kumārajīva of the Later Qin titles this chapter 「述成品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming"〔T08 0285c23〕, using the character 「成」 tr. "confirm", taking the Treatise's meaning of 「佛述成帝釋格量」 tr. "the Buddha declares and confirms Śakra's weighing".
Fifth, variant names in the ancient masters' commentaries and in catalogues and bibliographies. Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451) uses the name 「述成品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming"〔X24n0451 0269a04〕 (confirm, as in T223), and also records an alternative name of this chapter, 「無邊福德」 tr. "Boundless Merit"〔X24n0451 0269a05〕 (derived from the sentence of praise at the head of the Sūtra; see Section VI). The Tang monk Xuanyi's Extended Chapter Register of the Buddhist Teaching of the Kaiyuan Era of the Great Tang (A097n1267) records 「摩訶般若波羅蜜經述成品第三十二」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Chapter on Declaring and Confirming, the Thirty-second"〔A097n1267 0813a05〕 (confirm, with the chapter number one step fewer; see below). The Song monk Weibai's Essentials of the Outline of the Great Canon (C056n1159) records the name inconsistently in two places within the same work—Fascicle 2 reads 「述成品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming"〔C056n1159 0139a10〕 (confirm), while Fascicle 5, 「釋般若中寶塔品．校量品．述誠品義」 tr. "explaining, within the Prajñā, the meaning of the Chapter on the Jewelled Stūpa, the Chapter on Weighing, and the Chapter on Declaring the Truth"〔C056n1159 0185c09〕, reads 「述誠品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring the Truth" (truth, as in this treatise's base text)—the same work uses different characters in two places; recorded side by side without judgement.
Taken together, the name of this chapter shows many forms across the transmissions, in the two characters of 「述誠／述成」 tr. "declaring the truth / declaring and confirming", and the distribution of witnesses is wide and leans toward 「成」 tr. "confirm"—the base text of the sūtra explained, T223, the inner-layer sub-clause collation note for this treatise's four editions Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace, Jizang's X24, A097, and Fascicle 2 of C056 all read 「成」 tr. "confirm"; only this treatise's Taishō / Korean-canon base text, the Ming reading in the outer-layer whole-sentence variant (see the contradiction under the third point), and Fascicle 5 of C056 keep the character 「誠」 tr. "truth". In this edition the chapter name follows this treatise's base text, 「述誠品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring the Truth" (the main axis for the chapter names of this edition is this treatise's base text, not the sūtra explained, not the secondary editions, not the catalogues); 「述成品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming" and the alternative name 「無邊福德」 tr. "Boundless Merit" are all kept word for word in the comparative narrative and are not altered; recorded side by side without judgement, with no decision made on anyone's behalf as to which single name is correct. This newly added fact about the distribution of the transmitted texts (a faithful record grounded in the evidence of the base texts) is not a re-examination of what has already been ruled; it is recorded side by side for reference.
Chapter-number misalignment and the ‘minus one step’ count. In the sūtra explained, the ordinal in the mulu attribute for this chapter is thirty-four, while the displayed title is 「述成品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming" (displayed chapter number thirty-three): the attribute counts one place more than the displayed text—a continuation of the established phenomenon of chapter-number misalignment in the electronic canon text of the sūtra explained since Chapter 27 (ordinal = displayed number plus one; for the next chapter, "Exhortation to Uphold", the mulu ordinal in the sūtra explained is thirty-five against a displayed thirty-four, in the same direction). In this treatise the mulu attribute ordinal for this chapter is thirty-three against a displayed chapter number of thirty-three: the numbering is self-consistent; for the next chapter, "Exhortation to Receive and Uphold", this treatise's ordinal is thirty-four against a displayed thirty-four, likewise without misalignment—this is a structural phenomenon on the side of the electronic canon text of the sūtra explained alone, not seen on this treatise's side; it is recorded as it is, without judging its cause.
There is, besides, a trace of a ‘minus one step’ count, which in this chapter receives several witnesses, though their magnitudes are not uniform; they are set out side by side at the level of faithful record. First, this treatise's [Shōgozō] whole-sentence collation note on the chapter title calls this chapter 「釋第三十二品」 tr. "explanation of the thirty-second chapter", one step fewer than the displayed text. Second, the A097 catalogue gives this chapter as 「述成品第三十二」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming, the Thirty-second"〔A097n1267 0813a05〕, one step fewer than the 「第三十三」 tr. "the thirty-third" of this treatise and of the sūtra explained, and in the same direction as its records of the neighbouring chapters—the preceding chapter is given as 「舍利寶塔品第三十一」 tr. "Chapter on the Relic Jewelled Stūpa, the Thirty-first"〔A097n1267 0813a02〕 (Chapter 32), and the following chapter as 「勸持品第三十三」 tr. "Chapter on Exhortation to Uphold, the Thirty-third"〔A097n1267 0813a06〕 (Chapter 34): three consecutive entries are uniformly one step fewer, and A097 adopts a uniform minus-one-step count throughout this stretch of the work.
Adjacent two-point comparison of the Ishiyama text's colophons at chapter ends (a jump from minus two steps to minus one step). The [Ishiyama] text of this treatise, in its colophon at the end of the fascicle, itself names the chapter end of this chapter by a chapter number, and this is directly comparable with the adjacent Ishiyama colophon of the preceding chapter. For the last character of the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", 「報」 tr. "recompense", the collation note reads 「報【大】｜報釋第三十品竟【石】」 tr. "‘recompense’ in the Taishō; ‘recompense; explanation of the thirtieth chapter ends’ in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0467b20〕: the Ishiyama text names the end of the preceding chapter as 「第三十品」 tr. "the thirtieth chapter" (the preceding chapter, lemma thirty-two → the Ishiyama count thirty, that is, minus two steps); for the last character of this chapter, 「說」 tr. "spoken", the collation note reads 「說【大】｜說釋第三十二品竟【石】」 tr. "‘spoken’ in the Taishō; ‘spoken; explanation of the thirty-second chapter ends’ in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0468a08〕: the Ishiyama text names the end of this chapter as 「第三十二品」 tr. "the thirty-second chapter" (this chapter, lemma thirty-three → the Ishiyama count thirty-two, that is, minus one step). These two come from the same Ishiyama text, from the same customary colophon position (both attached after the last actual character of the chapter, before the final full stop), and are immediately adjacent in sequence (only one chapter apart), yet the magnitude of the offset jumps from minus two steps to minus one step—that is, the Ishiyama text's own count advances two steps between lemma chapters thirty-two and thirty-three, while the lemma advances only one. This section records this first-hand adjacent comparison of data as it is and imposes no reconciliation (its cause may be that the Ishiyama text's own division of fascicles differs from the Taishō / Korean canon, so that its chapter boundaries need not correspond one to one with this treatise's base text, or that the preceding chapter's 「報釋第三十品竟」 tr. "recompense; explanation of the thirtieth chapter ends" is in fact a repeated mark of the end of another chapter—both are unproven hypotheses, awaiting collation against the original scrolls of the Ishiyama-dera manuscript, and are not within the remit of this section). This 「負二／負一階」 tr. "minus two / minus one step" jump in magnitude in the Ishiyama text and the stable minus one step throughout A097 are of different origins (different books, different compilation contexts); both are recorded faithfully side by side, and no unified explanation is imposed.
Full comparative reading of the cited sūtra. The single Sūtra section of this treatise (the continuous stream of Chinese characters left after stripping the Sūtra and Treatise markers,〔T08 comparison: five hundred and thirty-nine characters on this treatise's side, five hundred and twenty-seven on the side of the sūtra explained〕) was collated word for word against the whole of the sūtra explained's chapter "Declaring and Confirming", the rate of word-for-word agreement lying within the normal range for comparative readings of the prajñā chapters; the sūtra explained has no Treatise layer for this chapter, the whole chapter being sūtra text, and every passage is a full citation, with no abridged citation or large-scale deletion. The differences fall into two classes: first, pure differences of punctuation convention—the editorial layer of the sūtra explained uses enumeration commas more sparingly, a difference of editorial convention, not a textual variant; second, systematic variant writings and the matters of the two-sided collation that bear on doctrine or transliteration, as follows.
First finding of the two-sided collation (the strongest in this chapter · 「禪那／檀那」 tr. "dhyāna / dāna" : the final 「那」 tr. "na" · two consecutive occurrences under the same canonical note, both agreeing). Where the Sūtra enumerates the six perfections, this treatise's base text reads 「禪波羅蜜」 tr. "the perfection of meditation (dhyān)" and 「檀波羅蜜」 tr. "the perfection of giving (dān)" (omitting the final 「那」 tr. "na"), while the base text of the sūtra explained reads 「禪那波羅蜜」 tr. "the perfection of meditation (dhyāna)" and 「檀那波羅蜜」 tr. "the perfection of giving (dāna)" (supplying the final 「那」 tr. "na"). Checking back against the sūtra explained's own collation notes: at 「禪那」 tr. "dhyāna" there is the note 「那【大】＊，〔－〕【聖】＊」 tr. "‘na’ in the Taishō (starred); absent in the Shōgozō (starred)"〔T08 0286a04〕—that is, in the transmitted [Shōgozō] text of the sūtra explained, in 「禪那」 tr. "dhyāna" the character 「那」 tr. "na" is missing (it reads 「禪波羅蜜」 tr. "the perfection of meditation (dhyān)", in agreement with this treatise's base text); at the second occurrence, in 「檀那」 tr. "dāna", the character 「那」 tr. "na"〔T08 0286a05〕 is a recursive re-citation of the same canonical note (corresp to the same collation note), and the [Shōgozō] text likewise lacks 「那」 tr. "na". Both occurrences receive direct support from the sūtra explained's own [Shōgozō] witness, and both agree with this treatise's base text (which lacks 「那」 tr. "na" in both places)—this is the material of highest reliability in this chapter's comparative reading of the sūtra explained, with the same witness, the same canonical note, and two consecutive occurrences all in the same direction; recorded side by side without judgement.
Second finding of the two-sided collation (the numerical passage 「千億萬分」 tr. "a part in a thousand koṭi myriads" · the sūtra explained's Shōgozō text almost word for word identical with this treatise's base text). In the numerical passage of the Sūtra that weighs merit, this treatise's base text reads 「百分、千分、千億萬分」 tr. "a hundredth part, a thousandth part, a part in a thousand koṭi myriads"〔T25 0467c09〕, and the base text of the sūtra explained reads 「百分千分萬分百千萬分不及一」 tr. "not equal to one hundredth part, one thousandth part, one ten-thousandth part, one part in a hundred thousand myriads"〔T08 0286a14〕. Checking back against the sūtra explained's own collation notes: here there is the note 「（萬分…一）九字【大】，千億萬分【聖】」 tr. "‘(ten-thousandth part … one)’, nine characters, in the Taishō; ‘a part in a thousand koṭi myriads’ in the Shōgozō"〔T08 0286a14〕—that is, the transmitted [Shōgozō] text of the sūtra explained reads this nine-character fragment as 「千億萬分」 tr. "a part in a thousand koṭi myriads", almost word for word identical with this treatise's base text, 「千億萬分」 tr. "a part in a thousand koṭi myriads" (differing only in the enumeration comma). This shows that the extended construction of the extant base text of the sūtra explained (「百千萬分不及一」 tr. "not equal to one part in a hundred thousand myriads") clearly differs from this treatise's base text, while the sūtra explained's own [Shōgozō] witness is highly consistent with this treatise's base text—the two may share the reading of an earlier common base text (closer to this treatise's extant base text), and the extended construction of the extant base text of the sūtra explained may be an extension from a later layer of compilation (this is an observation based on comparing witnesses in both directions, not a conclusive philological judgement; it is recorded for reference). Recorded side by side without judgement.
Control group check (negative comparison · recorded side by side without judgement). Beyond the two findings above, the comparative reading of this chapter with the sūtra explained shows three further classes of variant; checked back one by one against the collation notes of both this treatise and the sūtra explained, none has any support from internal variant readings among the transmitted texts: they are purely differences in the respective translation habits of the two texts, and are recorded to show the restraint of the method. First, 「世界」 tr. "world" / 「國土」 tr. "land"—this treatise's 「淨佛世界」 tr. "purifying Buddha-worlds" (two occurrences) against the sūtra explained's 「淨佛國土」 tr. "purifying Buddha-lands", with zero hits at this place in the collation notes of either side (unlike the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", where 「世界／國土」 tr. "world / land" received support from the Ishiyama text, this term has no support in this chapter; the levels are distinguished as they are). Second, 「擣」 tr. "pound (one graph)" / 「搗」 tr. "pound (variant graph)"—this treatise's 「擣香」 tr. "pounded incense"〔T25 0467b25〕 against the sūtra explained's 「搗香」 tr. "pounded incense (variant graph)", variant graphs of one character (sound and meaning both the same, 「以杵舂物」 tr. "to pound a thing with a pestle"); this treatise's collation note at this locus reads 「擣【大】｜揭【石】」 tr. "‘pound’ in the Taishō; ‘lift’ in the Ishiyama" (a recursive re-citation of the preceding chapter's canonical note; see Section VIII, #7), not 「搗」 tr. "pound (variant graph)", and the sūtra explained has no variant of its own here: neither side supports the other, and it is purely a difference of variant graphs. Third, 「華」 tr. "flower (ornate graph)" / 「花」 tr. "flower (plain graph)"—this treatise has 「華」 tr. "flower (ornate graph)" in both occurrences〔T25 0467b24／0467c08〕, while the sūtra explained has 「華香」 tr. "flowers and incense (ornate graph)" at the first occurrence and 「花香」 tr. "flowers and incense (plain graph)" at the second (the sūtra explained is itself inconsistent in its two occurrences, not uniformly 「花」 tr. "flower (plain graph)" throughout), and this treatise has zero witness hits for this character—recorded side by side without judgement, and on this basis the general statement in this treatise's apparatus that 「T223 全用花」 tr. "T223 uses the plain graph for flower throughout" does not hold for this chapter (a precise record for the individual case of this chapter, not a reversal of a corpus-level criterion). The ratio of 「有佐證／無佐證」 tr. "supported / unsupported" in this chapter's two-sided collation is two to three, close to that of the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", showing the consistent restraint of the method.
V. The Prajñā Eye
The eye of this chapter lies in one 「述成（佛印可）」 tr. "declaring and confirming (the Buddha's seal)" and one 「常住不滅」 tr. "abiding permanently and not perishing"—Śakra weighs the merit of prajñā, and the Buddha himself declares and seals it; and the substance and nature of prajñā abides permanently and does not perish: what is called its 「在世」 tr. "presence in the world" is speaking of the result in the cause, not that the substance and nature of prajñā arises and perishes, is present or not present. Its meaning can be summarised in three layers (this chapter is the smallest in the series; its meaning is summarised in three layers, without forcing it out to five).
First, the Buddha declares and seals Śakra's weighing. This carries on from Śakra's weighing in the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", where he states for himself 「供養般若則為供養三世佛」 tr. "making offerings to prajñā is making offerings to the Buddhas of the three times" and 「一切善法皆入般若」 tr. "all wholesome dharmas enter prajñā"—Śakra is not an omniscient person, and what he says might be mistaken, so the Buddha seals his statement with 「如是！如是！」 tr. "Just so! Just so!"〔T25 0467c20〕. This 「述成」 tr. "declaring and confirming" does not open a new meaning; it is the Buddha declaring and confirming Śakra's weighing in the preceding chapter—the doctrinal root of the chapter name 「述誠／述成」 tr. "declaring the truth / declaring and confirming" lies here.
Second, the substance and nature of prajñā abides permanently and does not perish, and 「在世」 tr. "present in the world" is speaking of the result in the cause. Answer ① explains an apparent doubt—the mark of prajñāpāramitā is 「一切諸觀滅，語言道斷，不生不滅，如虛空相」 tr. "all contemplations cease, the path of language is cut off, neither arising nor perishing, like the mark of space"〔T25 0467c23〕; if it is so, there is no speaking of prajñā as present or not present, so why is it now said that 「般若在世者，三寶不滅」 tr. "while prajñā is present in the world, the Three Jewels do not perish"? The Treatise answers: 「般若波羅蜜體性，有佛、無佛，常住不滅」 tr. "the substance and nature of prajñāpāramitā, whether there is a Buddha or there is no Buddha, abides permanently and does not perish"〔T25 0467c25〕; 「在世」 tr. "present in the world" here is 「所謂般若經卷，可修習讀誦者，是因中說果」 tr. "namely the scrolls of the prajñā sūtra, which can be cultivated, read, and recited: this is speaking of the result in the cause"〔T25 0467c26〕—the presence of prajñā in the world is named by way of the result of prajñā (the scrolls that can be read and recited), not because the substance and nature of prajñā arises and perishes, is present or not present. The simile of the deep well makes it clear: the well is in fact not lost, but when the rope is short the drawing does not reach and one wrongly says the well is lost; the real mark of prajñā is like the deep well (abiding permanently), the scrolls are like the rope (the instrument for drawing), and because practitioners cannot write it out and cultivate it, prajñā is said to perish, though in truth prajñā has never perished. Whether prajñā is present or not depends on the circulation of the scrolls and on the practitioner's cultivation, not on the substance and nature of prajñā—that this 「在世」 tr. "presence in the world" is speaking of the result in the cause is the key meaning of Answer ①.
Third, the Three Jewels broadly include all wholesome dharmas, and the remaining dharmas are gates of skilful means to the path. Answer ② explains a further doubt—since it is said that the Three Jewels wholly include all wholesome people and wholesome dharmas, why is it further said that when prajñā is in the world, the world has the ten wholesome paths and so on up to omniscience of all kinds? The Treatise answers: 「此諸法及諸道，皆廣解三寶中義」 tr. "these dharmas and these paths all broadly explain the meaning within the Three Jewels"〔T25 0468a03〕—the Buddha Jewel is the five aggregates of one beyond training, included in the Buddha's Dharma; the Dharma Jewel is the third truth, namely nirvāṇa (apart from the merits of those in training and beyond training included in the four śramaṇa fruits, the remaining merits of pratyekabuddhas and merits of bodhisattvas also enter the Dharma Jewel); the Saṅgha Jewel is the five aggregates of those in training and beyond training in the four directions and the four fruits; as for the remaining ten wholesome paths, four dhyānas, four immeasurables, and so on, 「皆是道方便門，是故別說」 tr. "they are all gates of skilful means to the path; therefore they are spoken of separately"〔T25 0468a08〕. The wholesome dharmas are not established apart from the Three Jewels; they are the broad explanation of the meaning within the Three Jewels, gates of skilful means for entering the path, and are therefore set apart and spoken of separately—when prajñā is in the world these dharmas appear in the world, precisely because they are all broadly included in the Three Jewels and all return to prajñā. This is where the chapter comes to its close.
VI. Divergent Readings of the Masters
The Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa has no tradition of a complete line-by-line commentary; the ancient masters' citations and explanations lean wherever the material happens to fall. The ancient masters' rereading of this chapter is of two types: Jizang's commentary, which explains the sūtra being explained, preserves a complete dedicated section (though short), whose explanation of the chapter name and whose items of structural division correspond one by one to the sūtra and treatise of this chapter; Huiying's commentary, which explains the treatise, is broken off and does not cover this fascicle. Besides these, there are records of the chapter name in catalogues and bibliographies. This section records the correspondence between what each commented on or cited and this chapter, and does not judge the relative merit of the interpretations.
Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451). Its line-by-line commentary on this chapter begins at〔X24n0451 0269a04〕 (with the chapter title 「述成品第三十三」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming, the Thirty-third", immediately after the end of the preceding chapter, "Chapter on the Great Brightness / Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa") and ends before〔X24n0451 0269a21〕 (before the start of the next chapter, "Chapter on Exhortation to Uphold, the Thirty-fourth"), covering the whole of this chapter's sūtra and treatise, about three hundred and fifty-three characters in all (far shorter than the more than two thousand three hundred characters for the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", in proportion to this chapter's being the smallest in the series). Jizang uses the name 「述成品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming" throughout (as in the sūtra explained, T223, not this treatise's base-text 「述誠品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring the Truth")—this is the third consecutive instance of an ancient master's commentary naming the chapter by the chapter names of the sūtra explained rather than by this treatise's base text (in the preceding fascicle "Quelling Strife", the preceding chapter "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", and this chapter); its recurrence in three consecutive chapters strengthens the observation that 「吉藏系統性依循《大品經》（T223）品名體系疏文」 tr. "Jizang systematically follows the system of chapter names of the Larger Sūtra (T223) in his commentary", which is recorded for reference. Five points are worth recording.
First, the basis of the double naming—「亦云無邊福德者，文中佛述天主格量，辯般若有無邊福德故。以自品述成者，即天主格量中第二段佛述天主」 tr. "It is also called Boundless Merit because in the text the Buddha declares the weighing of the lord of the gods, discussing that prajñā has boundless merit. It is called by its own chapter name, Declaring and Confirming, because it is the second segment of the weighing of the lord of the gods, in which the Buddha declares the lord of the gods' statement"〔X24n0451 0269a05〕: the alternative name 「無邊福德」 tr. "Boundless Merit" derives from the sentence of praise at the head of the Sūtra (see Section II, 「無邊福德」 tr. "boundless merit"), and the proper name 「述成」 tr. "declaring and confirming" means 「佛述說並認可（述成）天主〔帝釋〕之格量」 tr. "the Buddha declares and approves (declares and confirms) the weighing of the lord of the gods (Śakra)", carrying on from the segment in the preceding chapter where Śakra weighed for himself. Second, the carrying on of the suspicion that Śakra's weighing might be mistaken—「上云十方恒沙世界一一眾生起一七寶塔，不及供養般若，更有大天及時會疑也。天主品品天主未得一切智，格量或可有謬，故佛述成」 tr. "Above it was said that if each being in worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges raised a stūpa of the seven jewels, it would not equal making offerings to prajñā; there were further greater gods and the assembly of the time who doubted it. In chapter after chapter of the lord of the gods, the lord of the gods had not yet attained omniscience, and his weighing might be mistaken; therefore the Buddha declares and confirms it"〔X24n0451 0269a07〕, echoing word for word the opening of the Treatise, 「上帝釋答佛……更有大天，以帝釋非一切智人故，所說或錯，是以佛印可所說」 tr. "Above, Śakra answered the Buddha … There were further greater gods, and because Śakra is not an omniscient person, what he said might be mistaken; therefore the Buddha sealed what he had said"; the doctrinal framework is entirely the same. Third, the structure of the division—「頌天主不假明般若福深品二：初直述歎般若功德無邊，次佛格量勝劣。兩中各二」 tr. "In praising the lord of the gods, without needing to make clear that the merit of prajñā is deep, the chapter has two parts: first, a direct declaration praising the boundless merit of prajñā; next, the Buddha's weighing of superior and inferior. Each of the two has two parts"〔X24n0451 0269a09〕; the four-level division corresponds word for word to the order of progression of the Sūtra passage, which first praises the merit (five rounds of 「皆從般若波羅蜜中生」 tr. "all are born from prajñāpāramitā") and afterwards weighs the merit (「過出前供養七寶塔百分千分千億萬分」 tr. "surpassing the earlier offering to stūpas of the seven jewels a hundredfold, a thousandfold, a thousand-koṭi-myriadfold"). Fourth, the threefold analysis of prajñā—「般若未曾生滅無生滅在不在，今為方便為物故有生滅無生滅在不在……觀有二種：一者無□生滅，無為般若如來智則常在，菩薩觀是無生滅生滅在不常在，文字般若隨法住久遠近故有在不在也。今云般若世，是文字般若也」 tr. "Prajñā has never had arising and perishing, non-arising and non-perishing, presence or non-presence; now, as a skilful means and for the sake of beings, there is arising and perishing, non-arising and non-perishing, presence and non-presence … Contemplation is of two kinds: first, without (a missing character) arising and perishing: the unconditioned prajñā, the Tathāgata's knowledge, is always present; the bodhisattva's contemplation is non-arising and non-perishing, arising and perishing, present and not always present; the prajñā of words, according as the Dharma abides long or not, is present or not present. What is now called prajñā in the world is the prajñā of words"〔X24n0451 0269a14〕 (in which 「□」 tr. "(missing character)" is a character missing in the original base text, faithfully retained, not a defect)—expanding the meaning of Treatise ①, 「般若體性常住不滅、『在世』者是經卷」 tr. "the substance and nature of prajñā abides permanently and does not perish; what is ‘present in the world’ is the scrolls", Jizang draws out a threefold framework of prajñā (the unconditioned prajñā / the Tathāgata's knowledge—always present; the bodhisattva's contemplation—arising and perishing, present and not always present; the prajñā of words—present or not present according as the Dharma abides long), finer than Treatise ①'s twofold division into 「經卷」 tr. "scrolls" and 「實相」 tr. "real mark", and it can serve as material the Exposition may cite for a deeper analysis. Fifth, the closing of the commentary—「此是一法，不定為物故作此開，何處離文字別有實相耶？」 tr. "This is one Dharma; it is opened out in this way indefinitely for the sake of beings. Where, apart from words, is there a separate real mark?"〔X24n0451 0269a19〕, echoing the framework of 「一法」 tr. "one Dharma" (the substance and nature of prajñā is single, opened into the three layers of words, contemplative knowledge, and the Tathāgata's knowledge in response to the skilful means of teaching), followed immediately by the end of the commentary on this chapter and the beginning of "Exhortation to Uphold".
Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791). It is the only ancient commentary explaining this treatise, and survives only in fragmentary fascicles; Fascicle 17 ends at the treatise's Fascicle 45, and Fascicle 21 begins at the treatise's Fascicle 59; Fascicle 57 of the treatise, to which this chapter belongs, falls exactly within the gap between these two fascicles, and the surviving fascicles of Huiying's commentary do not cover this chapter at all. A search back through the whole corpus for word-strings unique to this chapter, such as 「述誠品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring the Truth", 「述成品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming", and 「無邊福德」 tr. "boundless merit", yields zero hits for the passages of this chapter—the fragmentary fascicles of Huiying's commentary do not cover this chapter, continuing the conclusion recorded for the preceding chapters; recorded as it is.
Junzheng's Profound Meaning of the Four Mahāyāna Treatises (X46n0784). A search back through the whole work for the strings 「述誠品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring the Truth", 「述成品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming", and 「無邊福德」 tr. "boundless merit" yields zero hits for this chapter—as with "Quelling Strife" in the preceding fascicle and the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", no citation of this chapter by name by Junzheng is found; the gap is recorded as it is, and nothing is forced.
Bibliographical records (corroboration of the chapter name). The Tang monk Xuanyi's Extended Chapter Register of the Buddhist Teaching of the Kaiyuan Era of the Great Tang (A097n1267) records this chapter as 「摩訶般若波羅蜜經述成品第三十二」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Chapter on Declaring and Confirming, the Thirty-second"〔A097n1267 0813a05〕, using the name 「述成品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming" with the chapter number one step fewer (see Section IV). The Song monk Weibai's Essentials of the Outline of the Great Canon (C056n1159) records it in two places—Fascicle 2, 「述成品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming"〔C056n1159 0139a10〕 (with the summary 「一切智智一切善法。般若中生」 tr. "the knowledge of omniscience and all wholesome dharmas: born within prajñā", echoing the Sūtra passage 「一切智一切種智皆從般若波羅蜜中生」 tr. "omniscience and omniscience of all kinds are all born from prajñāpāramitā"), and Fascicle 5, 「述誠品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring the Truth"〔C056n1159 0185c09〕 (in the three-part sequence 「寶塔品．校量品．述誠品」 tr. "the Chapter on the Jewelled Stūpa, the Chapter on Weighing, the Chapter on Declaring the Truth")—the same work uses different characters in the two places (confirm / truth), recorded side by side without judgement. The records of these two works corroborate the circulation of the chapter name in many forms.
This treatise's own explanation (self-check · absent). A search of the whole corpus for the term 「述誠品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring the Truth" within the body of this treatise finds only one occurrence, in this chapter's own title〔T25 0467b21〕; the term 「述成品」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming" occurs zero times in the body—within the whole of this treatise, this chapter has no material of self-corroboration outside the chapter; its absence is recorded as it is. A further check for the term 「無邊福德」 tr. "boundless merit" finds, apart from the one occurrence in this chapter〔T25 0467b26〕, five more occurrences in the body of this treatise〔T25 0271c25／0414a28／0501b26／0516a25／0583a09〕, distributed across many places in the work: it is a general expression common in this treatise, not wording unique to this chapter, and serves only as background reference for Jizang's naming of the alternative title 「無邊福德」 tr. "Boundless Merit"; it is not raised to the status of evidence of 「自釋」 tr. "self-explanation".
Recent writings (excluded by rule). Any explanations by recent scholars are, by rule, excluded: they are neither taken as ancient-master authority nor brought into the doctrinal citations.
VII. Cross-reading and Further Resonances
On the line of meaning of this chapter, three points carry on before and after; all are recorded in this section, and no reading is fixed on anyone's behalf.
First, the Treatise's narrative carries on from the preceding chapter. The opening of the Treatise, 「上帝釋答佛，言：『供養般若，福德甚多。』更有大天……是以佛印可所說」 tr. "Above, Śakra answered the Buddha, saying: ‘The merit of making offerings to prajñā is very great.’ There were further greater gods … therefore the Buddha sealed what he had said"〔T25 0467c20〕, carries on directly from the weighing passage in Sūtra ③ of the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", in which Śakra states for himself 「則為供養過去、未來、現在佛」 tr. "it is making offerings to the Buddhas of the past, the future, and the present" and 「一切善法皆入般若波羅蜜中」 tr. "all wholesome dharmas enter into prajñāpāramitā"—this chapter's 「述成」 tr. "declaring and confirming" is the Buddha declaring and sealing Śakra's weighing in the preceding chapter; the line of meaning of the two chapters continues directly, clear evidence of this treatise's chapters running through one another, carrying on from what precedes and opening what follows.
Second, a precise delimitation of the thread of further resonance of 「大明呪」 tr. "the great bright spell" recorded in the apparatus of the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa". Section VI of the preceding chapter records 「下品〈述誠品〉復述『般若波羅蜜是大明呪』並展開廣釋〔T25 0468b18 一帶〕」 tr. "the next chapter, Declaring the Truth, restates ‘prajñāpāramitā is the great bright spell’ and unfolds a broad explanation (in the region of the locus given)"—yet the main text of this chapter, "Declaring the Truth" (〔T25 0467b21–0468a08〕, the range of this chapter ending before〔0468a12〕), contains no occurrence of the words 「大明呪」 tr. "the great bright spell" (confirmed by a search back in this section); the restatement of 「大明呪」 tr. "the great bright spell" pointed to by the preceding chapter at〔T25 0468b18〕 in fact falls after this chapter's end boundary〔0468a12〕, within the range of the next chapter, "Exhortation to Receive and Uphold", Chapter 34 (Fascicle 58, mulu〔T25 0468a17〕)〔0468b18／0468b21, two occurrences〕. Thus the downward resonance of 「大明呪」 tr. "the great bright spell" is real, but where it unfolds is the next chapter, "Exhortation to Receive and Uphold", not this chapter, "Declaring the Truth"—this section delimits its place as it is and records the precise point where the thread lands, without unfolding the content of the next chapter (which belongs to the range of Chapter 34); it is left to later research.
Third, the ancient master's carrying on of the structural division. Jizang takes this chapter, "Declaring and Confirming", as the chapter of 「頌天主不假明般若福深」 tr. "praising the lord of the gods, without needing to make clear that the merit of prajñā is deep", with 「佛述成天主格量」 tr. "the Buddha declares and confirms the weighing of the lord of the gods" as the logic of its naming (see Section VI), and judges that this chapter is established as the second segment carrying on from the preceding chapter's 「天主格量」 tr. "weighing of the lord of the gods"; his commentary's threefold analysis of prajñā, 「無為般若如來智常在／菩薩觀／文字般若隨法住」 tr. "the unconditioned prajñā, the Tathāgata's knowledge, always present / the bodhisattva's contemplation / the prajñā of words according as the Dharma abides", echoes word for word this treatise's Treatise ①, 「般若體性常住不滅／『在世』者是經卷」 tr. "the substance and nature of prajñā abides permanently and does not perish / what is ‘present in the world’ is the scrolls"—this belongs to one school's structural division carried on by an ancient master; this section records its traces, and does not fix it on anyone's behalf as a structural assertion proved by the sūtra text itself.
VIII. Witnesses and Editions
The base text of this chapter is Fascicle 57 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa〔T25 0467b21–0468a08〕 (the main text of the chapter ends at〔T25 0468a08〕 with the sentence 「是故別說」 tr. "therefore they are spoken of separately", the fascicle-end title 「大智度論卷第五十七」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Fifty-seven" is at〔T25 0468a09〕, and the next chapter, "Exhortation to Receive and Uphold", begins at〔T25 0468a12〕); the collation text for the sūtra explained is the chapter "Declaring and Confirming" of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra〔T08 0285c23 onward〕; the ancient-master commentary text for collation is Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451, covering this chapter at〔X24n0451 0269a04–0269a21〕, before the latter); the fragmentary fascicles of Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791) do not cover this chapter, and Junzheng's Profound Meaning of the Four Mahāyāna Treatises (X46n0784) has no citation. The variant collation 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 text (the Ishiyama-dera manuscript).
Compound collation notes on the chapter title (the evidential basis for the many forms · the contradiction between inner and outer layers listed separately). The four collation notes at the head of the chapter set out together the variants of the whole chapter-title sentence, of the treatise name, and of a single character; three of them bear on the chapter name. First, the whole-sentence collation note on the chapter title〔T25 0467b21〕—「大智度論釋述誠品第三十三【大】｜釋第三十二品【聖】｜摩訶般若波羅蜜經述成品第二【石】｜釋述誠品第三十三【明】」 tr. "‘Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Declaring the Truth, the Thirty-third’ in the Taishō; ‘explanation of the thirty-second chapter’ in the Shōgozō; ‘Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Chapter on Declaring and Confirming, the Second’ in the Ishiyama; ‘Commentary on the Chapter on Declaring the Truth, the Thirty-third’ in the Ming"—the four texts each differ in the title sentence: the Shōgozō counts by 「第三十二品」 tr. "the thirty-second chapter" (minus one step), the Ishiyama text titles it 「述成品第二」 tr. "Chapter on Declaring and Confirming, the Second" (using 「成」 tr. "confirm", with the sense of 「第二」 tr. "the second" unresolved; the doubt is kept in Section VIII), and the Ming edition omits the heading and reads 「誠」 tr. "truth". Second, the collation note on the character order of the treatise name〔T25 0467b21〕—「論釋【大】｜譯論【宋】【元】」 tr. "‘treatise, explaining’ in the Taishō; ‘translated treatise’ in the Song and Yuan": the Song and Yuan texts differ in the character order of the treatise name; this is not the chapter name. Third, the single-character collation note on 「誠」 tr. "truth"〔T25 0467b21〕—「誠【大】｜成【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "‘truth’ in the Taishō; ‘confirm’ in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace": the four editions of this treatise, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace, read 「成」 tr. "confirm" at this character position; the fourth note, 「三【大】｜三品【宮】」 tr. "‘three’ in the Taishō; ‘three, chapter’ in the Palace"〔T25 0467b21〕, is a variant of the chapter-number figure. Of these, the Ming reading 「誠」 tr. "truth" in the first (outer layer, whole sentence) and the Ming reading 「成」 tr. "confirm" in the third (inner layer, single character) are on the surface inconsistent for the same witness at the same character position—a phenomenon of the whole-sentence collation notes on a title and the independent single-character collation notes of the Taishō electronic collated text belonging to different collation scopes and existing side by side; both are kept and recorded side by side as they are, with no reconciliation imposed (see Section IV, the third point). These notes are the evidential basis, on this treatise's side, for the many forms of the chapter name, and are used for the determination of the chapter name in Section IV.
The Ishiyama text's ‘minus one step’ colophon at the chapter end (compared with the adjacent ‘minus two steps’ of the preceding chapter). The collation note on the last character of this chapter, 「說【大】｜說釋第三十二品竟【石】」 tr. "‘spoken’ in the Taishō; ‘spoken; explanation of the thirty-second chapter ends’ in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0468a08〕: the Ishiyama text names the end of this chapter as 「第三十二品」 tr. "the thirty-second chapter" (this chapter, lemma thirty-three → the Ishiyama count thirty-two, minus one step); the collation note on the fascicle-end title, 「大智度論卷第五十七【大】｜〔－〕【石】」 tr. "‘Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Fifty-seven’ in the Taishō; absent in the Ishiyama"〔T25 0468a09〕 (the Ishiyama text lacks the fascicle title), and 「七【大】｜七（釋第三十一品註第三十二品）【聖】」 tr. "‘seven’ in the Taishō; ‘seven (explaining the thirty-first chapter, commentary on the thirty-second chapter)’ in the Shōgozō"〔T25 0468a09〕 (the Shōgozō names what Fascicle 57 explains as 「第三十一至第三十二品」 tr. "the thirty-first to the thirty-second chapters", minus one step). The Ishiyama colophon at the last character of the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", 「報釋第三十品竟」 tr. "recompense; explanation of the thirtieth chapter ends" (minus two steps; see Section IV), and this one, 「說釋第三十二品竟」 tr. "spoken; explanation of the thirty-second chapter ends" (minus one step), are adjacent, yet the magnitude of the offset jumps; their existence is faithfully recorded, with no reconciliation forced (see Section IV). These exceptional Ishiyama readings, on which the counting depends, are all cited without omission; the main text follows the reading of the current base text.
Complete ledger of collation notes (all twenty-three entries reconciled · transcribed as they stand). Below, transcribed in their original form from the end of the working base text (twenty collation notes anchored in this chapter itself, together with three cross-chapter citations of global canonical notes of the preceding chapter, "Weighing the Jewelled Stūpa", re-cited recursively in star form—for the 【經】 marker, the 【論】 marker, and the frequent variant 「擣／揭」 tr. "pound / lift", this treatise as a whole adopts a mechanism of a single canonical note plus global star re-citation; their own point of definition lies within the range of the preceding chapter, and this chapter is a later point of citation re-citing them in star form, as marked here); the readings of the variant texts are preserved side by side, while the main text still follows the reading of the current base text:
- 〔T25 0467b21〕大智度論釋述誠品第三十三【大】｜釋第三十二品【聖】｜摩訶般若波羅蜜經述成品第二【石】｜釋述誠品第三十三【明】
- 〔T25 0467b21〕論釋【大】｜譯論【宋】【元】
- 〔T25 0467b21〕誠【大】｜成【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0467b21〕三【大】｜三品【宮】
- 〔T25 0467b22〕(star · cross-chapter citation of the preceding chapter's canonical note)【經】【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
- 〔T25 0467b24〕卷【大】｜〔－〕【聖】
- 〔T25 0467b25〕(star · cross-chapter citation of the preceding chapter's canonical note)擣【大】｜揭【石】
- 〔T25 0467c07〕受【大】｜〔－〕【聖】【石】
- 〔T25 0467c09〕乃至【大】｜及【聖】
- 〔T25 0467c11〕終【大】｜亦終【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0467c20〕(star · cross-chapter citation of the preceding chapter's canonical note)【論】【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】【聖】
- 〔T25 0467c20〕上帝釋【大】｜帝釋上【聖】
- 〔T25 0467c20〕帝釋【大】｜〔－〕【宮】
- 〔T25 0467c22〕印【大】｜即【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0467c28〕短【大】｜𢬎【聖】
- 〔T25 0467c29〕實【大】｜多【聖】
- 〔T25 0468a01〕攝【大】｜脩【聖】
- 〔T25 0468a06〕餘【大】｜〔－〕【宮】
- 〔T25 0468a07〕果【大】｜得【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】
- 〔T25 0468a08〕說【大】｜說釋第三十二品竟【石】
- 〔T25 0468a09〕大智度論卷第五十七【大】｜〔－〕【石】
- 〔T25 0468a09〕論【大】｜經論【聖】
- 〔T25 0468a09〕七【大】｜七（釋第三十一品註第三十二品）【聖】
These twenty-three entries agree mechanically with the count of anchored collation notes in the working base text (twenty recorded directly for this chapter itself, together with three cross-chapter citations of global canonical notes of the preceding chapter, re-cited recursively in star form). The several places bearing on doctrine, transliteration, or counting (the variant names in four texts in the chapter-title sentence〔0467b21〕, the contradiction between inner and outer layers over 「誠／成」 tr. "truth / confirm", the Ishiyama minus-one-step colophon at the chapter end〔0468a08〕, and the Shōgozō minus-one-step count at the fascicle end〔0468a09〕) have been listed separately above and collated in both directions against the sūtra explained (Section IV); for the remaining entries the readings of the variant texts are preserved side by side, the main text follows the reading of the current base text, and all are recorded side by side without judgement.