大智度論 稱揚品Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Extolling
稱揚品：舍利弗問行真實法為行無真實法，須菩提答行般若即行無真實，諸天子作念禮敬發心不證之人，須菩提反以度眾生如度虛空為難、聞諸法離相心不驚不沒不怖不畏，佛問何故不沒而須菩提答無所有離寂滅故，光音遍淨廣果淨居諸天作禮、十方諸佛憶念、恒沙等魔不能留難；論主釋真實不真實之訓、調馬見影喻、眾生空與法空二重不畏、佛何以問弟子與何以令須菩提說之四番問答，並重述經文以結諸天作禮與諸佛憶念之因果；卷七十九續說成就二法魔不能壞、諸天親近授記、十方諸佛稱揚名姓與寶相尸棄二菩薩、阿鞞跋致與未得無生忍而能信解者、如中住與除如無法可得、帝釋歎仰射空中；論主釋日月相須喻、五種執金剛神、魚子不為母念喻、大將破敵喻、何經中說二菩薩、遍吉觀世音何以不歎、三解脫門三種差別、出柔順法忍未得無生法忍之希有、箭勢盡自墮非為空盡（經＋論）
本品開卷是一個很容易被輕輕放過的問題。舍利弗問須菩提：菩薩行般若，是「為行真實法？為行無真實法？」須菩提答得毫不遲疑：「為行無真實法。」理由不在行的人，在般若自身——「是般若波羅蜜無真實，乃至一切種智無真實故。」乃至「無真實不可得，何況真實！」論主怕人把「無真實」再立成一個實在的東西，先把「真實」二字訓清楚：「真實法者，審定、不變異，即是可取、可著；若不真實，即是虛誑妄語。」再以二諦收住：「世諦故說真實；第一義中真實不可得，何況不真實！」——連「不真實」也不可得，這一層不補上，前一句立刻就變成新的執著處。
接著，「難」字被挪了位置。欲色界諸天子見菩薩於平等法中不作實際證、不墮二乘地，覺得這已經極難，應當為他作禮；須菩提卻說這不算難：「諸菩薩摩訶薩於等法不作證聲聞、辟支佛地，不為難。」真正難的是另一件事——「知眾生畢竟不可得而度眾生，是乃為難！」他把這件事說得近乎荒謬：「是人欲度眾生，如欲度虛空。」虛空離、虛空空、虛空無堅固、虛空虛誑，眾生亦爾；發願度這樣的眾生，等於「為欲與虛空共鬪。」論主替這個『一難一不難』出了判準：「眾生，虛誑假名故，是所著處；平等法，無為故，非所著處。」所以「於顛倒著處而能不著為難；於無著處不著，是不為難。」——難易從來不由境的深淺定，由著處不著處定。本品在宋、宮、明三本中題作〈度空品〉，取的正是這一段。
聽見這樣的話而心不驚，才是行般若的驗處，而這個驗有兩重。經先說聞眾生離相不驚，次說聞一切法離相「心不驚、不沒、不怖、不畏」。論主把這兩重之間的縫點破：「若眾生空，法不空，應有怖畏；若法亦空，無生怖畏處。」——怖畏總得有一個能怖的地方，法若也空，連那個地方都沒有了。故收語曰：「上聞眾生空故不畏，今聞法空故不畏。」「若聞是二空不畏，是為真行般若。」至於不驚何以可能，論主給了一個很家常的喻：「譬如調馬，自見影不驚。」何以不驚？「自知影從身出故。」——人所怕的從來不是空，是把自己現的影子當成了外來的東西。
品的後半轉入「稱揚」二字。佛說菩薩成就二法則魔不能壞：「觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生。」論主先說偏廢之失：「若但有憐愍心、無智慧，則心沒在無眾生而有眾生顛倒中；若但有空心，捨憐愍度眾生心，則墮斷滅中。」再說何以能兼——關鍵在空也要空掉：「觀一切法空，空亦空故不著空，是故不妨憐愍眾生」，末以一喻收之：「以日月因緣故，萬物潤生。但有月而無日，則萬物濕壞；但有日而無月，則萬物燋爛。」「如日月相須。」——空與悲不是兩樣東西相加，是彼此相須而後各自成立。另一對二法落得更實：「所作如所言，亦為諸佛所念。」言行不副，則「五種執金剛神捨離、不復守護，惡鬼得便」；不為佛念，則善根自朽——「如魚子不為母念，則爛壞不生。」
於是諸佛在大眾中說法時，會「自讚歎稱揚是菩薩摩訶薩名姓」，如釋迦自稱揚寶相菩薩、尸棄菩薩。須菩提追問：究竟是哪一等菩薩？佛先答阿鞞跋致；須菩提再問，佛的答案卻一層比一層低，最後落在「信解一切法無生，未得無生忍法」的人身上。論主替這個低處說明其所以希有：「是人出柔順法忍、未得無生法忍，出凡夫法、未入聖法，而能信受聖法，似得聖法人，是故希有。」——他既已不是凡夫，又還不是聖人，正站在那個最沒有憑據的中間；佛的稱揚先及已成者，又以一個「復次」推到這裡——連未得無生忍而能信解的人也在其中。而佛為什麼要稱揚，論主說得極平實：諸佛本「無分別善不善法，視諸阿羅漢、外道亦無憎愛」，其讚歎毀訾只為一事——「欲使眾生依附好人，心隨善法，令出世間故。」至於何以獨舉那兩位而不舉遍吉、觀世音，論主也不迴避，出了三解，最樸素的是第三解：「遍吉、觀世音菩薩等功德極大，人皆知；是二菩薩，人未知，故稱揚。」稱揚之用在補人所不知，不在錦上添花。
品末的收束在一個弓箭的譬喻上。須菩提說法無礙，釋提桓因讚曰：「但為空事，無所罣礙。譬如仰射空中，箭去無礙……」論主把這喻逐支拆開來配：「虛空即是畢竟空，箭是須菩提智慧。」箭射向空，所以無礙；箭落地不是因為空用完了——「如箭於空無礙，勢盡自墮，非為空盡」，須菩提說法之止，也不是因為法說盡了，只是「說法因緣事辦故便止」。反過來的一面說得更利：「若有人雖有利箭，射壁不能過；人雖有利智慧，邪見著有，則礙而不能通。」箭是一樣的箭，射空與射壁之別，只在所向。所以全品之名雖是「稱揚」，所稱揚的，先是已成之人，也及於那個肯把箭仰射向空的人——他還沒有到，而他射的方向已經對了。
This chapter opens on a question that is very easily let pass lightly. Śāriputra asks Subhūti: when the bodhisattva practises prajñā, is it ‘practising a true and real dharma, or practising a dharma without true reality?’ Subhūti answers without the least hesitation: ‘It is practising a dharma without true reality.’ The reason lies not in the person who practises but in prajñā itself—‘Because this prajñāpāramitā is without true reality, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds is without true reality.’ And so on up to ‘what is without true reality is unfindable, how much less the true and real!’ The treatise-author, fearing that people will set up ‘without true reality’ once more as a really existing thing, first glosses the two Chinese characters rendered here as ‘true and real’ clearly: ‘A true and real dharma is settled and certain and does not change; this is what can be taken hold of and can be clung to; if it is not true and real, it is false and deceptive, lying speech.’ And he gathers it in by the two truths: ‘By reason of worldly truth the true and real is spoken of; within the highest meaning the true and real is unfindable, how much less the not true and real!’—Even ‘not true and real’ is unfindable; if this layer is not supplied, the preceding sentence at once turns into a new place of clinging.
Next, the word ‘hard’ is moved from its position. The gods of the desire realm and the form realm, seeing that the bodhisattva within the equal dharma does not realise the limit of reality and does not fall to the ground of the two vehicles, feel that this is already extremely hard and that they should bow to him; Subhūti, however, says that this does not count as hard: ‘That the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas within the dharma of equality do not realise the śrāvaka ground or the pratyekabuddha ground is not hard.’ What is truly hard is another matter—‘To know that beings are ultimately unfindable and yet to deliver beings: this indeed is hard!’ He speaks of this matter in a way that comes near to the absurd: ‘This person's wishing to deliver beings is like wishing to deliver space.’ Space is separated, space is empty, space is without firmness, space is false and deceptive, and beings are likewise; to make the vow to deliver such beings is the same as ‘wishing to fight together with space.’ For this ‘one hard, one not hard’ the treatise-author brings out the measure: ‘Beings, because they are false and deceptive provisional names, are a place that is clung to; the equal dharma, because it is unconditioned, is not a place that is clung to.’ Therefore ‘to be able not to cling at the place of inverted clinging is hard; not to cling at the place where there is no clinging is not hard.’—Hard and easy were never settled by the depth of the object; they are settled by whether it is a place of clinging or not a place of clinging. In the three editions, the Song, the Palace, and the Ming, this chapter is titled "Delivering Space", and what that title takes is precisely this passage.
To hear such words and have a mind that is not startled—only that is the testing place of practising prajñā, and this test has two layers. The sūtra first says that on hearing that beings are separated from marks he is not startled, and next says that on hearing that all dharmas are separated from marks ‘his mind is not startled, does not sink, is not terrified, is not afraid’. The treatise-author opens up the seam between these two layers: ‘If beings were empty and dharmas were not empty, there would have to be terror and fear; if dharmas too are empty, there is no place for terror and fear to arise.’—Terror and fear must after all have some place in which one can be terrified; if dharmas too are empty, not even that place remains. So the closing words say: ‘Above, because he heard of the emptiness of beings he was not afraid; now, because he hears of the emptiness of dharmas he is not afraid.’ ‘If on hearing of these two emptinesses he is not afraid, this is truly practising prajñā.’ As to how not being startled is possible, the treatise-author gives a very homely simile: ‘As a tamed horse, seeing its own shadow, is not startled.’ Why is it not startled? ‘Because it knows of itself that the shadow comes out of its body.’—What people fear was never emptiness; it is taking the shadow they themselves cast for something that has come from outside.
The latter half of the chapter turns to the two Chinese characters rendered here as ‘extolling’. The Buddha says that when the bodhisattva accomplishes two dharmas Māra cannot break him: ‘He contemplates all dharmas as empty, and he does not abandon any being.’ The treatise-author first speaks of the fault of leaning to one side: ‘If he only has the mind of pity and has no wisdom, then his mind sinks into the inversion of there being beings where there are no beings; if he only has the mind of emptiness and abandons the mind of pitying and delivering beings, then he falls into annihilation.’ Then he says how the two can be held together—the key lies in that emptiness too must be emptied: ‘He contemplates all dharmas as empty, and because emptiness too is empty he does not cling to emptiness; therefore it does not hinder pitying beings’, and at the end he gathers it in with one simile: ‘By the causes and conditions of the sun and the moon, the ten thousand things are moistened and grow. With only the moon and no sun, the ten thousand things would be wet and ruined; with only the sun and no moon, the ten thousand things would be scorched and spoiled.’ ‘As the sun and moon need one another.’—Emptiness and compassion are not two different things added together; they need one another, and only then does each stand. The other pair of two dharmas lands more concretely still: ‘What he does is as what he says, and he is also kept in mind by the buddhas.’ When words and conduct do not match, then ‘the five kinds of vajra-holding spirits abandon him and no longer guard him, and evil ghosts find an opening’; when he is not kept in mind by the Buddha, his roots of goodness rot of themselves—‘as fish-roe, when the mother does not keep them in mind, rot and are ruined and do not come to life.’
Thereupon, when the buddhas teach the Dharma in the great assembly, they ‘themselves praise and extol the name and clan of this bodhisattva-mahāsattva’, as Śākyamuni himself extols the bodhisattva Jewel Mark and the bodhisattva Śikhin. Subhūti presses the question: just which rank of bodhisattva is it? The Buddha first answers the avaivartika; Subhūti asks again, and the Buddha's answer, however, is layer by layer lower, and at the last comes down upon the person who ‘has faith in and understands that all dharmas are non-arising, and has not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising’. The treatise-author explains on behalf of this low place the reason for its rarity: ‘This person has gone out from the compliant acceptance of dharmas and has not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, has gone out from the dharma of ordinary people and has not yet entered the dharma of the sages, and yet can believe and accept the dharma of the sages, like a person who has obtained the dharma of the sages; therefore he is rare.’—He is already no longer an ordinary person and is not yet a sage, and stands exactly in that middle which has the least to go upon; the Buddha's extolling first reaches those already accomplished, and then with one ‘again’ is pushed to here—even the person who has not yet obtained the acceptance of non-arising and yet can have faith and understanding is among them. And why the Buddha should extol, the treatise-author says most plainly: the buddhas by origin ‘do not discriminate wholesome and unwholesome dharmas, and look upon arhats and those of the outside paths also without hate or love’; their praise and disparagement are only for one matter—‘wishing to make beings rely on and attach themselves to good people, their minds following wholesome dharmas, so as to have them go out from the world.’ As to why those two alone are raised and not Samantabhadra and Avalokiteśvara, the treatise-author does not evade it either, and brings out three explanations, of which the plainest is the third: ‘The merits of the bodhisattvas Samantabhadra, Avalokiteśvara, and the rest are extremely great, and people all know them; these two bodhisattvas people do not yet know, and therefore they are extolled.’ The function of extolling lies in supplying what people do not know, not in adding flowers to brocade.
The gathering-in at the end of the chapter rests on a simile of bow and arrow. Subhūti teaches the Dharma without obstruction, and Śakra Devānām Indra praises him, saying: ‘It is only for the matter of emptiness, with nothing that hangs or obstructs. As when one shoots upward into space, the arrow goes without obstruction …’ The treatise-author takes this simile apart limb by limb and matches it: ‘Space is ultimate emptiness; the arrow is Subhūti's wisdom.’ The arrow is shot toward space, and so there is no obstruction; the arrow's falling to the ground is not because space has been used up—‘as an arrow in space is without obstruction, and when its force is exhausted it falls of itself, not because space is exhausted’; the stopping of Subhūti's teaching of the Dharma, too, is not because the Dharma has been spoken to the last; it is only that ‘the matter of the causes and conditions for teaching the Dharma being accomplished, he then stops’. The reverse side is said more sharply still: ‘If there is a person who, though he has a sharp arrow, shoots at a wall, it cannot pass through; though a person has sharp wisdom, if by wrong views he clings to existence, then he is obstructed and cannot get through.’ The arrow is the same arrow; the difference between shooting at space and shooting at a wall lies only in where it is aimed. So although the name of the whole chapter is ‘Extolling’, what is extolled is first the person already accomplished, and it reaches also to the person who is willing to shoot his arrow upward toward space—he has not yet arrived, and the direction of his shot is already right.
卷78 〔T25 0612a04〕
大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五 【經】 舍利弗語須菩提：「菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，為行真實法？為行無真實法？」 須菩提報舍利弗：「菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，為行無真實法。何以故？是般若波羅蜜無真實，乃至一切種智無真實故。菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，無真實不可得，何況真實！乃至行一切種智，無真實法不可得，何況真實！」 爾時，欲、色界諸天子作是念：「諸有善男子、善女人發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提意，如深般若波羅蜜所說義，行於等法，不作實際證，不墮聲聞、辟支佛地，應當為作禮！」 須菩提語諸天子：「諸菩薩摩訶薩於等法不作證聲聞、辟支佛地，不為難。諸菩薩摩訶薩大誓莊嚴：『我當度無量無邊阿僧祇眾生。』知眾生畢竟不可得而度眾生，是乃為難！諸天子！諸菩薩摩訶薩發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，作是願：『我當度一切眾生。』眾生實不可得，是人欲度眾生，如欲度虛空。何以故？虛空離故，當知眾生亦離；虛空空故，當知眾生亦空；虛空無堅固，當知眾生亦無堅固；虛空虛誑，當知眾生亦虛誑。諸天子！以是因緣故，當知菩薩所作為難。為利益無所有眾生故而大莊嚴，是人為眾生結誓，為欲與虛空共鬪。是菩薩結誓已，亦不得眾生而為眾生結誓。何以故？眾生離故，當知大誓亦離；眾生虛誑故，〔T25 0612b〕當知大誓亦虛誑。若菩薩摩訶薩聞是法，心不驚、不沒，當知是菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜。何以故？色離，即是眾生離；受、想、行、識離，即是眾生離。色離，即是六波羅蜜離；受、想、行、識離，即是六波羅蜜離。乃至一切種智離，即是六波羅蜜離。若菩薩摩訶薩聞是一切諸法離相，心不驚、不沒、不怖、不畏，當知是菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜。」 佛告須菩提：「何因緣故，菩薩摩訶薩於深般若波羅蜜中心不沒？」 須菩提白佛言：「世尊！般若波羅蜜無所有故不沒，般若波羅蜜離故不沒，般若波羅蜜寂滅故不沒。世尊！以是因緣故，菩薩於深般若波羅蜜中心不沒。何以故？是菩薩不得沒者、不得沒事、不得沒處，是一切法皆不可得故。世尊！若菩薩摩訶薩聞是法，心不驚、不沒、不怖、不畏，當知是菩薩為行般若波羅蜜。何以故？沒者、沒事、沒處，是法皆不可得故。菩薩摩訶薩如是行般若波羅蜜，諸天及釋提桓因天、梵天王天及世界主天皆為作禮。」 佛告須菩提：「不但釋提桓因諸天、梵王及諸天、世界主及諸天禮是菩薩行般若波羅蜜者，過是上，光音天、遍淨天、廣果天、淨居天皆為是菩薩摩訶薩作禮。須菩提！今現在十方無量諸佛，亦念是行般若波羅蜜菩薩摩訶薩。當知是菩薩為如佛。須菩提！若恒河沙等世界中眾生悉使為魔，是一一魔復化作魔，如恒河沙等魔，是一切魔不能留難菩薩行般若波羅蜜。」 【論】 釋曰： 爾時，舍利弗聞上無分別相法，心〔T25 0612c〕大歡喜，問須菩提：「若菩薩行般若波羅蜜，為行真實法？為行無真實法？」真實法者，審定、不變異，即是可取、可著；若不真實，即是虛誑妄語。 須菩提常樂行深空，心無障礙，故答：「行般若者，即是行無真實。何以故？般若波羅蜜空、無定相、無分別故。乃至一切種智亦如是。」 菩薩行如是般若波羅蜜時，先來生死中，所習、所著虛誑有為法尚不可得，何況後來觀虛誑因緣生般若波羅蜜非所著法而可得！是故菩薩觀一切世間不真實，亦不著是般若波羅蜜。世諦故說真實；第一義中真實不可得，何況不真實！ 爾時，欲、色界諸天子歡喜言：「其有發菩薩心者，皆應禮敬！能為難事，能行第一深義而不作證故。」第一義即是平等法，但以異名說。 須菩提語諸天子：「菩薩於平等法不作證，不為難；菩薩欲度無量眾生，眾生畢竟不可得，是則為難！何以故？欲度眾生者，為欲度虛空。虛空離故，眾生亦離；虛空虛誑不實故，眾生亦虛誑不實。」 問曰： 於平等法而不證，眾生畢竟空而度眾生，此二俱畢竟空，云何言一難、一不難？ 答曰： 眾生，虛誑假名故，是所著處；平等法，無為故，非所著處。眾生從有為法假名而生，無為法是第一義。於顛倒著處而能不著為難；於無著處不著，是不為難。 以是故如是說：「眾生空故，大莊嚴亦空；若大莊嚴空而能發心為難。」 菩薩若聞是第一平等義，度眾生、大莊嚴皆畢竟空，而心不驚、不沒。譬如調馬，自見影〔T25 0613a〕不驚。何以故？自知影從身出故。菩薩亦如是，知畢竟空，因有為和合虛妄法生故。菩薩聞是事，不驚、不沒，是為行般若波羅蜜。 色等法離故，眾生亦離。離名為空。若眾生空，法不空，應有怖畏；若法亦空，無生怖畏處。若菩薩聞是一切法離相，心不畏，是亦名菩薩行般若波羅蜜。 上聞眾生空故不畏，今聞法空故不畏。若聞是二空不畏，是為真行般若。 「佛問須菩提，何以故菩薩心不沒」者。 問曰： 佛是一切智人，何以問弟子心不驚、不沒？ 答曰： 以眾會有疑，敬難故不敢問，是以佛問。 復次，是第一平等義甚深難得，深處應當沒而不沒，故試問須菩提。 復次，佛以須菩提為說法主，聽者法應問難。 問曰： 佛為一切智，何以不自為說主，而令須菩提說？ 答曰： 眾中有人以佛智慧無量無邊，我等智力有量，若心有所疑，不敢發問。為是人故，命須菩提說。 問曰： 若爾者，何以不令大菩薩說？ 答曰： 大菩薩智慧亦大，不可思議，威德重故，亦不敢問難。 復次，有人言：阿羅漢、辟支佛、佛，三界繫無明永盡無餘故，能如實說法；諸菩薩雖廣集福德，漏未盡故，或不可信，是故不命。 問曰： 若爾者，舍利弗智慧第一，及餘大弟子，何以不命？ 答曰： 是事先已答，所謂須菩提樂於空行，偏善說空；般若波羅蜜多說空故，令須菩提說。 須菩提白佛：「一切法畢竟空、無所有，無所有故自相離，離相故常寂滅，常寂滅故無憶想分別，是故菩薩不應驚、不〔T25 0613b〕應沒——沒者、沒處、沒法，皆不可得。若菩薩聞是事不驚、不沒，是為行般若波羅蜜。」 須菩提答已，白佛言：「能如是行，亦名為行般若波羅蜜。」 世尊！菩薩能如是行，一切諸天、帝釋及世界主禮菩薩者，地神、虛空中神、四天王、忉利天，帝釋為主，皆共禮是菩薩。梵天王，初禪中梵世界眾生主；世界主者，欲界餘天主。眾生多信有此天，故須菩提說言作禮。何以故？是菩薩捨自樂，欲利益眾生；是三種天，但自求樂故。 佛語須菩提：「非但是三種天作禮，光音天等清淨一心諸天皆亦作禮。」 欲界諸天，著婬欲心多故，禮不足為貴；初禪天有覺觀散亂，亦不足為妙；上諸天心清淨，以菩薩有大功德故作禮，爾乃為難。 「須菩提！菩薩若能如是行般若，為十方無量諸佛所念。」佛念因緣，如先說。 今佛說，是菩薩諸佛念果報，所謂當知是菩薩為如佛，以其必至佛道不退故。所以者何？如恒河沙等魔，不能壞是菩薩，如經廣說。 大智度論卷第七十八
卷79 〔T25 0613b22〕
大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五之餘 聖者龍樹造 後秦龜茲國三藏鳩摩羅什譯 【經】「須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩成就二法，魔不能壞。〔T25 0613c〕何等二？觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生。須菩提！菩薩成就此二法，魔不能壞。 「復次，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩復有二法成就，魔不能壞。何等二？所作如所言，亦為諸佛所念。菩薩成就此二法，魔不能壞。須菩提！菩薩如是行，是諸天皆來至菩薩所，親近、諮問、勸喻、安慰，作是言：『善男子！汝疾得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提不久。善男子！汝常當行是空、無相、無作行。何以故？善男子！汝行是行，無護眾生汝為作護，無依眾生為作依，無救眾生為作救，無究竟道眾生為作究竟道，無歸眾生為作歸，無洲眾生為作洲，冥者為作明，盲者為作眼。』何以故？是菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，十方現在無量阿僧祇諸佛在大眾中說法時，自讚歎稱揚是菩薩摩訶薩名姓，言：『某甲菩薩成就般若波羅蜜功德。』須菩提！如我今說法時，自稱揚寶相菩薩、尸棄菩薩。復有諸菩薩摩訶薩在阿閦佛世界中行般若波羅蜜、淨修梵行，我亦稱揚是菩薩名姓。須菩提！亦如東方現在諸佛說法時，是中有菩薩摩訶薩淨修梵行，佛亦歡喜，自稱揚讚歎是菩薩；南西北方、四維、上下，亦如是。復有菩薩從初發意欲具足佛道，乃至得一切種智；諸佛說法時，亦歡喜自稱揚讚歎是菩薩。何以故？是諸菩薩摩訶薩所行甚難，不斷佛種行。」 須菩提白佛言：「世尊！何等菩薩摩訶薩，諸佛說法時，自讚歎稱揚？」 佛告須菩提：「阿鞞跋致菩薩，諸佛說法時，自讚歎稱揚。」 須菩提言：「何等阿鞞跋致菩薩為佛所讚？」 佛言：「如阿閦佛〔T25 0614a〕為菩薩時所行所學，諸菩薩亦如是學；是諸阿鞞跋致菩薩，諸佛說法時，歡喜讚歎。 「復次，須菩提！有菩薩行般若波羅蜜，信解一切法無生，未得無生忍法；信解一切法空，未得無生忍法；信解一切法虛誑、不實、不堅固，未得無生忍法。須菩提！如是等諸菩薩摩訶薩，佛說法時，歡喜自讚歎稱揚名姓。須菩提！若諸菩薩摩訶薩，諸佛說法時，歡喜自讚歎者，是菩薩滅聲聞、辟支佛地，當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提記。須菩提！若菩薩摩訶薩，諸佛說法時，歡喜自讚歎者，是菩薩當住阿鞞跋致地；住是地已，當得薩婆若。 「復次，須菩提！若菩薩摩訶薩聞是深般若波羅蜜，其心明利、不疑不悔，作是念：『是事如佛所說。』是菩薩亦當於阿閦佛及諸菩薩所廣聞是般若波羅蜜，亦信解；信解已，如佛所說，當住阿鞞跋致地。如是，須菩提！但聞般若波羅蜜，得大利益，何況信解！信解已，如說住、如說行；如說住、行已，住一切種智中。」 須菩提白佛言：「世尊！若佛說菩薩摩訶薩如所說住、如所說行，住薩婆若；若菩薩摩訶薩無所得法，云何住薩婆若？」 佛告須菩提：「菩薩摩訶薩住諸法如中，住薩婆若。」 須菩提言：「世尊！除如更無法可得，誰住如中？住如中已，當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提？誰住如中當說法？如尚不可得，何況住如得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提！誰住如中而說法？無有是處！」 佛告須菩提：「如汝所言：『除如，更無法，誰住如中？住如中已，當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提？誰住如中當說法？如尚不可得，〔T25 0614b〕何況住如得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提！誰住如中而說法？無有是處！』」 佛言：「如是！如是！須菩提！除如，更無有法可得，誰住如中？住如中已，當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提？誰住如中當說法？如尚不可得，何況住如中得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提！誰住如中而說法？何以故？是如生不可得、滅不可得、住異不可得；若法生、滅、住異不可得，是中誰當住如？誰當住如已，得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提？誰當住如而說法？無有是處！」 釋提桓因白佛言：「世尊！諸菩薩摩訶薩所為甚難，深般若波羅蜜中欲得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。何以故？世尊！無有如中住者，亦無當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提者，亦無說法者。菩薩摩訶薩於是處心不驚、不沒，不怖、不畏，不疑、不悔。」 爾時，須菩提語釋提桓因：「如憍尸迦說：『菩薩摩訶薩所為甚難，是甚深法中心不驚、不沒，不怖、不畏，不疑、不悔。』憍尸迦！諸法空中誰驚、誰沒？誰怖、誰畏？誰疑、誰悔？」 是時，釋提桓因語須菩提：「須菩提所說，但為空事，無所罣礙。譬如仰射空中，箭去無礙；須菩提說法無礙亦如是。」 【論】 釋曰： 眾會疑：「菩薩何因緣故得如是力，魔不能壞？」 佛答：「有二因緣故，魔不能壞：一者、觀諸法空，二者、不捨一切眾生。」 以日月因緣故，萬物潤生。但有月而無日，則萬物濕壞；但有日而無月，則萬物燋爛。日、月和合故，萬物成熟。菩薩亦如是，有二道：一者、悲，二者、空。悲心憐愍眾生，誓願欲度；空心來則滅憐愍心。若但有憐愍〔T25 0614c〕心、無智慧，則心沒在無眾生而有眾生顛倒中；若但有空心，捨憐愍度眾生心，則墮斷滅中。 是故佛說二事兼用，雖觀一切空而不捨眾生，雖憐愍眾生不捨一切空。觀一切法空，空亦空故不著空，是故不妨憐愍眾生；觀憐愍眾生，亦不著眾生、不取眾生相，但憐愍眾生，引導入空，是故雖行憐愍而不妨空。雖行空，亦不取空相故，不妨憐愍心，如日月相須。 諸神天輕賤妄語人，若菩薩不如所說行，則五種執金剛神捨離、不復守護，惡鬼得便。是人喜生惡心，惡心故則生惡業，生惡業故則墮惡道。菩薩不為諸佛所念者，則善根朽壞；如魚子不為母念，則爛壞不生。是故言：「所作如所言，亦為諸佛所念。得此二法故，不可破壞。」 若菩薩能如是真行般若波羅蜜，魔不能壞，功德智慧增益，諸天則來親近、諮問、安慰、勸喻，作是言：「善男子！汝疾得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提不久。以是因緣故，常行空行。」 問曰： 諸天未得一切智，云何能與菩薩授記？ 答曰： 諸天長壽，從過去諸佛聞如是行得記，今見菩薩有如是行故說，見因知有果故。諸天見是菩薩行三解脫門印，亦兼行慈悲心於眾生，是故說言「不久作佛」。 「無守護眾生汝為作守護，無歸與作歸」等義，如先說。 若菩薩能如是行甚深般若波羅蜜，十方現在無量諸佛說法時，稱揚讚歎是名字者，如我今稱揚寶相菩薩、尸棄菩薩及阿閦佛世界中菩薩。又如十方佛說法時，稱〔T25 0615a〕揚諸妙行菩薩。菩薩能如所說應諸法實相者，十方諸佛說法時，亦以是菩薩為譬喻，作是言：「某方某世界菩薩雖未作佛，能如是行甚深般若波羅蜜，功德希有故。」 如大國王有大將，不惜身命，有方便能破怨敵，常為國王所稱譽；菩薩亦如是，觀畢竟空，不惜我身，破煩惱賊，有方便而不作證，教化眾生，諸佛所稱譽。 諸佛雖無著心，無分別善不善法，視諸阿羅漢、外道亦無憎愛，為利益眾生故，讚歎善人，稱揚善法，毀訾不善。所以者何？欲使眾生依附好人，心隨善法，令出世間故。 問曰： 何經中說二菩薩佛所讚歎？ 答曰： 佛經無量。佛涅槃後，諸惡邪見王出，焚燒經法，破壞塔寺，害諸沙門。五百歲後，像法不淨，諸阿羅漢、神通菩薩難可得見故，諸深經不盡在閻浮提，行者、受者少故，諸天龍神持去。 問曰： 如遍吉菩薩、觀世音菩薩、大力勢菩薩、文殊尸利、彌勒菩薩等何以故不讚歎，而但稱譽二菩薩？ 答曰： 是二菩薩未得無生忍法而能似無生忍法行。必有此事，一切魔民所不能壞，是故佛歎希有。 復次，是二菩薩清淨大願行、深大慈悲心，不期疾作佛，為度眾生故；有如是等功德，故佛稱讚。 復次，遍吉、觀世音菩薩等功德極大，人皆知；是二菩薩，人未知，故稱揚。 阿閦佛世界菩薩皆效阿閦佛，初發心來，行清淨、不雜行；生彼菩薩皆效其行，是故說阿閦佛世界菩薩，稱譽其德。又如十方諸佛亦稱揚諸世界上〔T25 0615b〕妙菩薩，亦如釋迦文尼佛稱揚二菩薩。 何等是？菩薩從初發意乃至十地，佛讚歎是菩薩所為甚難，能不斷佛種。 此中須菩提問：「何等菩薩，佛說法時，稱揚讚歎說其名字？」 問曰： 佛已先說，須菩提何以更問？ 答曰： 佛初說「大菩薩」，後稱說「一切菩薩，從初發意乃至十地」；是故須菩提疑問佛：「佛讚歎何等菩薩，稱其名字？」 佛答：「佛雖皆愛念一切菩薩，其中有德行勝者，稱揚其名字。」 何等菩薩佛所稱歎？如阿閦佛初發心時，行清淨行，不休不息，乃至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，如是等菩薩，佛所讚歎。 復次，有菩薩未得無生法忍、未入菩薩位，行般若波羅蜜力故，常思惟籌量，求諸法實相，能信解、忍，通一切法無生相、空、虛誑、不堅固。有如是等相諸菩薩摩訶薩，佛稱名讚歎。虛誑、不實、不堅固者，皆是無常、苦、無我門。一切法空者，即是空門。一切法無生者，即是諸法實相，滅諸觀。 復次，虛誑、不實、不堅固，即是無作解脫門；一切法空，即是空解脫門；一切法無生，即是無相解脫門。 如是等三種差別。 是人出柔順法忍、未得無生法忍，出凡夫法、未入聖法，而能信受聖法，似得聖法人，是故希有。如佛所稱譽阿鞞跋致菩薩，能斷二地、得受記；是人為佛所稱譽，亦如是。如是相人，雖未得無生法忍，智慧力故，為諸佛稱名讚歎。 今以信根力勝故，佛亦稱名讚歎。何者是？所謂：「復次，須菩提！若菩薩摩訶薩聞是深般若，其心明利、不疑不悔，作是念：〔T25 0615c〕『是事如佛所說。』」 問曰： 是菩薩已信解般若波羅蜜，何以更從阿閦佛及諸菩薩邊聞？ 答曰： 是人聞阿閦佛作菩薩時所行清淨；是人聞已，欲效阿閦佛所行。是故佛說：「此人於是得信力、於彼得智慧力故，當住阿鞞跋致地。」是人未得無生忍法，以智慧力故，得如阿鞞跋致，為諸佛所讚；有信力故，得如阿鞞跋致，為諸佛所讚。 若但聞般若，得如是利益，何況信受、如所說行，漸住一切種智中！ 須菩提問佛：「一切法空相無所得，云何菩薩住薩婆若？」 佛言：「如中住。」如者即是空。菩薩住是畢竟空中，名為住薩婆若。 此中須菩提問佛：「除如，更無法可得，誰住如中？」乃至「無有是處」，如經廣說。 佛可須菩提所語，說如亦空因緣，所謂：「是如，生、滅、住異不可得，若法無三相，即是畢竟空，云何可住？若住此中得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提而說法，無有是處！」 釋提桓因欲取般若一定相，聞佛共須菩提說無相亦不可得，是故白佛言：「希有！世尊！是般若甚深，是菩薩所為甚難，欲得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。何以故？是如畢竟空，除如，更無菩薩住是如中得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，亦無定法名為佛，說法者所度眾生亦不離如，亦無拔出處涅槃，諸法常住如相故。菩薩聞是事，心不疑悔，是事為難！雖信一切法畢竟空，而欲求阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，精進、不休不息，是為難。」 須菩提語帝釋：「若諸法畢竟空、無所有，疑從何生？何有難事？」 帝釋心歡喜，〔T25 0616a〕作是念：「須菩提實是樂說空法；須菩提有所解說，皆說空事。雖說色等餘事，其義皆趣向空；若有難問，不能作礙，空亦空故。」 若人難空，須菩提先已破空，於有無中都無所礙；譬如仰射空中。虛空即是畢竟空，箭是須菩提智慧。所說，如箭於空無礙，勢盡自墮，非為空盡；須菩提說法因緣事辦故便止，非為法盡。若有人雖有利箭，射壁不能過；人雖有利智慧，邪見著有，則礙而不能通。是故須菩提說無障無礙法。
《大智度論》卷78–79 · T25n1509 0612a04–0616a11
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.
本品題為《大智度論》釋〈稱揚品〉第六十五，聖者龍樹所造，後秦龜茲國三藏鳩摩羅什所譯，在卷七十八至卷七十九。
經①：舍利弗問真實無真實——須菩提答行無真實法，諸天子作念禮敬，度眾生如度虛空乃為難，聞諸法離相心不驚不沒不怖不畏；佛問何故不沒，須菩提答無所有離寂滅故；諸天作禮、十方諸佛憶念、恒沙等魔不能留難
舍利弗對須菩提說：『菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，是行真實法呢？還是行無真實法呢？』
須菩提回答舍利弗說：『菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，是行無真實法。為什麼呢？因為這般若波羅蜜沒有真實，乃至一切種智沒有真實的緣故。菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，無真實尚且不可得，何況真實！乃至行一切種智，無真實法尚且不可得，何況真實！』
那時，欲界、色界的諸位天子心裡這樣想：『凡是有善男子、善女人發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提意，如深般若波羅蜜所說的義理，行於等法，不作實際的證，不墮聲聞、辟支佛地，應當為他作禮！』
須菩提對諸位天子說：『諸菩薩摩訶薩於等法不作聲聞、辟支佛地的證，不算為難。諸菩薩摩訶薩以大誓莊嚴：「我當度無量無邊阿僧祇眾生。」知道眾生畢竟不可得而仍然度眾生，這纔算為難！諸天子！諸菩薩摩訶薩發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，作這樣的願：「我當度一切眾生。」而眾生實在不可得，這人想要度眾生，如同想要度虛空。為什麼呢？因為虛空離的緣故，當知眾生也離；虛空空的緣故，當知眾生也空；虛空無堅固，當知眾生也無堅固；虛空虛誑，當知眾生也虛誑。諸天子！因為這個緣故，當知菩薩所作為難。為利益無所有的眾生而大莊嚴，這人是為眾生結誓，是想要與虛空共鬪。這菩薩結誓之後，也不得眾生而為眾生結誓。為什麼呢？眾生離的緣故，當知大誓也離；眾生虛誑的緣故，當知大誓也虛誑。若菩薩摩訶薩聽聞這法，心不驚、不沒，當知這菩薩摩訶薩是行般若波羅蜜。為什麼呢？色離，就是眾生離；受、想、行、識離，就是眾生離。色離，就是六波羅蜜離；受、想、行、識離，就是六波羅蜜離。乃至一切種智離，就是六波羅蜜離。若菩薩摩訶薩聽聞這一切諸法離相，心不驚、不沒、不怖、不畏，當知這菩薩摩訶薩是行般若波羅蜜。』
佛告訴須菩提：『因為什麼因緣，菩薩摩訶薩於深般若波羅蜜中心不沒？』
須菩提向佛稟白：『世尊！般若波羅蜜無所有的緣故不沒，般若波羅蜜離的緣故不沒，般若波羅蜜寂滅的緣故不沒。世尊！因為這個緣故，菩薩於深般若波羅蜜中心不沒。為什麼呢？因為這菩薩不得沒者、不得沒事、不得沒處，這一切法都不可得的緣故。世尊！若菩薩摩訶薩聽聞這法，心不驚、不沒、不怖、不畏，當知這菩薩是行般若波羅蜜。為什麼呢？沒者、沒事、沒處，這些法都不可得的緣故。菩薩摩訶薩這樣行般若波羅蜜，諸天以及釋提桓因天、梵天王天以及世界主天，都為他作禮。』
佛告訴須菩提：『不但釋提桓因諸天、梵王及諸天、世界主及諸天禮敬這位行般若波羅蜜的菩薩，過此以上，光音天、遍淨天、廣果天、淨居天，都為這菩薩摩訶薩作禮。須菩提！如今現在十方無量諸佛，也憶念這位行般若波羅蜜的菩薩摩訶薩。當知這菩薩如同佛。須菩提！若恒河沙等世界之中的眾生全都使他作魔，這一一魔又各各化作魔，如恒河沙等那麼多的魔，這一切魔也不能留難菩薩行般若波羅蜜。』
論①：釋真實不真實之訓與行無真實之答，難易之分在著與不著，調馬見影喻，眾生空法空二重不畏，佛何以問弟子、何以不自說、何以不令大菩薩說、何以不命舍利弗等四番問答；重述經文以結諸天作禮與諸佛憶念之因果
論主解釋說：
那時，舍利弗聽聞上文無分別相的法，心大歡喜，問須菩提：『若菩薩行般若波羅蜜，是行真實法？是行無真實法？』所謂真實法，是審定、不變異，也就是可取、可著；若不真實，就是虛誑妄語。
須菩提常樂行深空，心無障礙，所以回答：『行般若的人，就是行無真實。為什麼呢？因為般若波羅蜜空、無定相、無分別的緣故。乃至一切種智也是這樣。』
菩薩行這樣的般若波羅蜜時，先來生死之中所習、所著的虛誑有為法尚且不可得，何況後來所觀虛誑因緣而生的般若波羅蜜這非所著之法而可得！因此菩薩觀一切世間不真實，也不著這般若波羅蜜。依世諦的緣故說真實；第一義中真實尚且不可得，何況不真實！
那時，欲界、色界的諸位天子歡喜說：『其有發菩薩心的人，都應當禮敬！因為他能作難事，能行第一深義而不作證的緣故。』所謂第一義，就是平等法，只是用不同的名字來說。
須菩提對諸位天子說：『菩薩於平等法不作證，不算為難；菩薩要度無量眾生，而眾生畢竟不可得，這纔算為難！為什麼呢？想要度眾生的人，就是想要度虛空。虛空離的緣故，眾生也離；虛空虛誑不實的緣故，眾生也虛誑不實。』
論主問道：
於平等法而不作證，眾生畢竟空而還要度眾生，這二者同樣是畢竟空，為什麼說一件為難、一件不為難？
論主答道：
眾生，因為是虛誑假名的緣故，是所著之處；平等法，因為是無為的緣故，不是所著之處。眾生是從有為法假名而生的，無為法纔是第一義。於顛倒所著之處而能不著，這為難；於本來無著之處不著，這不算為難。
因此作這樣的說法：「眾生空故，大莊嚴亦空；若大莊嚴空而能發心為難。」
菩薩若聽聞這第一平等義——度眾生、大莊嚴都畢竟空——而心不驚、不沒。譬如調馬，自己見到影子而不驚。為什麼呢？因為自己知道影子是從身上出來的緣故。菩薩也是這樣，知道畢竟空，是因有為和合的虛妄法而生的緣故。菩薩聽聞這事，不驚、不沒，這就是行般若波羅蜜。
色等法離的緣故，眾生也離。離名為空。若眾生空而法不空，應當有怖畏；若法也空，就沒有生怖畏之處。若菩薩聽聞這一切法離相而心不畏，這也名為菩薩行般若波羅蜜。
上文所聞的是眾生空故不畏，如今所聞的是法空故不畏。若聽聞這二空而不畏，這纔是真行般若。
「佛問須菩提，何以故菩薩心不沒」這一段。
論主問道：
佛是一切智人，為什麼要問弟子心不驚、不沒？
論主答道：
因為法會大眾有疑，敬重畏難的緣故不敢發問，所以由佛來問。
再者，這第一平等義甚深難得，於深處本應當沈沒而竟不沒，所以試問須菩提。
再者，佛以須菩提為說法之主，聽者依法應當問難。
論主問道：
佛是一切智，為什麼不自己作說法之主，而令須菩提說？
論主答道：
大眾之中有人以為佛的智慧無量無邊，我等的智力有限量，若心有所疑，也不敢發問。為這些人的緣故，命須菩提來說。
論主問道：
若是這樣，為什麼不令大菩薩說？
論主答道：
大菩薩的智慧也大，不可思議，威德深重的緣故，也不敢問難。
再者，有人說：阿羅漢、辟支佛、佛，三界繫的無明永盡無餘的緣故，能如實說法；諸菩薩雖然廣集福德，因漏未盡的緣故，或者不可信，因此不命他說。
論主問道：
若是這樣，舍利弗智慧第一，以及其餘大弟子，為什麼不命他們說？
論主答道：
這事先前已經答過，就是須菩提樂於空行，偏善說空；般若波羅蜜多說空的緣故，所以令須菩提說。
論主重述經文：須菩提向佛稟白，一切法畢竟空、無所有，因為無所有的緣故自相離，因為離相的緣故常寂滅，因為常寂滅的緣故無憶想分別，所以菩薩不應驚、不應沒——沒者、沒處、沒法，都不可得。若菩薩聽聞這事而不驚、不沒，這就是行般若波羅蜜。
論主又重述：須菩提答完之後，向佛稟白，能這樣行，也名為行般若波羅蜜。
論主牒經而釋——「世尊！菩薩能如是行」以下：一切諸天、帝釋以及世界主禮敬菩薩的，是地神、虛空中神、四天王、忉利天，以帝釋為主，都共同禮敬這菩薩。梵天王，是初禪之中梵世界眾生之主；所謂世界主，是欲界其餘諸天之主。眾生多半信有這些天，所以須菩提說他們作禮。為什麼呢？因為這菩薩捨棄自己的安樂，想要利益眾生；而這三種天，只是自求安樂的緣故。
論主又重述佛語須菩提：不但這三種天作禮，光音天等清淨一心的諸天也都作禮。
欲界諸天，因為著婬欲之心多的緣故，他們的禮敬不足為貴；初禪天有覺觀散亂，也不足為妙；上面那些天心地清淨，因菩薩有大功德的緣故而作禮，這纔算為難得。
論主牒經云：「須菩提！菩薩若能如是行般若，為十方無量諸佛所念。」諸佛憶念的因緣，如先前所說。
如今佛所說的，是這菩薩得諸佛憶念的果報，就是當知這菩薩如同佛，因為他必定至於佛道而不退轉的緣故。為什麼呢？如恒河沙等的魔，不能破壞這菩薩，如經中廣說。
《大智度論》卷第七十八至此而終。
卷七十九：品題重出——釋稱揚品第六十五之餘
以下入卷七十九。卷首重標品題《大智度論》釋稱揚品第六十五之餘，並重出題署：聖者龍樹造，後秦龜茲國三藏鳩摩羅什譯。
經②：成就二法魔不能壞——觀一切法空不捨一切眾生、所作如所言亦為諸佛所念；諸天親近諮問而記其不久作佛，十方諸佛說法時稱揚菩薩名姓，稱揚寶相尸棄及阿閦佛世界菩薩；阿鞞跋致與未得無生忍而能信解者皆蒙讚歎；如中住與除如更無法可得，帝釋歎其說法無礙如仰射空中
佛繼續說：『須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩成就二法，魔不能破壞。哪二法呢？觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生。須菩提！菩薩成就這二法，魔不能破壞。
『再者，須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩又有二法成就，魔不能破壞。哪二法呢？所作如所言，也為諸佛所憶念。菩薩成就這二法，魔不能破壞。須菩提！菩薩這樣行，這些天都來到菩薩的處所，親近、諮問、勸喻、安慰，作這樣的話說：「善男子！汝疾得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提不久。善男子！汝常當行是空、無相、無作行。何以故？善男子！汝行是行，無護眾生汝為作護，無依眾生為作依，無救眾生為作救，無究竟道眾生為作究竟道，無歸眾生為作歸，無洲眾生為作洲，冥者為作明，盲者為作眼。」為什麼呢？因為這菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，十方現在無量阿僧祇諸佛在大眾之中說法的時候，自己讚歎稱揚這菩薩摩訶薩的名姓，說：「某甲菩薩成就般若波羅蜜功德。」須菩提！如同我今日說法的時候，自己稱揚寶相菩薩、尸棄菩薩。又有諸菩薩摩訶薩在阿閦佛世界之中行般若波羅蜜、淨修梵行，我也稱揚這些菩薩的名姓。須菩提！也如同東方現在諸佛說法的時候，其中有菩薩摩訶薩淨修梵行，佛也歡喜，自己稱揚讚歎這菩薩；南方、西方、北方、四維、上下，也是這樣。又有菩薩從初發意想要具足佛道，乃至得一切種智；諸佛說法的時候，也歡喜自己稱揚讚歎這菩薩。為什麼呢？因為這些菩薩摩訶薩所行甚難，不斷絕佛種而行。』
須菩提向佛稟白：『世尊！哪些菩薩摩訶薩，諸佛說法的時候，自己讚歎稱揚？』
佛告訴須菩提：『阿鞞跋致菩薩，諸佛說法的時候，自己讚歎稱揚。』
須菩提說：『哪些阿鞞跋致菩薩為佛所讚？』
佛說：『如阿閦佛作菩薩時所行所學，諸菩薩也這樣學；這些阿鞞跋致菩薩，諸佛說法的時候，歡喜讚歎。
『再者，須菩提！有菩薩行般若波羅蜜，信解一切法無生，而未得無生忍法；信解一切法空，而未得無生忍法；信解一切法虛誑、不實、不堅固，而未得無生忍法。須菩提！像這樣等等的諸菩薩摩訶薩，佛說法的時候，歡喜自己讚歎稱揚他們的名姓。須菩提！若諸菩薩摩訶薩，諸佛說法的時候歡喜自己讚歎的，這菩薩滅除聲聞、辟支佛地，當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提的授記。須菩提！若菩薩摩訶薩，諸佛說法的時候歡喜自己讚歎的，這菩薩當住阿鞞跋致地；住這地之後，當得薩婆若。
『再者，須菩提！若菩薩摩訶薩聽聞這深般若波羅蜜，他的心明利、不疑不悔，作這樣的念：「是事如佛所說。」這菩薩也當於阿閦佛及諸菩薩之處廣聞這般若波羅蜜，也信解；信解之後，如佛所說，當住阿鞞跋致地。像這樣，須菩提！只是聽聞般若波羅蜜，就得大利益，何況信解！信解之後，如所說而住、如所說而行；如所說住、行之後，就住在一切種智之中。』
須菩提向佛稟白：『世尊！若佛說菩薩摩訶薩如所說住、如所說行，就住薩婆若；若菩薩摩訶薩是無所得法，怎樣住薩婆若？』
佛告訴須菩提：『菩薩摩訶薩住諸法如中，住薩婆若。』
須菩提說：『世尊！除了如更無法可得，誰住如中？住如中之後，當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提？誰住如中當說法？如尚且不可得，何況住如而得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提！誰住如中而說法？沒有這樣的道理！』
佛告訴須菩提：『如你所說：「除如，更無法，誰住如中？住如中已，當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提？誰住如中當說法？如尚不可得，何況住如得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提！誰住如中而說法？無有是處！」』
佛說：『如是！如是！須菩提！除了如，更無有法可得，誰住如中？住如中之後，當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提？誰住如中當說法？如尚且不可得，何況住如中得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提！誰住如中而說法？為什麼呢？因為這如，生不可得、滅不可得、住異不可得；若法的生、滅、住異不可得，這當中誰當住如？誰當住如之後，得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提？誰當住如而說法？沒有這樣的道理！』
釋提桓因向佛稟白：『世尊！諸菩薩摩訶薩所為甚難，於深般若波羅蜜之中想要得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。為什麼呢？世尊！沒有在如中住的人，也沒有當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提的人，也沒有說法的人。而菩薩摩訶薩於這處所心不驚、不沒，不怖、不畏，不疑、不悔。』
那時，須菩提對釋提桓因說：『如憍尸迦所說：「菩薩摩訶薩所為甚難，是甚深法中心不驚、不沒，不怖、不畏，不疑、不悔。」憍尸迦！諸法空中誰驚、誰沒？誰怖、誰畏？誰疑、誰悔？』
這時，釋提桓因對須菩提說：『須菩提所說的，但為空事，無所罣礙。譬如仰射空中，箭去無礙；須菩提說法無礙也是這樣。』
論②：釋二法魔不能壞之因緣，日月相須喻，五種執金剛神與魚子不為母念喻，諸天何以能授記，大將破敵喻，諸佛何以讚善毀惡，何經中說二菩薩，遍吉觀世音何以不歎而稱二菩薩，總別稱揚之疑，三門與三解脫門之三種差別，出柔順法忍未得無生法忍之希有，如中住即畢竟空中住，箭勢盡自墮非為空盡
論主解釋說：
法會大眾生疑：『菩薩因為什麼因緣得到這樣的力，魔不能破壞？』
佛回答：『有二種因緣的緣故，魔不能破壞：一是觀諸法空，二是不捨一切眾生。』
因為日月的因緣，萬物得以潤生。但有月而無日，則萬物濕壞；但有日而無月，則萬物燋爛。日、月和合的緣故，萬物成熟。菩薩也是這樣，有二道：一是悲，二是空。悲心憐愍眾生，發誓願想要度他；空心來時，則滅去憐愍之心。若只有憐愍心而無智慧，則心沈沒在「無眾生而有眾生」的顛倒之中；若只有空心，捨去憐愍度眾生之心，則墮在斷滅之中。
因此佛說二事兼用，雖觀一切空而不捨眾生，雖憐愍眾生而不捨一切空。觀一切法空，因空也空的緣故而不著空，因此不妨礙憐愍眾生；觀憐愍眾生，也不著眾生、不取眾生相，只是憐愍眾生，引導他入空，因此雖行憐愍而不妨礙空。雖行空，也因不取空相的緣故，不妨礙憐愍之心，如同日月相須。
諸神天輕賤妄語的人，若菩薩不如所說而行，則五種執金剛神捨離而不再守護，惡鬼得其方便。這人容易生惡心，因惡心的緣故則生惡業，因生惡業的緣故則墮惡道。菩薩不為諸佛所憶念的，則善根朽壞；如同魚子不為母魚所念，則爛壞而不生。因此說：「所作如所言，亦為諸佛所念。得此二法故，不可破壞。」
若菩薩能這樣真行般若波羅蜜，魔不能破壞，功德智慧增益，諸天則來親近、諮問、安慰、勸喻，作這樣的話說：「善男子！汝疾得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提不久。以是因緣故，常行空行。」
論主問道：
諸天未得一切智，怎能給菩薩授記？
論主答道：
諸天長壽，從過去諸佛那裡聽聞這樣行的人得記，如今見菩薩有這樣的行持，所以這樣說，因為見因就知有果的緣故。諸天見這菩薩行三解脫門印，又兼行慈悲心於眾生，因此說「不久作佛」。
「無守護眾生汝為作守護，無歸與作歸」等等的義理，如先前所說。
若菩薩能這樣行甚深般若波羅蜜，十方現在無量諸佛說法的時候，稱揚讚歎他的名字，如同我今日稱揚寶相菩薩、尸棄菩薩以及阿閦佛世界之中的菩薩。又如十方佛說法的時候，稱揚諸妙行的菩薩。菩薩能如所說而應合諸法實相的，十方諸佛說法的時候，也以這菩薩作譬喻，作這樣的話說：「某方某世界菩薩雖未作佛，能如是行甚深般若波羅蜜，功德希有故。」
如同大國王有大將，不惜身命，有方便能破怨敵，常為國王所稱譽；菩薩也是這樣，觀畢竟空，不惜我身，破煩惱賊，有方便而不作證，教化眾生，為諸佛所稱譽。
諸佛雖然無著心，無分別善不善法，看待諸阿羅漢、外道也無憎無愛，卻為利益眾生的緣故，讚歎善人，稱揚善法，毀訾不善。為什麼呢？想要使眾生依附好人，心隨善法，令他出離世間的緣故。
論主問道：
哪一部經中說這二位菩薩為佛所讚歎？
論主答道：
佛經無量。佛涅槃之後，諸惡邪見王出世，焚燒經法，破壞塔寺，殺害諸沙門。五百歲之後，像法不淨，諸阿羅漢、神通菩薩難以得見的緣故，諸深經不盡在閻浮提，因行者、受者少的緣故，諸天龍神持去。
論主問道：
如遍吉菩薩、觀世音菩薩、大力勢菩薩、文殊尸利、彌勒菩薩等等，為什麼不讚歎，而只稱譽這二位菩薩？
論主答道：
這二位菩薩未得無生忍法，而能作近似無生忍法的行。必定有這事，一切魔民所不能破壞，因此佛歎為希有。
再者，這二位菩薩有清淨大願行、深大慈悲心，不期望快速作佛，為度眾生的緣故；有這樣等等的功德，所以佛稱讚。
再者，遍吉、觀世音菩薩等的功德極大，人人都知道；這二位菩薩，人們還不知道，所以稱揚。
阿閦佛世界的菩薩都效法阿閦佛，從初發心以來，行清淨、不雜之行；生在那裡的菩薩都效法他的行，因此說阿閦佛世界的菩薩，稱譽他們的德。又如十方諸佛也稱揚諸世界上妙的菩薩，也如釋迦文尼佛稱揚二位菩薩。
哪些是呢？菩薩從初發意乃至十地，佛讚歎這菩薩所為甚難，能不斷佛種。
這當中須菩提問：「何等菩薩，佛說法時，稱揚讚歎說其名字？」
論主問道：
佛已先說過，須菩提為什麼還要更問？
論主答道：
佛起初說「大菩薩」，後來又稱說「一切菩薩，從初發意乃至十地」；因此須菩提疑而問佛：「佛讚歎何等菩薩，稱其名字？」
佛回答：「佛雖皆愛念一切菩薩，其中有德行勝者，稱揚其名字。」
哪些菩薩為佛所稱歎呢？如阿閦佛初發心時，行清淨行，不休不息，乃至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，像這樣等等的菩薩，為佛所讚歎。
再者，有菩薩未得無生法忍、未入菩薩位，因行般若波羅蜜力的緣故，常常思惟籌量，求諸法實相，能信解、能忍，通達一切法無生相、空、虛誑、不堅固。有這樣等等相的諸菩薩摩訶薩，佛稱其名而讚歎。所謂虛誑、不實、不堅固，都是無常、苦、無我門。所謂一切法空，就是空門。所謂一切法無生，就是諸法實相，滅諸觀。
再者，虛誑、不實、不堅固，就是無作解脫門；一切法空，就是空解脫門；一切法無生，就是無相解脫門。
像這樣等等有三種差別。
這人出了柔順法忍而未得無生法忍，出了凡夫法而未入聖法，卻能信受聖法，似得聖法的人，因此希有。如佛所稱譽的阿鞞跋致菩薩，能斷二地、得受記；這人為佛所稱譽，也是這樣。像這樣相的人，雖未得無生法忍，因智慧力的緣故，為諸佛稱名讚歎。
如今因信根力勝的緣故，佛也稱名讚歎。哪個是呢？就是所謂：「復次，須菩提！若菩薩摩訶薩聞是深般若，其心明利、不疑不悔，作是念：『是事如佛所說。』」
論主問道：
這菩薩已經信解般若波羅蜜，為什麼還要更從阿閦佛及諸菩薩那邊聽聞？
論主答道：
這人聽聞阿閦佛作菩薩時所行的清淨；這人聽聞之後，想要效法阿閦佛所行。因此佛說：「此人於是得信力、於彼得智慧力故，當住阿鞞跋致地。」這人未得無生忍法，因智慧力的緣故，得如阿鞞跋致，為諸佛所讚；因有信力的緣故，得如阿鞞跋致，為諸佛所讚。
若只是聽聞般若，就得這樣的利益，何況信受、如所說而行，漸漸住在一切種智之中！
須菩提問佛：「一切法空相無所得，云何菩薩住薩婆若？」
佛說：「如中住。」所謂如就是空。菩薩住在這畢竟空之中，名為住薩婆若。
這當中須菩提問佛：「除如，更無法可得，誰住如中？」乃至「無有是處」，如經中廣說。
佛印可須菩提所說的話，說出如也是空的因緣，就是：「是如，生、滅、住異不可得，若法無三相，即是畢竟空，云何可住？若住此中得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提而說法，無有是處！」
釋提桓因想要取般若的一定之相，聽聞佛與須菩提說無相也不可得，因此向佛稟白：「希有！世尊！是般若甚深，是菩薩所為甚難，欲得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。何以故？是如畢竟空，除如，更無菩薩住是如中得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，亦無定法名為佛，說法者所度眾生亦不離如，亦無拔出處涅槃，諸法常住如相故。菩薩聞是事，心不疑悔，是事為難！雖信一切法畢竟空，而欲求阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，精進、不休不息，是為難。」
須菩提對帝釋說：「若諸法畢竟空、無所有，疑從何生？何有難事？」
帝釋心中歡喜，作這樣的念：「須菩提實是樂說空法；須菩提有所解說，皆說空事。雖說色等餘事，其義皆趣向空；若有難問，不能作礙，空亦空故。」
若有人難破空，須菩提先前已經破空，於有、無之中都無所罣礙；譬如仰射空中。虛空就是畢竟空，箭是須菩提的智慧。所說的話，如同箭於空中無礙，勢盡自然墜落，並非空盡；須菩提說法因緣事辦的緣故便止，並非法盡。若有人雖有利箭，射壁而不能穿過；人雖有利智慧，若邪見著有，則有礙而不能通。因此須菩提說無障無礙之法。
This chapter is titled the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa's commentary on the sixty-fifth chapter, "Extolling", composed by the noble Nāgārjuna and translated by the Tripiṭaka master Kumārajīva of the land of Kucha under the Later Qin; it is in the seventy-eighth to seventy-ninth fascicles.
Sūtra ①: Śāriputra Asks about the True and Real and What Is without True Reality—Subhūti Answers That One Practises a Dharma without True Reality; the Gods Think to Bow in Reverence; Delivering Beings Is Like Delivering Space, and This Indeed Is Hard; Hearing That All Dharmas Are Separated from Marks, the Mind Is Not Startled, Does Not Sink, Is Not Terrified, Is Not Afraid; the Buddha Asks Why It Does Not Sink, and Subhūti Answers: Because It Is without Anything Existent, Because It Is Separated, Because It Is Quiescent; the Gods Bow, the Buddhas of the Ten Directions Keep Him in Mind, and Māras as Many as the Sands of the Ganges Cannot Hinder Him
Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, is he practising a true and real dharma? Or is he practising a dharma without true reality?’
Subhūti answered Śāriputra, saying: ‘When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he is practising a dharma without true reality. Why? Because this prajñāpāramitā is without true reality, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds is without true reality. When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, what is without true reality is still unfindable—how much less the true and real! And so on up to: when he practises the omniscience of all kinds, a dharma without true reality is still unfindable—how much less the true and real!’
At that time the gods of the desire realm and the form realm had this thought in their minds: ‘Whenever there is a good man or good woman who arouses the intent of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, who, according to the meaning spoken of in the deep prajñāpāramitā, practises the dharma of equality, does not realise the limit of reality, and does not fall to the śrāvaka ground or the pratyekabuddha ground, we should bow to him!’
Subhūti said to the gods: ‘That the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas within the dharma of equality do not realise the śrāvaka ground or the pratyekabuddha ground does not count as hard. The bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, with the great adornment of the oath, say: 「我當度無量無邊阿僧祇眾生。」 tr. "I shall deliver immeasurable, boundless asaṃkhyeya beings." To know that beings are ultimately unfindable and yet still to deliver beings—this indeed counts as hard! Gods! The bodhisattva-mahāsattvas arouse the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi and make this vow: 「我當度一切眾生。」 tr. "I shall deliver all beings." And yet beings are in truth unfindable; this person's wishing to deliver beings is like wishing to deliver space. Why? Because space is separated, know that beings too are separated; because space is empty, know that beings too are empty; space is without firmness, so know that beings too are without firmness; space is false and deceptive, so know that beings too are false and deceptive. Gods! For this reason, know that what the bodhisattva does is hard. For the benefit of beings who are without anything existent he makes the great adornment; this person binds himself by oath for the sake of beings, and wishes to fight together with space. After this bodhisattva has bound himself by oath, he also does not find beings, and yet binds himself by oath for the sake of beings. Why? Because beings are separated, know that the great oath too is separated; because beings are false and deceptive, know that the great oath too is false and deceptive. If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, hearing this Dharma, has a mind that is not startled and does not sink, know that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva is practising prajñāpāramitā. Why? Form being separated is precisely beings being separated; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness being separated is precisely beings being separated. Form being separated is precisely the six perfections being separated; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness being separated is precisely the six perfections being separated. And so on up to: the omniscience of all kinds being separated is precisely the six perfections being separated. If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, hearing that all these dharmas are marked by separation, has a mind that is not startled, does not sink, is not terrified, and is not afraid, know that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva is practising prajñāpāramitā.’
The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘By what cause and condition does the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's mind not sink within the deep prajñāpāramitā?’
Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Because prajñāpāramitā is without anything existent, it does not sink; because prajñāpāramitā is separated, it does not sink; because prajñāpāramitā is quiescent, it does not sink. World-Honored One! For this reason the bodhisattva's mind does not sink within the deep prajñāpāramitā. Why? Because this bodhisattva does not find one who sinks, does not find a matter of sinking, does not find a place of sinking; all these dharmas are unfindable. World-Honored One! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, hearing this Dharma, has a mind that is not startled, does not sink, is not terrified, and is not afraid, know that this bodhisattva is practising prajñāpāramitā. Why? Because one who sinks, a matter of sinking, and a place of sinking—these dharmas are all unfindable. When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā in this way, the gods, together with the gods of Śakra Devānām Indra, the gods of the Brahmā king, and the gods of the lords of the world, all bow to him.’
The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘It is not only Śakra Devānām Indra and the gods, the Brahmā king and the gods, and the lords of the world and the gods who bow in reverence to this bodhisattva who practises prajñāpāramitā; beyond these and above them, the heaven of Light-Sound, the heaven of Universal Purity, the heaven of Abundant Fruit, and the Pure Abodes all bow to this bodhisattva-mahāsattva. Subhūti! The immeasurable buddhas of the ten directions who are present now also keep in mind this bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises prajñāpāramitā. Know that this bodhisattva is as a Buddha. Subhūti! If the beings in worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges were all made to become Māras, and each one of these Māras in turn each conjured up Māras, as many Māras as the sands of the Ganges, all these Māras still could not hinder the bodhisattva who practises prajñāpāramitā.’
Treatise ①: Explaining the Gloss on True and Real and Not True and Real, and the Answer That One Practises What Is without True Reality; the Distinction between Hard and Easy Lies in Clinging and Not Clinging; the Simile of the Tamed Horse Seeing Its Shadow; the Twofold Fearlessness of the Emptiness of Beings and the Emptiness of Dharmas; the Four Rounds of Question and Answer—Why the Buddha Asks His Disciple, Why He Does Not Speak Himself, Why He Does Not Have the Great Bodhisattvas Speak, Why He Does Not Command Śāriputra and the Others; Retelling the Sūtra Text to Conclude the Causes and Effects of the Gods' Bowing and the Buddhas' Keeping in Mind
The treatise-author explains:
At that time Śāriputra, having heard the dharma of the mark of non-discrimination above, greatly rejoiced in his mind, and asked Subhūti: ‘If the bodhisattva practises prajñāpāramitā, is he practising a true and real dharma? Is he practising a dharma without true reality?’ What is called a true and real dharma is settled and certain and does not change; that is, it can be taken hold of and can be clung to. If it is not true and real, then it is false and deceptive, lying speech.
Subhūti constantly delights to practise deep emptiness, and his mind has no obstruction; therefore he answers: ‘One who practises prajñā is precisely practising what is without true reality. Why? Because prajñāpāramitā is empty, without a fixed mark, and without discrimination. And so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, which is also like this.’
When the bodhisattva practises such prajñāpāramitā, the false and deceptive conditioned dharmas that he formerly practised and clung to within birth and death are still unfindable—how much less could prajñāpāramitā, which he afterwards contemplates and which is born from false and deceptive causes and conditions, a dharma that is not something to be clung to, be findable! Therefore the bodhisattva contemplates all the world as not true and real, and also does not cling to this prajñāpāramitā. It is by reason of worldly truth that the true and real is spoken of; within the highest meaning the true and real is still unfindable—how much less the not true and real!
At that time the gods of the desire realm and the form realm joyfully said: ‘Whoever arouses the bodhisattva mind should all be bowed to in reverence! For he can do what is hard, and can practise the foremost deep meaning and not realise it.’ What is called the highest meaning is precisely the equal dharma; it is only spoken of by a different name.
Subhūti said to the gods: ‘That the bodhisattva does not realise the equal dharma does not count as hard; that the bodhisattva would deliver immeasurable beings, while beings are ultimately unfindable—this indeed counts as hard! Why? One who wishes to deliver beings is precisely wishing to deliver space. Because space is separated, beings too are separated; because space is false, deceptive, and unreal, beings too are false, deceptive, and unreal.’
The treatise-author asks:
Not realising the equal dharma, and still delivering beings when beings are ultimately empty—these two are alike ultimately empty; why is one said to be hard and the other not hard?
The treatise-author answers:
Beings, because they are false and deceptive provisional names, are a place that is clung to; the equal dharma, because it is unconditioned, is not a place that is clung to. Beings are born as provisional names from conditioned dharmas; only the unconditioned dharma is the highest meaning. To be able not to cling at the place of inverted clinging is hard; not to cling at the place where from the beginning there is no clinging does not count as hard.
Therefore this is said: 「眾生空故，大莊嚴亦空；若大莊嚴空而能發心為難。」 tr. "Because beings are empty, the great adornment too is empty; if the great adornment is empty and yet one can arouse the mind, that is hard."
If the bodhisattva hears this foremost meaning of equality—that delivering beings and the great adornment are both ultimately empty—his mind is not startled and does not sink. It is like a tamed horse which, seeing its own shadow, is not startled. Why? Because it knows of itself that the shadow comes out from its body. The bodhisattva is also like this: he knows ultimate emptiness, because it is born from the false dharmas of the conditioned coming together. When the bodhisattva hears this matter and is not startled and does not sink, this is precisely practising prajñāpāramitā.
Because form and the other dharmas are separated, beings too are separated. Separation is called emptiness. If beings were empty and dharmas were not empty, there would have to be terror and fear; if dharmas too are empty, there is no place for terror and fear to arise. If the bodhisattva, hearing that all these dharmas are marked by separation, has a mind that is not afraid, this too is called the bodhisattva practising prajñāpāramitā.
What was heard above is that because beings are empty he is not afraid; what is heard now is that because dharmas are empty he is not afraid. If on hearing of these two emptinesses he is not afraid, this indeed is truly practising prajñā.
The passage 「佛問須菩提，何以故菩薩心不沒」 tr. "The Buddha asks Subhūti why the bodhisattva's mind does not sink".
The treatise-author asks:
The Buddha is a person of omniscience; why does he ask his disciple about the mind not being startled and not sinking?
The treatise-author answers:
Because the great assembly at the Dharma-gathering had doubts, and out of reverence and awe did not dare to ask; therefore the Buddha asks.
Furthermore, this foremost meaning of equality is very deep and hard to attain; in the deep place one ought by rights to sink, and yet he does not sink after all; therefore he tests Subhūti by asking.
Furthermore, the Buddha takes Subhūti as the master of the teaching, and according to the Dharma the listeners should ask and challenge.
The treatise-author asks:
The Buddha is omniscient; why does he not himself act as the master of the teaching, but has Subhūti speak?
The treatise-author answers:
In the great assembly there are those who think that the Buddha's wisdom is immeasurable and boundless while our power of knowledge has limits and measure; even if their minds have doubts, they would not dare to ask. For the sake of these people he commands Subhūti to speak.
The treatise-author asks:
If so, why does he not have the great bodhisattvas speak?
The treatise-author answers:
The wisdom of the great bodhisattvas is also great and inconceivable, and because their majestic virtue is deep and weighty, people would also not dare to ask and challenge them.
Furthermore, someone says: the arhat, the pratyekabuddha, and the Buddha, because their ignorance bound to the three realms is exhausted forever without remainder, can teach the Dharma as it really is; the bodhisattvas, though they have widely gathered merit, because their outflows are not yet exhausted, are perhaps not to be believed; therefore he does not command them to speak.
The treatise-author asks:
If so, Śāriputra is foremost in wisdom, and there are the other great disciples; why does he not command them to speak?
The treatise-author answers:
This matter has already been answered before: namely, Subhūti delights in the practice of emptiness and is especially good at speaking of emptiness; because prajñāpāramitā for the most part speaks of emptiness, he therefore has Subhūti speak.
The treatise-author retells the sūtra text: Subhūti said to the Buddha that all dharmas are ultimately empty and without anything existent; because they are without anything existent, they are separated from their own marks; because they are separated from marks, they are constantly quiescent; because they are constantly quiescent, there is no recollection, imagining, and discrimination; therefore the bodhisattva should not be startled and should not sink—one who sinks, a place of sinking, and a dharma of sinking are all unfindable. If the bodhisattva hears this matter and is not startled and does not sink, this is precisely practising prajñāpāramitā.
The treatise-author further retells: after Subhūti had finished answering, he said to the Buddha that to be able to practise in this way is also called practising prajñāpāramitā.
The treatise-author cites the sūtra and explains it—from 「世尊！菩薩能如是行」 tr. "World-Honored One! The bodhisattva who can practise in this way" onward: those among all the gods, Śakra, and the lords of the world who bow in reverence to the bodhisattva are the earth spirits, the spirits in space, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the Trāyastriṃśa heaven, with Śakra as their chief; all of them together bow in reverence to this bodhisattva. The Brahmā king is the lord of the beings of the Brahmā world within the first dhyāna; what is called the lords of the world are the lords of the remaining gods of the desire realm. Beings for the most part believe in these gods, and therefore Subhūti says that they bow. Why? Because this bodhisattva abandons his own peace and happiness and wishes to benefit beings, whereas these three kinds of gods only seek peace and happiness for themselves.
The treatise-author further retells the Buddha's words to Subhūti: not only do these three kinds of gods bow, but the heaven of Light-Sound and the other gods who are pure and single-minded also all bow.
The gods of the desire realm, because their minds are much given to clinging to sexual desire, their reverence is not worth prizing; the gods of the first dhyāna have initial and sustained thought, scattered, and they too are not wondrous enough; the gods above them are pure in mind, and because the bodhisattva has great merit they bow—this indeed counts as rare.
The treatise-author cites the sūtra, saying: 「須菩提！菩薩若能如是行般若，為十方無量諸佛所念。」 tr. "Subhūti! If the bodhisattva can practise prajñā in this way, he is kept in mind by the immeasurable buddhas of the ten directions." The causes and conditions of the buddhas' keeping him in mind are as said before.
What the Buddha speaks of now is the fruit that this bodhisattva obtains from being kept in mind by the buddhas, namely: know that this bodhisattva is as a Buddha, because he will certainly reach the Buddha path and not retrogress. Why? Māras as many as the sands of the Ganges cannot break this bodhisattva, as the sūtra says at length.
Fascicle seventy-eight of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa ends here.
Fascicle Seventy-nine: The Chapter Title Repeated—the Remainder of the Commentary on "Extolling", the Sixty-fifth
From here we enter the seventy-ninth fascicle. At the head of the fascicle the chapter title is marked again—the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa's commentary on the sixty-fifth chapter, "Extolling", the remainder—and the attribution is given again: composed by the noble Nāgārjuna, translated by the Tripiṭaka master Kumārajīva of the land of Kucha under the Later Qin.
Sūtra ②: Accomplishing Two Dharmas, He Cannot Be Broken by Māra—Contemplating All Dharmas as Empty and Not Abandoning Any Being; What He Does Is as What He Says, and He Is Also Kept in Mind by the Buddhas; the Gods Draw Near and Enquire and Declare That Before Long He Will Become a Buddha; When the Buddhas of the Ten Directions Teach the Dharma They Extol the Bodhisattva's Name and Clan, Extolling Jewel Mark, Śikhin, and the Bodhisattvas of Akṣobhya Buddha's World; the Avaivartika and Those Who Have Not Yet Obtained the Acceptance of Non-arising yet Can Have Faith and Understanding Are All Praised; Abiding within Suchness, and Apart from Suchness There Is No Further Dharma to Be Found; Śakra Praises His Teaching of the Dharma as Unobstructed, Like Shooting Upward into Space
The Buddha went on to say: ‘Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva accomplishes two dharmas, Māra cannot break him. What are the two dharmas? He contemplates all dharmas as empty, and he does not abandon any being. Subhūti! When the bodhisattva accomplishes these two dharmas, Māra cannot break him.
‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva has another two dharmas which, when accomplished, Māra cannot break him. What are the two dharmas? What he does is as what he says, and he is also kept in mind by the buddhas. When the bodhisattva accomplishes these two dharmas, Māra cannot break him. Subhūti! When the bodhisattva practises in this way, these gods all come to the place where the bodhisattva is, draw near, enquire, exhort, and comfort him, and speak these words: 「善男子！汝疾得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提不久。善男子！汝常當行是空、無相、無作行。何以故？善男子！汝行是行，無護眾生汝為作護，無依眾生為作依，無救眾生為作救，無究竟道眾生為作究竟道，無歸眾生為作歸，無洲眾生為作洲，冥者為作明，盲者為作眼。」 tr. "Good son! Before long you will quickly obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Good son! You should constantly practise this practice of emptiness, of the signless, and of non-action. Why? Good son! As you practise this practice, for beings without protection you will be a protection, for beings without support be a support, for beings without rescue be a rescue, for beings without the ultimate path be the ultimate path, for beings without refuge be a refuge, for beings without an island be an island, for those in darkness be a light, for the blind be eyes." Why? Because when this bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the immeasurable asaṃkhyeya buddhas of the ten directions who are present now, when they teach the Dharma in the great assembly, themselves praise and extol the name and clan of this bodhisattva-mahāsattva, saying: 「某甲菩薩成就般若波羅蜜功德。」 tr. "The bodhisattva so-and-so has accomplished the merit of prajñāpāramitā." Subhūti! Just as, when I teach the Dharma today, I myself extol the bodhisattva Jewel Mark and the bodhisattva Śikhin. And there are bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who, in the world of Akṣobhya Buddha, practise prajñāpāramitā and purely cultivate pure conduct; I also extol the names and clans of these bodhisattvas. Subhūti! It is also as when the buddhas present now in the eastern direction teach the Dharma: among them there are bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who purely cultivate pure conduct, and the Buddha too rejoices and himself extols and praises these bodhisattvas; the southern, western, and northern directions, the four intermediate directions, above and below, are also like this. And there are bodhisattvas who, from the first arousing of intent, wish to fulfil the Buddha path, and so on up to obtaining the omniscience of all kinds; when the buddhas teach the Dharma, they also rejoice and themselves extol and praise these bodhisattvas. Why? Because what these bodhisattva-mahāsattvas practise is very hard: they practise without cutting off the seed of the Buddha.’
Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Which bodhisattva-mahāsattvas do the buddhas, when they teach the Dharma, themselves praise and extol?’
The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘The avaivartika bodhisattvas the buddhas, when they teach the Dharma, themselves praise and extol.’
Subhūti said: ‘Which avaivartika bodhisattvas are praised by the Buddha?’
The Buddha said: ‘As Akṣobhya Buddha practised and trained when he was a bodhisattva, so too these bodhisattvas train; these avaivartika bodhisattvas the buddhas, when they teach the Dharma, joyfully praise.
‘Furthermore, Subhūti! There are bodhisattvas who practise prajñāpāramitā, who have faith in and understand that all dharmas are non-arising, and have not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising; who have faith in and understand that all dharmas are empty, and have not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising; who have faith in and understand that all dharmas are false and deceptive, unreal, and not firm, and have not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising. Subhūti! Such bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as these, when the Buddha teaches the Dharma, he joyfully himself praises and extols their names and clans. Subhūti! If there are bodhisattva-mahāsattvas whom the buddhas, when they teach the Dharma, joyfully themselves praise, these bodhisattvas eliminate the śrāvaka ground and the pratyekabuddha ground, and will receive the prediction of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Subhūti! If there is a bodhisattva-mahāsattva whom the buddhas, when they teach the Dharma, joyfully themselves praise, this bodhisattva will abide on the ground of the avaivartika; having abided on this ground, he will obtain sarvajñā.
‘Furthermore, Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva hears this deep prajñāpāramitā, and his mind is clear and keen, without doubt and without regret, and he has this thought: 「是事如佛所說。」 tr. "This matter is as the Buddha has said."—this bodhisattva will also, in the presence of Akṣobhya Buddha and the bodhisattvas, hear this prajñāpāramitā widely, and also have faith in and understand it; having faith and understanding, as the Buddha has said, he will abide on the ground of the avaivartika. Thus, Subhūti, merely hearing prajñāpāramitā one obtains great benefit—how much more having faith in and understanding it! Having faith and understanding, he abides as taught and practises as taught; having abided and practised as taught, he then abides within the omniscience of all kinds.’
Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! If the Buddha says that the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding as taught and practising as taught, then abides in sarvajñā—if the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is a dharma with nothing to be attained, how does he abide in sarvajñā?’
The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘The bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides within the suchness of all dharmas, and so abides in sarvajñā.’
Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! Apart from suchness there is no further dharma to be found; who abides within suchness? Having abided within suchness, who will obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi? Who, abiding within suchness, will teach the Dharma? Suchness itself is still unfindable—how much less abiding in suchness and obtaining anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi! Who abides within suchness and teaches the Dharma? There is no such principle!’
The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘As you have said: 「除如，更無法，誰住如中？住如中已，當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提？誰住如中當說法？如尚不可得，何況住如得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提！誰住如中而說法？無有是處！」 tr. "Apart from suchness there is no further dharma; who abides within suchness? Having abided within suchness, who will obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi? Who, abiding within suchness, will teach the Dharma? Suchness is still unfindable—how much less abiding in suchness and obtaining anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi! Who abides within suchness and teaches the Dharma? There is no such principle!"’
The Buddha said: ‘Just so! Just so! Subhūti! Apart from suchness there is no further dharma to be found; who abides within suchness? Having abided within suchness, who will obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi? Who, abiding within suchness, will teach the Dharma? Suchness is still unfindable—how much less abiding within suchness and obtaining anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi! Who abides within suchness and teaches the Dharma? Why? Because of this suchness, arising is unfindable, ceasing is unfindable, abiding-and-changing is unfindable; if the arising, ceasing, and abiding-and-changing of a dharma are unfindable, who within this will abide in suchness? Who, having abided in suchness, will obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi? Who will abide in suchness and teach the Dharma? There is no such principle!’
Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas do is very hard: within the deep prajñāpāramitā they wish to obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Why? World-Honored One! There is no one who abides within suchness, nor is there anyone who will obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, nor is there anyone who teaches the Dharma. And yet the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, at this place, has a mind that is not startled and does not sink, is not terrified and is not afraid, has no doubt and has no regret.’
At that time Subhūti said to Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘As Kauśika has said: 「菩薩摩訶薩所為甚難，是甚深法中心不驚、不沒，不怖、不畏，不疑、不悔。」 tr. "What the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas do is very hard: within this very deep Dharma the mind is not startled and does not sink, is not terrified and is not afraid, has no doubt and has no regret." Kauśika! Within the emptiness of all dharmas, who is startled, who sinks? Who is terrified, who is afraid? Who doubts, who regrets?’
Then Śakra Devānām Indra said to Subhūti: ‘What Subhūti says is only for the matter of emptiness, with nothing that hangs or obstructs. As when one shoots upward into space, the arrow goes without obstruction; Subhūti's teaching of the Dharma without obstruction is also like this.’
Treatise ②: Explaining the Causes and Conditions by Which, through Two Dharmas, Māra Cannot Break Him; the Simile of the Sun and Moon Needing One Another; the Five Kinds of Vajra-holding Spirits and the Simile of Fish-roe Not Kept in Mind by the Mother; How the Gods Can Give the Prediction; the Simile of the Great General Defeating the Enemy; Why the Buddhas Praise the Good and Disparage the Evil; in Which Sūtra the Two Bodhisattvas Are Spoken Of; Why Samantabhadra and Avalokiteśvara Are Not Praised While the Two Bodhisattvas Are Extolled; the Doubt about General and Particular Extolling; the Three Kinds of Difference between the Three Gates and the Three Gates of Liberation; the Rarity of One Who Has Gone Out from the Compliant Acceptance of Dharmas and Has Not Yet Obtained the Acceptance of the Non-arising of Dharmas; Abiding within Suchness Is Abiding within Ultimate Emptiness; the Arrow Falls of Itself When Its Force Is Exhausted, Not Because Space Is Exhausted
The treatise-author explains:
The great assembly at the Dharma-gathering gave rise to doubt: ‘By what cause and condition does the bodhisattva obtain such power that Māra cannot break him?’
The Buddha answers: ‘Because of two kinds of causes and conditions, Māra cannot break him: first, he contemplates all dharmas as empty; second, he does not abandon any being.’
By the causes and conditions of the sun and the moon, the ten thousand things are moistened and grow. With only the moon and no sun, the ten thousand things would be wet and ruined; with only the sun and no moon, the ten thousand things would be scorched and spoiled. Because the sun and the moon come together, the ten thousand things ripen. The bodhisattva is also like this: he has two paths—first compassion, second emptiness. The mind of compassion pities beings and makes a vow wishing to deliver them; when the mind of emptiness comes, it extinguishes the mind of pity. If he only has the mind of pity and has no wisdom, then his mind sinks into the inversion of 「無眾生而有眾生」 tr. "there being beings where there are no beings"; if he only has the mind of emptiness and abandons the mind of pitying and delivering beings, then he falls into annihilation.
Therefore the Buddha speaks of using the two matters together: though he contemplates all as empty, he does not abandon beings; though he pities beings, he does not abandon the emptiness of all. He contemplates all dharmas as empty, and because emptiness too is empty he does not cling to emptiness; therefore it does not hinder pitying beings. He contemplates pitying beings, and yet does not cling to beings and does not take hold of the mark of beings; he only pities beings and leads them into emptiness; therefore, though he practises pity, it does not hinder emptiness. Though he practises emptiness, because he also does not take hold of the mark of emptiness, it does not hinder the mind of pity—as the sun and moon need one another.
The spirits and gods despise people who speak falsely; if the bodhisattva does not practise as he says, then the five kinds of vajra-holding spirits abandon him and no longer guard him, and evil ghosts find an opening. This person easily gives rise to evil minds; because of evil minds he gives rise to evil deeds; because he gives rise to evil deeds he falls into the evil destinies. A bodhisattva who is not kept in mind by the buddhas has his roots of goodness rot and be ruined—as fish-roe, when not kept in mind by the mother fish, rot and are ruined and do not come to life. Therefore it is said: 「所作如所言，亦為諸佛所念。得此二法故，不可破壞。」 tr. "What he does is as what he says, and he is also kept in mind by the buddhas. Because he obtains these two dharmas, he cannot be broken."
If the bodhisattva can truly practise prajñāpāramitā in this way, Māra cannot break him, his merit and wisdom increase, and the gods then come to draw near, enquire, comfort, and exhort him, speaking these words: 「善男子！汝疾得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提不久。以是因緣故，常行空行。」 tr. "Good son! Before long you will quickly obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Because of this cause and condition, constantly practise the practice of emptiness."
The treatise-author asks:
The gods have not yet obtained omniscience; how can they give the bodhisattva the prediction?
The treatise-author answers:
The gods are long-lived; from the buddhas of the past they heard that people who practise in this way obtain the prediction, and now, seeing that the bodhisattva has such practice, they therefore speak thus, because on seeing the cause one knows there is the fruit. The gods see that this bodhisattva practises the seal of the three gates of liberation, and also practises the mind of kindness and compassion toward beings; therefore they say 「不久作佛」 tr. "before long he will become a Buddha".
The meaning of 「無守護眾生汝為作守護，無歸與作歸」 tr. "for beings without protection and guarding you will be a protection and guard; for those without refuge be a refuge" and the rest is as said before.
If the bodhisattva can practise the very deep prajñāpāramitā in this way, the immeasurable buddhas of the ten directions who are present now, when they teach the Dharma, extol and praise his name, just as I today extol the bodhisattva Jewel Mark, the bodhisattva Śikhin, and the bodhisattvas in the world of Akṣobhya Buddha. And as the buddhas of the ten directions, when they teach the Dharma, extol the bodhisattvas of wondrous practices. The bodhisattva who can, as taught, accord with the real mark of all dharmas—the buddhas of the ten directions, when they teach the Dharma, also take this bodhisattva as an example, speaking these words: 「某方某世界菩薩雖未作佛，能如是行甚深般若波羅蜜，功德希有故。」 tr. "The bodhisattva of such-and-such a world in such-and-such a direction, though he has not yet become a Buddha, can practise the very deep prajñāpāramitā in this way, because his merit is rare."
It is as a great king has a great general who does not spare his body or life and has the skilful means to defeat hostile enemies, and is constantly praised by the king; the bodhisattva is also like this: he contemplates ultimate emptiness, does not spare his own body, breaks the thieves of the afflictions, has skilful means and does not realise, teaches and transforms beings, and is praised by the buddhas.
Though the buddhas have a mind without clinging, do not discriminate wholesome and unwholesome dharmas, and look upon the arhats and those of the outside paths also without hate or love, yet for the sake of benefiting beings they praise good people, extol wholesome dharmas, and disparage the unwholesome. Why? Because they wish to make beings rely on and attach themselves to good people, their minds following wholesome dharmas, so as to have them go out from the world.
The treatise-author asks:
In which sūtra is it said that these two bodhisattvas are praised by the Buddha?
The treatise-author answers:
The Buddha's sūtras are measureless. After the Buddha's nirvāṇa, evil kings of wrong views appeared in the world, burned the scriptures, destroyed stūpas and monasteries, and killed the śramaṇas. After five hundred years, the semblance Dharma became impure; because the arhats and the bodhisattvas with supernormal powers were hard to meet, the deep sūtras were not all in Jambudvīpa; because those who practised and received them were few, the gods, nāgas, and spirits carried them away.
The treatise-author asks:
Such as the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva Great Power and Might, Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva Maitreya, and the others—why are they not praised, and only these two bodhisattvas are commended?
The treatise-author answers:
These two bodhisattvas have not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising, and yet can carry out a practice resembling the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising. There is certainly this matter, which all Māra's people cannot break; therefore the Buddha praises it as rare.
Furthermore, these two bodhisattvas have the pure practice of great vows and a deep and great mind of kindness and compassion; they do not hope to become a Buddha quickly, for the sake of delivering beings; because they have such merits as these, the Buddha commends them.
Furthermore, the merits of the bodhisattvas Samantabhadra, Avalokiteśvara, and the rest are extremely great, and everyone knows them; these two bodhisattvas people do not yet know, and therefore they are extolled.
The bodhisattvas of the world of Akṣobhya Buddha all take Akṣobhya Buddha as their model: from the first arousing of the mind onward he practised pure and unmixed practice; the bodhisattvas born there all take his practice as their model; therefore the bodhisattvas of the world of Akṣobhya Buddha are spoken of, and their virtue is commended. And just as the buddhas of the ten directions also extol the supremely wondrous bodhisattvas of the worlds, so too Śākyamuni Buddha extols two bodhisattvas.
Which are these? The bodhisattvas from the first arousing of intent up to the ten grounds: the Buddha praises what these bodhisattvas do as very hard, in that they are able not to cut off the seed of the Buddha.
Here Subhūti asks: 「何等菩薩，佛說法時，稱揚讚歎說其名字？」 tr. "Which bodhisattvas does the Buddha, when he teaches the Dharma, extol and praise, speaking their names?"
The treatise-author asks:
The Buddha has already spoken of this before; why does Subhūti ask again?
The treatise-author answers:
At first the Buddha spoke of 「大菩薩」 tr. "the great bodhisattvas", and later he also spoke of 「一切菩薩，從初發意乃至十地」 tr. "all bodhisattvas, from the first arousing of intent up to the ten grounds"; therefore Subhūti doubted and asked the Buddha: 「佛讚歎何等菩薩，稱其名字？」 tr. "Which bodhisattvas does the Buddha praise, speaking their names?"
The Buddha answers: 「佛雖皆愛念一切菩薩，其中有德行勝者，稱揚其名字。」 tr. "Though the Buddha loves and keeps in mind all bodhisattvas, among them there are those whose virtuous conduct is superior, and he extols their names."
Which bodhisattvas are praised by the Buddha? As Akṣobhya Buddha, when he first aroused the mind, practised pure practice without resting and without ceasing, and so on up to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—such bodhisattvas as these are praised by the Buddha.
Furthermore, there are bodhisattvas who have not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas and have not yet entered the bodhisattva position, who, by the power of practising prajñāpāramitā, constantly consider and reckon, seek the real mark of all dharmas, can have faith and understanding, can accept, and penetrate the mark of non-arising of all dharmas, emptiness, falseness and deception, and not being firm. The bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who have such marks as these, the Buddha speaks their names and praises them. What is called false and deceptive, unreal, not firm—these are all the gates of impermanence, suffering, and non-self. What is called all dharmas are empty is the gate of emptiness. What is called all dharmas are non-arising is the real mark of all dharmas, the cessation of all contemplations.
Furthermore, false and deceptive, unreal, not firm, is the non-action gate of liberation; all dharmas are empty is the emptiness gate of liberation; all dharmas are non-arising is the signless gate of liberation.
Such as these are three kinds of difference.
This person has gone out from the compliant acceptance of dharmas and has not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, has gone out from the dharma of ordinary people and has not yet entered the dharma of the sages, and yet can believe and accept the dharma of the sages, like a person who has obtained the dharma of the sages; therefore he is rare. Just as the avaivartika bodhisattva commended by the Buddha can sever the two grounds and receive the prediction, this person commended by the Buddha is also like this. A person with such marks as these, though he has not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, because of the power of wisdom is named and praised by the buddhas.
Now, because the power of the faculty of faith is superior, the Buddha also names and praises him. Which is this? It is what is said: 「復次，須菩提！若菩薩摩訶薩聞是深般若，其心明利、不疑不悔，作是念：『是事如佛所說。』」 tr. "Furthermore, Subhūti! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva hears this deep prajñā, and his mind is clear and keen, without doubt and without regret, and he has this thought: ‘This matter is as the Buddha has said.’"
The treatise-author asks:
This bodhisattva already has faith in and understands prajñāpāramitā; why must he further hear it from Akṣobhya Buddha and the bodhisattvas?
The treatise-author answers:
This person hears of the purity practised by Akṣobhya Buddha when he was a bodhisattva; having heard it, this person wishes to take as his model what Akṣobhya Buddha practised. Therefore the Buddha says: 「此人於是得信力、於彼得智慧力故，當住阿鞞跋致地。」 tr. "Because this person obtains the power of faith here and obtains the power of wisdom there, he will abide on the ground of the avaivartika." This person has not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising; because of the power of wisdom he obtains being like an avaivartika and is praised by the buddhas; because he has the power of faith he obtains being like an avaivartika and is praised by the buddhas.
If merely by hearing prajñā one obtains such benefit, how much more by believing and accepting it and practising as taught, gradually abiding within the omniscience of all kinds!
Subhūti asks the Buddha: 「一切法空相無所得，云何菩薩住薩婆若？」 tr. "All dharmas are of the mark of emptiness, with nothing to be attained; how does the bodhisattva abide in sarvajñā?"
The Buddha says: 「如中住。」 tr. "He abides within suchness." What is called suchness is precisely emptiness. The bodhisattva abiding within this ultimate emptiness is called abiding in sarvajñā.
Here Subhūti asks the Buddha: 「除如，更無法可得，誰住如中？」 tr. "Apart from suchness there is no further dharma to be found; who abides within suchness?"—and so on up to 「無有是處」 tr. "there is no such principle", as the sūtra says at length.
The Buddha approves what Subhūti has said, and states the causes and conditions by which suchness too is empty, namely: 「是如，生、滅、住異不可得，若法無三相，即是畢竟空，云何可住？若住此中得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提而說法，無有是處！」 tr. "Of this suchness, arising, ceasing, and abiding-and-changing are unfindable; if a dharma is without the three marks, it is precisely ultimate emptiness—how can one abide in it? That one should abide within this, obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, and teach the Dharma—there is no such principle!"
Śakra Devānām Indra wished to take hold of a fixed mark of prajñā; hearing the Buddha and Subhūti say that even the signless is unfindable, he therefore said to the Buddha: 「希有！世尊！是般若甚深，是菩薩所為甚難，欲得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。何以故？是如畢竟空，除如，更無菩薩住是如中得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，亦無定法名為佛，說法者所度眾生亦不離如，亦無拔出處涅槃，諸法常住如相故。菩薩聞是事，心不疑悔，是事為難！雖信一切法畢竟空，而欲求阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，精進、不休不息，是為難。」 tr. "Rare, World-Honored One! This prajñā is very deep; what this bodhisattva does is very hard—he wishes to obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Why? This suchness is ultimately empty; apart from suchness there is no further bodhisattva who abides within this suchness and obtains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; nor is there a fixed dharma called the Buddha; the beings delivered by the one who teaches the Dharma are also not apart from suchness; nor is there a place of being drawn out, nirvāṇa; because all dharmas constantly abide in the mark of suchness. That the bodhisattva hears this matter and his mind has no doubt or regret—this matter is hard! That, though he believes all dharmas are ultimately empty, he yet wishes to seek anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, with vigour, without resting and without ceasing—this is hard."
Subhūti said to Śakra: 「若諸法畢竟空、無所有，疑從何生？何有難事？」 tr. "If all dharmas are ultimately empty and without anything existent, from where would doubt arise? What hard matter is there?"
Śakra rejoiced in his mind and had this thought: 「須菩提實是樂說空法；須菩提有所解說，皆說空事。雖說色等餘事，其義皆趣向空；若有難問，不能作礙，空亦空故。」 tr. "Subhūti truly delights to teach the dharma of emptiness; whatever Subhūti explains, he always speaks of the matter of emptiness. Though he speaks of form and other matters, their meaning all tends toward emptiness; if there are challenging questions, they cannot make an obstruction, because emptiness too is empty."
If there is someone who challenges and breaks emptiness, Subhūti has already broken emptiness beforehand, and within existence and non-existence alike there is nothing that hangs or obstructs him—as when one shoots upward into space. Space is precisely ultimate emptiness; the arrow is Subhūti's wisdom. The words he speaks are as an arrow in space is without obstruction, and when its force is exhausted it falls of itself, not because space is exhausted; Subhūti's teaching of the Dharma, the matter of its causes and conditions being accomplished, then stops, not because the Dharma is exhausted. If there is a person who, though he has a sharp arrow, shoots at a wall, it cannot pass through; though a person has sharp wisdom, if by wrong views he clings to existence, then he is obstructed and cannot get through. Therefore Subhūti speaks the Dharma that is without hindrance and without obstruction.
稱揚品：行般若何以是行無真實法，度眾生如度虛空何以不是取消眾生，眾生空與法空何以要分兩重，佛何以問弟子而不自說，成就二法何以魔不能壞，日月相須何以是本品最要之喻，諸佛何以稱揚未得無生忍而能信解的菩薩，如中住何以就是畢竟空中住，仰射空中何以勢盡自墮非為空盡
在問什麼
這一品問的是稱揚——誰稱揚，稱揚誰，憑什麼稱揚。從品名看，答案像是在第二段纔出現的那句「十方現在無量阿僧祇諸佛在大眾中說法時，自讚歎稱揚是菩薩摩訶薩名姓」；但經文真正費力處，不在稱揚本身，而在被稱揚的那個人究竟站在什麼地方。
品首是一個極刺人的問。舍利弗問須菩提：行般若波羅蜜，是行真實法還是行無真實法？這問題把行人逼到牆角——答真實，則般若成了可取可著之物；答不真實，則所行豈不成了虛誑妄語。須菩提答得毫不遲疑：行般若就是行無真實法，因為般若乃至一切種智都無真實；而且「無真實不可得，何況真實」。論主替這兩個詞下了訓：真實者，審定、不變異，即是可取、可著；不真實者，即是虛誑妄語。一問一答之間，本品的地基已經打好——稱揚所歎的，是一個不在真實一邊、也不落虛誑一邊的人。
接著諸天子作禮，而須菩提立刻把「難」字挪了位置。諸天所敬的是不作實際證、不墮二乘地；須菩提說那還不算難，難的是明知眾生畢竟不可得而仍然度眾生——「是人欲度眾生，如欲度虛空」。論主為此設了全品第一個問答：兩件事同樣畢竟空，何以一難一不難？答語只分兩個字——著與不著。平等法是無為，本非所著處，於此不著不算本事；眾生是虛誑假名，正是眾生歷劫所著之處，於此不著纔是難行。隨後論主出調馬自見影而不驚之喻，又把不驚分成兩重：上文所聞是眾生空故不畏，此處所聞是法空故不畏，二空俱不畏，纔是真行般若。
論①後半是四番問答，問的全是說法之席何以在須菩提身上——佛是一切智人何以問弟子，何以不自作說主，何以不令大菩薩說，何以不命智慧第一的舍利弗。四問一路推下去，答的其實是同一件事：說空之座要交給偏善說空的人。問答之後，論主重述經文以收卷七十八，把諸天作禮之因與諸佛憶念之果各安其位。
卷七十九入第二段經。佛出二法——觀一切法空、不捨一切眾生——說成就此二法者魔不能壞；又出第二組二法——所作如所言、亦為諸佛所念。論主釋前一組，用了本品最要的一個喻：日月相須。有月無日則萬物濕壞，有日無月則萬物燋爛；悲而無空則沒在有眾生的顛倒中，空而捨悲則墮斷滅中。此下經文正面說稱揚：諸天親近諮問而記其不久作佛，十方諸佛說法時稱揚菩薩名姓，釋迦自稱揚寶相、尸棄二菩薩。須菩提問何等菩薩得此稱揚，佛答阿鞞跋致；又答一類更希有的人——信解一切法無生、空、虛誑不實不堅固而未得無生忍法的菩薩。末後轉入「如中住」，須菩提以除如更無法可得反覆推問，佛全部印可並補一刀：如之生、滅、住異皆不可得。釋提桓因歎其甚難，須菩提反問諸法空中誰驚誰沒，帝釋以仰射空中歎其說法無礙——箭勢盡自墮而非空盡，這就是全品的收句。
逐段解明
一、舍利弗問行真實法為行無真實法。 品首不從讚歎起，從一個兩難之問起。舍利弗問菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，是行真實法，還是行無真實法。先要看清這一問的形狀：它不是求知識，是設兩難——凡答其一，必落其一之過。論主補出問者的來歷：舍利弗是聽了上文無分別相法而心大歡喜纔問的，可見此問出於歡喜而非刁難。讀經遇兩難之問，先不急著站隊，先看問者把哪兩個詞對立起來——此處對立的是真實與無真實，而不是有與無。這一步認清了，後面須菩提的答語纔不會被讀成否定般若。
二、須菩提答行無真實法，無真實尚不可得何況真實。 須菩提答得極快：行般若波羅蜜為行無真實法；理由是般若波羅蜜乃至一切種智皆無真實。要緊的是他沒有停在這裡，還加了一句——行般若波羅蜜時，「無真實不可得，何況真實」。此語是防止行人把「無真實」再立為一個真實。最易讀錯處正在這裡：以為答無真實就是主張一切虛無。經文自己堵死了這條路——連無真實這一頭也不可得。落到用上，這一句是給修觀的人的：所觀之空若還可執，那個空仍是所著。
三、欲色界諸天子作念禮敬發心不證之人。 說者由人間轉向諸天。欲界、色界諸天子心中作念：凡發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提意、如深般若所說義行於等法、不作實際證、不墮聲聞辟支佛地的人，應當為他作禮。此段須看準三件事：其一，這是心念而非出聲對話，經文作「作是念」；其二，所禮的不是已證者而是不證者；其三，禮的理由是不墮二乘地。諸天之所以能作此念，是因為他們也懂得證與不證之別。行人讀此，可知一件事——在般若門中，忍住不取證是一種功德，而不是懈怠。
四、須菩提移「難」之所在——度畢竟空之眾生乃為難。 諸天所歎的，須菩提偏說「不為難」。他把難字挪到另一處：菩薩大誓莊嚴要度無量無邊阿僧祇眾生，卻又知眾生畢竟不可得而仍然去度，這纔為難。經文接著自出譬喻：這人欲度眾生，如欲度虛空；虛空離故眾生亦離，虛空空故眾生亦空，虛空無堅固故眾生亦無堅固，虛空虛誑故眾生亦虛誑。四句一路比下去，不是為了取消眾生，是為了說明所度之境與能度之誓同樣無可執捉。末後更狠一句——結誓已而不得眾生，卻仍為眾生結誓。行門上的用處是：發願不必等到看見一個實有的所度者纔敢發。
五、聞諸法離相心不驚不沒不怖不畏，是為行般若。 此段是本品第一個判準句。經文由眾生離推到法離——色離即是眾生離，受想行識離即是眾生離；色離即是六波羅蜜離，乃至一切種智離即是六波羅蜜離。然後下判語：若菩薩聞是一切諸法離相而心不驚、不沒、不怖、不畏，當知是行般若波羅蜜。此處四個「不」字底本未一一分訓，今亦不強為分釋；唯「沒」字論主後文自有著落——「深處應當沒而不沒」，可知沒者是於深處之下墜。判準不在於懂不懂，在於聞而不動。讀者可自驗：聽到『所修的六波羅蜜也離』時，心裡是否要抓一把。抓的那一下，就是經文所說的驚與沒。
六、佛問須菩提何因緣故於深般若中心不沒。 說者轉為佛，而所問的是原因。佛問菩薩摩訶薩於深般若波羅蜜中心何以不沒。此問表面向須菩提，實則為大眾發。要注意經文用的是「不沒」而非「不驚」——論主後文自釋其故：「深處應當沒而不沒」，可知所防者是於深處之下墜，深般若中最危險的正是這一著。問句本身已含一個前提：於深處而不沒，是需要理由的。論主後文專為此問設四番問答，可見這一問在本品的份量。
七、須菩提答無所有故離故寂滅故不沒，沒者沒事沒處皆不可得。 答語分兩截。前截給三個理由：般若波羅蜜無所有故不沒、離故不沒、寂滅故不沒。後截釜底抽薪：是菩薩不得沒者、不得沒事、不得沒處，是一切法皆不可得故。前截說的是所行之法，後截說的是能沒之人與所沒之處。三事俱不可得，則「沒」這件事根本無從成立——不是強忍著不沒，是找不到一個可以沈沒的地方。讀者若把此語當作勉勵，便失其力；它是一個事實陳述。末後須菩提補上一句作禮之文，正好接住下一段佛語。
八、佛說光音等諸天亦禮、十方諸佛亦念、恒沙等魔不能留難。 佛把作禮的範圍往上推：不但釋提桓因諸天、梵王及諸天、世界主及諸天禮此菩薩，過此以上的光音天、遍淨天、廣果天、淨居天也都作禮。再往上推一層——十方無量諸佛亦念是菩薩，當知是菩薩為如佛。最後一句是防護的保證：恒河沙等世界眾生盡為魔，一一魔復化作魔，如是一切魔不能留難菩薩行般若波羅蜜。三句連讀可見一個次第：天禮之、佛念之、魔不能壞之。所以稱揚不是一句好話，是一種實際的護持格局。
九、成就二法魔不能壞——觀一切法空、不捨一切眾生。 卷七十九之經接住上文的魔不能壞，正面出其所以。佛說菩薩摩訶薩成就二法，魔不能壞；何等二？觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生。這是本品的骨句。二法之名經文自出其目，不待旁求。要看清二者是並列而非先後：不是先觀空再起悲，也不是先度生再學空。單取其一，經文即不許稱為成就。行人若覺自己偏於一邊，此句便是最直接的照鏡處。
十、第二組二法與諸天親近諮問、十方諸佛稱揚名姓。 經文續出第二組二法：所作如所言，亦為諸佛所念。此二法看似平實，卻是前二法的落地保證——觀空不捨生若不見於言行，便只是見解。隨後經文說諸天來至菩薩所，親近、諮問、勸喻、安慰，並列出「無護眾生汝為作護」以下逐項為作之事——為作護、為作依、為作救、為作究竟道、為作歸、為作洲、冥者為作明、盲者為作眼。再後纔是本品品名所繫之句：十方現在無量阿僧祇諸佛在大眾中說法時，自讚歎稱揚是菩薩摩訶薩名姓，並舉釋迦自稱揚寶相菩薩、尸棄菩薩與阿閦佛世界中菩薩為例。讀此段當注意稱揚的場合——是在大眾說法之時，不是私下嘉許。
十一、須菩提問何等菩薩得稱揚，佛答阿鞞跋致。 經文轉為問答。須菩提問何等菩薩摩訶薩為諸佛說法時自讚歎稱揚，佛答阿鞞跋致菩薩。此答看似已盡，其實只是第一層。須菩提立刻再問何等阿鞞跋致菩薩為佛所讚——可見他聽出了佛答中仍有未定之處。讀經遇到答而復問，不要以為是重複；問者往往是替聽眾把一個籠統的名目再逼緊一步。本品後文論主專為此一再問設問答，正是看準了這一點。
十二、佛列阿鞞跋致之所行所學，並及未得無生忍而信解者。 佛的第二層答有兩支。一支是如阿閦佛為菩薩時所行所學，諸菩薩亦如是學者。另一支更要緊：有菩薩行般若波羅蜜，信解一切法無生而未得無生忍法，信解一切法空而未得無生忍法，信解一切法虛誑不實不堅固而未得無生忍法——這一類佛說法時也歡喜自讚歎稱揚名姓。後一支之所以要緊，是因為它把稱揚的門檻從已證者放寬到信解者。經文並給出果報：是菩薩滅聲聞辟支佛地，當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提記，當住阿鞞跋致地，住是地已當得薩婆若。
十三、聞深般若心明利不疑不悔者，當於阿閦佛及諸菩薩所廣聞。 第三支說的是聞法之人。若菩薩摩訶薩聞是深般若波羅蜜，其心明利、不疑不悔，作是念「是事如佛所說」，這菩薩亦當於阿閦佛及諸菩薩所廣聞般若而信解，如佛所說當住阿鞞跋致地。末後經文自作格量：但聞般若波羅蜜已得大利益，何況信解；信解已如說住、如說行，如說住行已，住一切種智中。此處的次第極清楚——聞、信解、如說住行、住一切種智。行人可自問今日在哪一節上，不必躐等。
十四、如中住之推問、佛之逐字印可與釋提桓因之歎。 末段是全品最險的一節。須菩提兩度推問：若菩薩摩訶薩無所得法，云何住薩婆若？佛答住諸法如中。須菩提再推，一氣三詰：除如更無法可得，誰住如中？誰住如中已當得菩提？誰住如中當說法？佛不但不駁，反而逐字重述其語而印可，並補出理由——是如生不可得、滅不可得、住異不可得，若法生滅住異不可得，是中誰當住如。釋提桓因隨即歎諸菩薩所為甚難，而須菩提反問憍尸迦：諸法空中誰驚誰沒、誰怖誰畏、誰疑誰悔。帝釋乃以仰射空中箭去無礙歎其說法無礙。推問、印可、補刀、歎難、反詰、設譬相次而下，這一節把「住」字徹底掏空，而說法之事仍然成立。
十五、論主釋來意與真實不真實之訓。 論①起首，論主先補經文的來歷：舍利弗是聞上文無分別相法而心大歡喜纔發此問。次下訓詁：真實法者，審定、不變異，即是可取、可著；若不真實，即是虛誑妄語。這兩句訓是全品閱讀的鑰匙。要看清論主如何處理這個兩難——他不是否認二者的對立，而是指出般若不在這條對立線上。次答須菩提何以敢答無真實：須菩提常樂行深空，心無障礙，故答行般若即是行無真實，因般若波羅蜜空、無定相、無分別故。讀此可知，答語之所以能出，繫於答者之所行，不只繫於其所知。
十六、觀虛誑因緣生法尚不可得，世諦故說真實。 論主續申其義：菩薩先來生死中所習所著的虛誑有為法尚不可得，何況後來所觀虛誑因緣生的般若波羅蜜這非所著之法而可得。這是一個由重推輕的比量——連粗重的所著尚且不可得，何況本非所著者。結句最要緊：世諦故說真實，第一義中真實不可得，何況不真實。此句立二諦之分而不使二諦相爭——說真實者，就世諦說；第一義中則連真實一詞也無立足處。行人遇經論中真實與不真實之語相違時，先查它站在哪一諦上說，勿急判前後矛盾。與此一義相須者，尚有論主緊接諸天歡喜語後之一句訓詁——「第一義即是平等法，但以異名說」。上文論中忽言「第一深義」，忽言「平等法」，讀者易疑為二法；論主一句即斷其疑：二者同體而異名。有此一訓，後文「於平等法而不證」與「行第一深義而不作證」纔讀得成同一件事，而不致把難處錯認在名目上。
十七、問答一：一難一不難之分在著與不著。 論主設第一問：於平等法而不證、眾生畢竟空而度眾生，此二俱畢竟空，云何言一難一不難？答語分三節：眾生虛誑假名故是所著處，平等法無為故非所著處；眾生從有為法假名而生，無為法是第一義；於顛倒著處而能不著為難，於無著處不著是不為難。此答之妙，在於它不從空的深淺上分高下，而從所對之境是否為習氣所著處上分難易。行人可即此自驗：於靜坐中放下一個念頭不難，於最在意的人事上放下纔難——難處從來不在法上，在著處。
十八、調馬自見影而不驚之喻。 論主先引一句總說——「眾生空故，大莊嚴亦空；若大莊嚴空而能發心為難」，次出譬喻。譬如調馬，自見影而不驚，何以故？自知影從身出故。菩薩亦如是，知畢竟空乃是因有為和合虛妄法生，故聞是事不驚不沒。此喻的關鍵在「自知」二字：馬之不驚，不是因為影子消失，是因為知道影從何來。畢竟空亦然——菩薩並非看不見緣起之相，是知道這些相從何而生。讀者若把不驚理解為麻木，便失此喻；不驚出於知，不出於鈍。
十九、眾生空與法空二重不畏纔是真行般若。 論主此段作分判。色等法離故眾生亦離，離名為空。若眾生空而法不空，應有怖畏；若法亦空，則無生怖畏之處。末後總收：上聞眾生空故不畏，今聞法空故不畏，若聞是二空不畏，是為真行般若。此處不可草草讀過——經文在前段已說不驚不沒，論主在此把它拆成兩重，正是要防行人以第一重冒充第二重。我空易許，法空難安；許多修行上的怖畏，正出在法空這一重。自驗之法極簡：聽到『你所修的法也空』時，心是否比聽到『你所度的人也空』時更緊。
二十、問答二：佛是一切智人何以問弟子。 論主設第二問：佛是一切智人，何以問弟子心不驚不沒。答有三重。其一，以眾會有疑，敬難故不敢問，是以佛問——佛代大眾發問。其二，是第一平等義甚深難得，深處應當沒而不沒，故試問須菩提。其三，佛以須菩提為說法主，聽者法應問難。三重層層不同：第一重為聽眾，第二重為顯法之深，第三重為立說法之體例。讀論遇一問三答，不要只取第一個；三答往往是三個不同的層面，不是同義反覆。
二十一、問答三：何以不自為說主而令須菩提說。 第三問更進一步：佛為一切智，何以不自為說主。答曰：眾中有人以佛智慧無量無邊，我等智力有量，若心有所疑，不敢發問；為是人故，命須菩提說。此答之要，在於它把說法之席的安排歸於聽者的根性，而非說者的高下。佛不自說，不是佛不能說，是為了讓不敢問佛的人有處可問。此義於今日仍用得著：法席之設，先看聽者能否開口，不只看說者能否開演。
二十二、問答四：何以不令大菩薩說，兼出有人言。 第四問：若爾者，何以不令大菩薩說？答曰：大菩薩智慧亦大，不可思議，威德重故，亦不敢問難。此與上一問同一理路——威重則人不敢問。其下論主出一異說：有人言，阿羅漢、辟支佛、佛，三界繫無明永盡無餘故能如實說法；諸菩薩雖廣集福德，漏未盡故或不可信，是故不命。此說在本品中是唯一一處「有人言」，全品僅此一見。讀者須看清它的身分——這是論主所錄的他家之說，不是論主自立之判；論主錄而不駁，亦不加印可。
二十三、問答五：何以不命舍利弗等大弟子。 第五問：舍利弗智慧第一，及餘大弟子，何以不命？答曰：是事先已答，所謂須菩提樂於空行，偏善說空；般若波羅蜜多說空故，令須菩提說。答語自承「先已答」，可見論主並不諱言重出。要點在「偏善」二字——不是須菩提智慧勝過舍利弗，是他所長正與所說之法相應。此中有一個一貫的分寸：法席之命，取相應不取高下。四番問答至此收束，所解的始終是同一件事——說空之座何以在須菩提身上。
二十四、論主重述經文以結卷七十八——諸天作禮之因與諸佛憶念之果。 此段在論①之內，而文體是牒經。論主重述須菩提白佛之語：一切法畢竟空、無所有，無所有故自相離，離相故常寂滅，常寂滅故無憶想分別，故菩薩不應驚、不應沒，沒者沒處沒法皆不可得。次重述須菩提答已白佛之語。再下逐目分疏作禮之諸天：地神、虛空中神、四天王、忉利天以帝釋為主；梵天王是初禪中梵世界眾生主；世界主者，欲界餘天主——此即論主所說之三種天，其目論主自出，不待旁求。作禮之理由亦自出：是菩薩捨自樂欲利益眾生，是三種天但自求樂故。次分貴賤：欲界諸天著婬欲心多故禮不足為貴，初禪天有覺觀散亂亦不足為妙，上諸天心清淨而作禮，爾乃為難。末結諸佛憶念之果報——當知是菩薩為如佛，以其必至佛道不退故，如恒河沙等魔不能壞。讀此段當認清其身分：這是論主重述經文以總結上卷，不是另起一段新的對話。
二十五、論②釋二法魔不能壞——日月因緣與二道偏執之失。 卷七十九之論起首，論主先立眾會之疑：菩薩何因緣故得如是力，魔不能壞。次述佛答之二因緣：一者觀諸法空，二者不捨一切眾生。隨後出本品最要之喻——以日月因緣故萬物潤生；但有月而無日則萬物濕壞，但有日而無月則萬物燋爛，日月和合故萬物成熟。合法處論主說得極明白：菩薩亦有二道，一者悲，二者空；若但有憐愍心而無智慧，則心沒在「無眾生而有眾生」的顛倒中；若但有空心而捨憐愍度眾生心，則墮斷滅中。此喻之力，在於它不說二者互補，說二者互救——缺一不是少了一半，是壞了全體。
二十六、二事兼用——空亦空故不著空，不取眾生相故不妨空。 上段說偏執之失，此段說兼用之法。論主釋曰：觀一切法空，空亦空故不著空，是故不妨憐愍眾生；觀憐愍眾生，亦不著眾生、不取眾生相，但憐愍眾生引導入空，是故雖行憐愍而不妨空；雖行空亦不取空相故，不妨憐愍心，如日月相須。要看清兩邊各有一個防護鍵：空邊的鍵是「空亦空」，悲邊的鍵是「不取眾生相」。二鍵一鬆，便落回上段之失。行門上最可用的一句是「引導入空」——憐愍不是停在安慰，是把人往空處引；此語一立，慈悲與般若便非兩事。
二十七、所作如所言與為諸佛所念——五種執金剛神與魚子不為母念之喻。 論主釋第二組二法，兩邊各出一果。反面：諸神天輕賤妄語人，若菩薩不如所說行，則五種執金剛神捨離不復守護，惡鬼得便；是人喜生惡心，惡心故生惡業，生惡業故墮惡道。此是一條完整的下墜鏈，起點只是言行不符。另一邊：菩薩不為諸佛所念者則善根朽壞，如魚子不為母念則爛壞不生。此喻極切——魚子之壞不由外力，只由無所憶念。末結引經語「所作如所言，亦為諸佛所念。得此二法故，不可破壞」。二法一內一外，而樞紐都在言行之實。
二十八、問答六：諸天未得一切智何以能與菩薩授記。 論主設問：諸天未得一切智，云何能與菩薩授記。答有兩支。其一，諸天長壽，從過去諸佛聞如是行得記，今見菩薩有如是行故說——這是以前例比今事，非以神通知未來。論主自加一句判準：見因知有果故。其二，諸天見是菩薩行三解脫門印，亦兼行慈悲心於眾生，是故說言「不久作佛」。要注意第二支所舉的兩項，正是上文二法的另一種說法——三解脫門是空邊，兼行慈悲是悲邊。可見諸天之記，所據仍是本品的骨句。
二十九、佛稱揚之所以——大將破敵之喻與諸佛讚善毀惡之意。 論主先以「無守護眾生汝為作守護，無歸與作歸」等義指歸前文，次釋稱揚之事。喻曰：如大國王有大將，不惜身命，有方便能破怨敵，常為國王所稱譽；菩薩亦如是，觀畢竟空，不惜我身，破煩惱賊，有方便而不作證，教化眾生，諸佛所稱譽。喻中四事一一對法：不惜身命對不惜我身，破怨敵對破煩惱賊，有方便對有方便而不作證，為王稱譽對為諸佛稱譽。次解一疑——諸佛雖無著心，無分別善不善法，視諸阿羅漢外道亦無憎愛，何以仍讚善毀惡？論主答得乾脆：為利益眾生故，欲使眾生依附好人、心隨善法、令出世間故。稱揚是教化的手段，不是佛有所偏愛。此段之前，論主另出一則稱揚之實例：十方諸佛說法時，亦以能如所說應諸法實相的菩薩為譬喻，作是言：「某方某世界菩薩雖未作佛，能如是行甚深般若波羅蜜，功德希有故。」最可注意者在「雖未作佛」四字——所稱揚的不是果位已圓之人，是行中之人；而稱揚的方式是舉之為喻，使他方聞法者有一個現成的樣子可循。本品品名之稱揚，於此見其實際用處。
三十、問答七：何經中說二菩薩為佛所讚歎。 論主設一個看似枝節而實不枝節的問：何經中說此二菩薩為佛所讚歎。答曰佛經無量；佛涅槃後諸惡邪見王出，焚燒經法，破壞塔寺，害諸沙門；五百歲後像法不淨，諸阿羅漢、神通菩薩難可得見故，諸深經不盡在閻浮提，行者受者少故，諸天龍神持去。此答的分寸極好——不強指一經，不諱言查不到，而給出查不到的原因。讀論遇此等答語，當知這是誠實之答而非推諉；論主寧可說經已不在此土，不肯隨口指一部經以塞問。
三十一、問答八：遍吉觀世音等何以不歎而但稱譽二菩薩。 論主設問：如遍吉菩薩、觀世音菩薩、大力勢菩薩、文殊尸利、彌勒菩薩等，何以故不讚歎而但稱譽二菩薩。答有三重。其一，是二菩薩未得無生忍法而能似無生忍法行，一切魔民所不能壞，是故佛歎希有——所歎者在『未得而能似』。其二，是二菩薩清淨大願行、深大慈悲心，不期疾作佛，為度眾生故。其三，遍吉、觀世音菩薩等功德極大，人皆知；是二菩薩人未知，故稱揚。第三重最可玩味：稱揚是為了讓人知道，人已盡知者便不必再標。可見稱揚之用在接引，不在排位。
三十二、問答九：總稱揚與別稱揚——須菩提何以更問。 論主先牒經云：「何等菩薩，佛說法時，稱揚讚歎說其名字？」，次設問：佛已先說，須菩提何以更問。答曰：佛初說「大菩薩」，後稱說「一切菩薩，從初發意乃至十地」，是故須菩提疑問佛。此答把須菩提之問的由來說得極清楚——前後兩個範圍不同，一個極狹一個極寬，故須再問以定其目。佛之答亦隨之而定：佛雖皆愛念一切菩薩，其中有德行勝者，稱揚其名字。愛念是普遍的，稱名是別立的；此一分判，正是本品品名之所繫。
三十三、三門與三解脫門之三種差別，並出柔順法忍未得無生法忍之希有。 論主釋佛所稱之第二類菩薩：未得無生法忍、未入菩薩位，行般若波羅蜜力故常思惟籌量，求諸法實相，能信解、忍，通一切法無生相、空、虛誑、不堅固。次逐項配屬：虛誑、不實、不堅固者，皆是無常、苦、無我門；一切法空者，即是空門；一切法無生者，即是諸法實相，滅諸觀。再以三解脫門另配一遍：虛誑不實不堅固即無作解脫門，一切法空即空解脫門，一切法無生即無相解脫門——論主自結曰「如是等三種差別」。二組之目論主皆自出，不待旁求。末後點出此人之所以希有：出柔順法忍、未得無生法忍，出凡夫法、未入聖法，而能信受聖法，似得聖法人；如佛所稱譽阿鞞跋致菩薩能斷二地、得受記，是人亦如是。此段是全品對凡夫行人最有力的一節——尚未入位而能信解者，已在佛所稱揚之列。
三十四、信力智慧力兩路得如阿鞞跋致，並釋如中住與仰射空中之喻。 末段收三事。其一，論主設問：是菩薩已信解般若，何以更從阿閦佛及諸菩薩邊聞？答曰是人聞阿閦佛作菩薩時所行清淨而欲效之，於此得信力、於彼得智慧力，故當住阿鞞跋致地——二力並舉，一得於自聞，一得於他行。其二，釋如中住：須菩提問一切法空相無所得云何住薩婆若，佛言如中住；論主只加一句訓——如者即是空，菩薩住是畢竟空中，名為住薩婆若。又釋佛可須菩提所語而說如亦空之因緣：是如生滅住異不可得，若法無三相即是畢竟空，云何可住。其三，釋末後之喻。釋提桓因欲取般若一定相，聞佛共須菩提說無相亦不可得，故歎希有；須菩提反詰若諸法畢竟空無所有則疑從何生；帝釋心歡喜而知須菩提所說皆趣向空、若有難問不能作礙，以空亦空故。論主乃逐字訓其喻：虛空即是畢竟空，箭是須菩提智慧；如箭於空無礙，勢盡自墮，非為空盡——須菩提說法因緣事辦故便止，非為法盡。反面亦出一喻：人雖有利箭，射壁不能過；人雖有利智慧，邪見著有則礙而不能通。全品自「行無真實法」起，至「無障無礙法」結，首尾說的是同一件事——無所著處，纔無所礙。
不要讀錯
不要把「行無真實法」讀成行虛誑妄語。論主的訓詁已先堵住這條路：真實者審定不變異、可取可著，不真實者即是虛誑妄語——若須菩提之答是取後一頭，論主便不必再說「世諦故說真實」。經文自己也補了一刀：無真實尚不可得，何況真實。連無真實這一頭都不可執，可見所答不是二者取一，是二者俱不立。讀成虛無論，則後文諸佛稱揚、諸天作禮之事全無著落。
不要把『度眾生如度虛空』讀成不必度眾生。經文說這話的當下，正在推崇大誓莊嚴為難行；譬喻是用來顯難，不是用來取消。論主更以著與不著分難易，明說於顛倒著處而能不著纔為難。全品第二段又立「不捨一切眾生」為二法之一，與觀一切法空並列。若讀成眾生既空則度亦可廢，正落在論主所破的斷滅一邊。
不要把「心不驚、不沒」讀成情緒上的鎮定。論主把它拆成兩重——眾生空故不畏、法空故不畏，並說二空俱不畏纔是真行般若；又以調馬自見影而不驚為喻，明說馬之不驚出於「自知影從身出」。可見不驚繫於知，不繫於忍。若把它讀成一種心理素質，則自驗之法失據：真正的檢查點不是聞法時臉色如何，是聽到所修之法亦空時，心裡是否要抓一把。
不要把「有人言」讀成論主的判語。本品全篇只有一處有人言，出在何以不令大菩薩說之答後，所述是諸菩薩漏未盡故或不可信之說。論主錄而不駁，也不加印可。讀論須分清三種身分：論主自立之義、論主所錄他家之說、論主所牒之經文。此三者一混，便會把他家之說當作本論之判，甚至反過來以此貶抑菩薩——而本品通篇正在稱揚菩薩。
不要把論①後段的牒經讀成另一場新的對話。從須菩提白佛一切法畢竟空一節起，至諸佛憶念之果報為止，文體雖作經文之貌，其實是論主重述經文以總結上卷，並於其中逐目分疏三種天與貴賤之別。若當作新起之對話讀，則會誤以為此處另有一番問答，並把論主自出的分疏之語誤繫於經中說者。所繫既錯，後文諸天作禮之因果便讀不成一條線。
不要把「如中住」讀成另有一個可住之處。須菩提三度推問除如更無法可得而誰住如中，佛不但不駁，反而逐字重述其語而印可，並補出如之生滅住異皆不可得。論主的訓更直接：如者即是空，住是畢竟空中名為住薩婆若。所以「住」字在此是無住之住。若讀成先證得一個如、再安住其中，則佛所補的那一刀便無處落。
不要把仰射空中之喻讀成說法終有窮盡。論主已先分判：勢盡自墮，非為空盡；說法因緣事辦故便止，非為法盡。喻中所盡者是箭勢，不是虛空；所止者是因緣，不是般若。論主又出反喻——射壁不能過者，是因為壁礙，不是因為箭鈍；人有利智慧而邪見著有則礙而不能通。二喻合看，所論的始終是有無障礙，不是有無窮盡。
修行作用
第一件受用，是把難處認回到著處上。論主分難易不從法之深淺分，從所對之境是否為習氣所著處分——平等法無為故非所著處，眾生虛誑假名故是所著處。行人可即此立一條日用的自檢：今日所放下的，是本來就不太在意的，還是最在意的那一件。前者不必記功，後者纔是經中所說的難行。此一條可以把修行從『坐上功夫』挪回到『著處功夫』。
第二件受用，是二空分兩重的自驗法。先問自己：聽到所度的人畢竟不可得時，心動不動？再問：聽到自己所修的六波羅蜜、乃至一切種智也離時，心動不動？論主明說上聞眾生空故不畏、今聞法空故不畏，二空俱不畏纔是真行般若。多數怖畏出在第二重，因為所修之法是行人最後的立足處。此問可作每一段用功之後的收尾。
第三件受用，是日月相須之喻可作兩輪的校準。論主說得極重——但有月無日則萬物濕壞，但有日無月則萬物燋爛；悲而無空則沒在有眾生的顛倒中，空而捨悲則墮斷滅中。校準之法有二鍵：空邊自問有無「空亦空」，悲邊自問有無「不取眾生相」。二鍵在，則觀空不礙憐愍，憐愍不礙觀空；二鍵失其一，便知今日偏在哪一輪。
第四件受用，是言行相符為護持之本。論主給的是一條完整的鏈：不如所說行則神天輕賤、執金剛神捨離、惡鬼得便、喜生惡心、生惡業、墮惡道。鏈的起點極小，只是所言與所作不符。反過來看，經文所說的護持也起於同一處——所作如所言，亦為諸佛所念。行人不必先求感應，先把已說出口的話行完；魚子不為母念則爛壞之喻，說的正是這件事不可假手他人。
第五件受用，是未入位者亦在稱揚之列。本品最可安慰而又最不使人懈怠的一節，是論主所釋的第二類菩薩——出柔順法忍而未得無生法忍，出凡夫法而未入聖法，卻能信受聖法，似得聖法人，故為希有。所憑的只是信解與忍，不是已證。行人由此可知兩事：其一，未得無生忍不是被排除在外的理由；其二，所稱揚的是「能信解、忍，通一切法無生相、空、虛誑、不堅固」這一份，而不是一個名位。日用中把這四項當作所思惟籌量的題目，便是走在此段所指的路上。
承衍
本品的骨幹，是兩段經文與兩段論釋。經①自舍利弗問行真實法為行無真實法起，須菩提答行無真實而云無真實尚不可得何況真實；次欲色界諸天子作念禮敬發心不證之人，須菩提移難之所在而以度眾生如度虛空為喻，歷陳虛空離空無堅固虛誑四句，結以聞諸法離相心不驚不沒不怖不畏是為行般若；次佛問何因緣故於深般若中心不沒，須菩提答無所有故離故寂滅故不沒而沒者沒事沒處皆不可得，末說諸天及釋提桓因梵天王世界主皆為作禮；末由佛說光音遍淨廣果淨居諸天亦禮、十方諸佛亦念、當知是菩薩為如佛、恒河沙等魔不能留難。經②自成就二法魔不能壞起——觀一切法空、不捨一切眾生；次出第二組二法，所作如所言、亦為諸佛所念，並說諸天親近諮問勸喻安慰與為作護依救歸洲明眼之事，次說十方諸佛說法時自稱揚菩薩名姓並舉寶相尸棄二菩薩與阿閦佛世界中菩薩；次須菩提問何等菩薩得稱揚，佛答阿鞞跋致，復答信解一切法無生空虛誑不實不堅固而未得無生忍法者，並說其滅二乘地當得受記當住阿鞞跋致地；次說聞深般若心明利不疑不悔者當於阿閦佛及諸菩薩所廣聞，格量但聞已得大利益何況信解；末以如中住之推問與佛之逐字印可收，釋提桓因歎所為甚難，須菩提反詰諸法空中誰驚誰沒，帝釋以仰射空中歎其說法無礙。論①以釋曰隨文而釋：先補來意而訓真實不真實，次釋須菩提何以答無真實，次申觀虛誑因緣生法尚不可得而立世諦第一義之分；次設五番問答——一難一不難之分、佛何以問弟子、何以不自為說主、何以不令大菩薩說並出有人言、何以不命舍利弗等；其間出調馬自見影之喻與二空不畏之判；末段重述經文以結上卷，逐目分疏作禮之三種天與清淨諸天之貴賤，結以諸佛憶念之果報。論②釋二法魔不能壞，出日月因緣之喻與二道偏執之失，次說二事兼用之法；次釋所作如所言與為諸佛所念，出五種執金剛神與魚子不為母念之喻；次設五番問答——諸天何以能授記、何經中說二菩薩、遍吉觀世音等何以不歎、須菩提何以更問總別稱揚、已信解般若何以更從阿閦佛及諸菩薩邊聞；其間出大將破敵之喻與諸佛讚善毀惡之意；次釋三門與三解脫門之三種差別並出柔順法忍未得無生法忍之希有；末釋信力智慧力二路、如中住即畢竟空中住、仰射空中勢盡自墮非為空盡，並出射壁不能過之反喻。
本品與前後諸品的義脈，可見者有三線。其一、承前：上品所明是願樂之行，本品承其勢而問諸佛何以稱揚——由眾生之愛樂轉為眾聖之嘆美，故經文起手仍以行般若真實不真實為接榫，非別起爐灶。其二、品內自成一轉：前半說不驚不沒之所以，後半說稱揚之所歸，兩半以卷末重述經文一節為樞——諸天作禮之因既立，則諸佛稱揚便非別事，仍是同一段開示的果。其三、垂後：本品結於稱揚菩薩名姓，次品轉入囑累之事，二品相次而立，讀者可合觀以見稱揚與付囑之別。
古德之釋，本品可誌者二家。吉藏於本品科釋之首，逕以品名立義云：「此下明度眾生如度空」——其所用之品名作度空，與本帙底本作稱揚者不同；其釋此名之由云：「空有不二，但惑者聞度眾生皆言度有，故今言度空耳」，是以度空之名為對治惑者之執有而立。其釋品首之問則云：「上品雖復廣辨前理空寂，未明智體無相，是以遣之也」——以智體無相釋舍利弗之問，與本論以審定不變異訓真實者所取之角度不同，並錄不判。其釋二空不畏云：「若眾生空法不空，是可怖耳。今眾生空法復空，無有不空者，何所怖耶」，又云：「色離即眾生離者，明空無二無礙，故色空即眾生空也」——此二語與本論「上聞眾生空故不畏，今聞法空故不畏」一節所守之分寸相合，可為佐證。其釋二法不壞云：「又以解空故不退為凡夫，不捨眾生不退為聲聞也」——以二法各對一退，與本論日月相須之喻所取之義相近而所立之語不同。其釋佛口業稱歎則科為三人云：「凡三人得歎：一者、得無生忍現前；二者、深信無生隣於不退必爾無疑；三者、從初發軫其心屈也」——以三人分稱揚之目，此三之數出於吉藏自家之科，非本論之文，錄以備覽。慧影釋此品，標其次第之意云：「上明菩薩脩平等行，具生法二忍，故為一切眾生愛樂。今次明為諸天人所敬，眾聖嘆美，故次明此品」——以愛樂與嘆美判前品與本品之次，正與上文所說承前一線相發。其科判本品云：「就此品中大有二分：第一、明菩薩行不二法，不證實際，而廣度眾生；第二、從何以故去，明十方諸佛稱揚菩薩」，又於稱揚一段云：「就稱揚中有通有別」——以通別二門收經文所列之數類菩薩，與本論以總說大菩薩與別稱其名字分判者所取之義相近。其釋生法二空之相即云：「眾生離即是色離者，當知生空即是法空，但從詮為異也」；其釋二法不壞云：「今以菩薩慈悲從實相生，屬無緣慈悲，故無窮盡所度無極」；其釋言行相符云：「若不能如說行者，則是大妄語人，故為天神輕也」；其釋斷二地云：「能斷二地者，經論多云離二乘地也」——四語皆隨文而釋，與本論所說各相發明。慧影疏中又自稱本品為「第六十四品者，名為稱揚品」，其品次與本帙底本相差一位。其品目異稱、品序差階、諸本分卷與卷末夾註所涉之訖品不同，詳考據層。
Extolling: Why Practising Prajñā Is Practising a Dharma without True Reality; Why Delivering Beings Is Like Delivering Space and Yet Does Not Abolish Beings; Why the Emptiness of Beings and the Emptiness of Dharmas Must Be Divided into Two Layers; Why the Buddha Asks His Disciple and Does Not Speak Himself; Why, When Two Dharmas Are Accomplished, Māra Cannot Break Him; Why the Sun and Moon Needing One Another Is the Most Essential Simile of This Chapter; Why the Buddhas Extol the Bodhisattva Who Has Not Yet Obtained the Acceptance of Non-arising and yet Can Have Faith and Understanding; Why Abiding within Suchness Is Precisely Abiding within Ultimate Emptiness; and Why, in Shooting Upward into Space, the Arrow Falls of Itself When Its Force Is Exhausted and Not Because Space Is Exhausted
What Is Being Asked
What this chapter asks about is extolling—who extols, whom he extols, and on what grounds he extols. Judging from the chapter's name, the answer seems to be that sentence which appears only in the second section, 「十方現在無量阿僧祇諸佛在大眾中說法時，自讚歎稱揚是菩薩摩訶薩名姓」 tr. "when the immeasurable asaṃkhyeya buddhas now present in the ten directions teach the Dharma in the great assembly, they themselves praise and extol the name and clan of this bodhisattva-mahāsattva"; but where the sūtra truly spends its effort is not in the extolling itself, but in where, after all, the person who is extolled is standing.
The chapter opens with an extremely piercing question. Śāriputra asks Subhūti: in practising prajñāpāramitā, is one practising a true and real dharma, or practising a dharma without true reality? This question drives the practitioner into a corner—if he answers that it is true and real, then prajñā becomes a thing that can be taken hold of and can be clung to; if he answers that it is not true and real, then does not what he practises become false and deceptive, lying speech? Subhūti answers without the least hesitation: practising prajñā is practising a dharma without true reality, because prajñā and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds are all without true reality; and moreover, 「無真實不可得，何況真實」 tr. "what is without true reality is unfindable, how much less the true and real." The treatise-author gives these two words their glosses: a true and real dharma is settled and certain and does not change, that is, it can be taken hold of and can be clung to; what is not true and real is false and deceptive, lying speech. Between one question and one answer, the foundation of this chapter has already been laid—what the extolling praises is a person who does not stand on the side of the true and real and does not fall to the side of the false and deceptive either.
Next the gods bow, and Subhūti at once moves the word 「難」 tr. "hard" from its position. What the gods revere is not realising the limit of reality and not falling to the ground of the two vehicles; Subhūti says that this does not yet count as hard—what is hard is knowing clearly that beings are ultimately unfindable and still delivering beings: 「是人欲度眾生，如欲度虛空」 tr. "this person's wishing to deliver beings is like wishing to deliver space." For this the treatise-author sets up the first question and answer of the whole chapter: the two matters are equally ultimately empty; why is one hard and one not hard? The answer divides them by only the two Chinese characters rendered here as ‘clinging’ and ‘not clinging’. The equal dharma is unconditioned and from the outset not a place of clinging, and not to cling there is no real accomplishment; beings are false and deceptive provisional names, precisely the place where beings have clung kalpa after kalpa, and only not to cling there is hard to practise. After this the treatise-author brings out the simile of the tamed horse that sees its own shadow and is not startled, and further divides not being startled into two layers: what was heard above is the emptiness of beings, and so he is not afraid; what is heard here is the emptiness of dharmas, and so he is not afraid; only to be unafraid of both emptinesses is truly practising prajñā.
The latter half of Treatise ① is four rounds of question and answer, and what they all ask is why the seat of teaching the Dharma rests upon Subhūti—why the Buddha, the omniscient one, asks his disciple; why he does not himself act as the master of the teaching; why he does not have the great bodhisattvas speak; why he does not command Śāriputra, foremost in wisdom. The four questions push straight on down, and what they answer is in fact one and the same matter: the seat for teaching emptiness is to be handed to the one who is especially good at teaching emptiness. After the questions and answers, the treatise-author retells the sūtra text to close fascicle 78, setting in its own place the cause of the gods' bowing and the fruit of the buddhas' keeping him in mind.
Fascicle 79 enters the second section of sūtra. The Buddha brings out two dharmas—contemplating all dharmas as empty, and not abandoning any being—and says that one who accomplishes these two dharmas cannot be broken by Māra; he further brings out a second pair of two dharmas—what he does is as what he says, and he is also kept in mind by the buddhas. The treatise-author, explaining the first pair, uses the most essential simile of this chapter: the sun and moon need one another. With the moon and no sun, the ten thousand things are wet and ruined; with the sun and no moon, the ten thousand things are scorched and spoiled; compassion without emptiness sinks into the inversion of there being beings, and emptiness that abandons compassion falls into annihilation. Below this the sūtra speaks of extolling directly: the gods draw near and enquire and declare that before long he will become a Buddha; when the buddhas of the ten directions teach the Dharma they extol the bodhisattva's name and clan; Śākyamuni himself extols the two bodhisattvas Jewel Mark and Śikhin. Subhūti asks what kind of bodhisattva obtains this extolling, and the Buddha answers: the avaivartika; he answers further with a still rarer kind of person—the bodhisattva who has faith in and understands that all dharmas are non-arising, empty, false and deceptive, not real, and not firm, and has not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising. At the end it turns into 「如中住」 tr. "abiding within suchness": Subhūti, on the ground that apart from suchness there is no further dharma to be found, presses his questions again and again; the Buddha approves all of it and adds one more cut: the arising, ceasing, and abiding-and-changing of suchness are all unfindable. Śakra Devānām Indra sighs at how very hard it is, and Subhūti asks in return who, within the emptiness of all dharmas, is startled and who sinks; Śakra, by shooting upward into space, praises his teaching of the Dharma as unobstructed—the arrow's force is exhausted and it falls of itself, and not because space is exhausted: this is the closing sentence of the whole chapter.
Passage by Passage
1. Śāriputra asks whether one practises a true and real dharma or practises a dharma without true reality. The chapter does not begin from praise; it begins from a question that sets up a dilemma. Śāriputra asks whether the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā is practising a true and real dharma, or practising a dharma without true reality. First one must see clearly the shape of this question: it does not seek knowledge; it sets up a dilemma—whichever of the two one answers, one must fall into the fault of that one. The treatise-author supplies where the questioner is coming from: Śāriputra asked only after hearing the dharma of the mark of non-discrimination above and greatly rejoicing in his mind, from which it can be seen that this question comes from joy and not from captiousness. When in reading the sūtra one meets a question that sets up a dilemma, do not hurry to take a side; first see which two words the questioner has set against each other—what is set against each other here is the true and real and what is without true reality, not existence and non-existence. Once this step is recognised, Subhūti's answer that follows will not be read as a denial of prajñā.
2. Subhūti answers that one practises a dharma without true reality; what is without true reality is still unfindable, how much less the true and real. Subhūti answers very quickly: practising prajñāpāramitā is practising a dharma without true reality; the reason is that prajñāpāramitā and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds are all without true reality. What matters is that he does not stop here, but adds one more sentence—when practising prajñāpāramitā, 「無真實不可得，何況真實」 tr. "what is without true reality is unfindable, how much less the true and real." This sentence guards against the practitioner setting up 「無真實」 tr. "without true reality" once again as something true and real. The place most easily misread is exactly here: thinking that to answer that it is without true reality is to assert that everything is void nothingness. The sūtra itself blocks this road completely—even this end, without true reality, is unfindable. Brought down to use, this sentence is for the person who cultivates contemplation: if the emptiness he contemplates can still be grasped, that emptiness is still something clung to.
3. The gods of the desire and form realms have the thought to bow in reverence to the person who arouses the mind and does not realise. The speakers turn from the human world to the gods. The gods of the desire realm and the form realm have this thought in their minds: whoever arouses the intent of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, practises the dharma of equality according to the meaning spoken of in the deep prajñā, does not realise the limit of reality, and does not fall to the śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha ground—to such a person we should bow. In this passage three things must be seen accurately: first, this is a thought in the mind and not a spoken dialogue—the sūtra says 「作是念」 tr. "had this thought"; second, the one bowed to is not one who has realised but one who does not realise; third, the reason for the bowing is that he does not fall to the ground of the two vehicles. The gods can have this thought because they too understand the difference between realising and not realising. The practitioner reading this can know one thing—within the gate of prajñā, holding back from taking realisation is a merit, not laziness.
4. Subhūti moves where 「難」 tr. "hard" lies—it is delivering beings who are ultimately empty that is hard. What the gods praise, Subhūti deliberately says 「不為難」 tr. "is not hard." He moves the word hard to another place: the bodhisattva, with the great adornment of the oath, would deliver immeasurable, boundless asaṃkhyeya beings, and yet, knowing that beings are ultimately unfindable, still goes to deliver them—this is what is hard. The sūtra then brings out a simile of its own: this person's wishing to deliver beings is like wishing to deliver space; because space is separated, beings too are separated; because space is empty, beings too are empty; because space is without firmness, beings too are without firmness; because space is false and deceptive, beings too are false and deceptive. The four clauses compare straight on down, not in order to abolish beings, but to make clear that the realm to be delivered and the oath that delivers are equally without anything to grasp. At the end there is a still more severe sentence—having bound himself by oath, he does not find beings, and yet he still binds himself by oath for the sake of beings. Its use in the gate of practice is this: one need not wait until one sees a really existing being to be delivered before daring to make the vow.
5. Hearing that all dharmas are separated from marks, the mind is not startled, does not sink, is not terrified, is not afraid: this is practising prajñā. This passage is the first sentence of judgement in this chapter. The sūtra pushes from beings being separated to dharmas being separated—form's being separated is beings' being separated, and feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness being separated is beings' being separated; form's being separated is the six perfections' being separated, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds being separated is the six perfections' being separated. Then it gives its verdict: if the bodhisattva, hearing that all these dharmas are separated from marks, has a mind that is not startled, does not sink, is not terrified, is not afraid, know that this is practising prajñāpāramitā. The four instances of 「不」 tr. "not" here are not glossed one by one in the base text, and here too they are not forcibly explained separately; only the word 「沒」 tr. "sink" has its own landing-place in the treatise-author's later text—「深處應當沒而不沒」 tr. "in the deep place one would be expected to sink, and yet one does not sink"—from which it can be known that sinking is a falling-down in the deep place. The standard of judgement lies not in whether one understands or not, but in hearing and not being moved. The reader can test this himself: on hearing ‘the six perfections one cultivates are also separated’, does the mind want to grab hold? That one grab is exactly what the sūtra calls being startled and sinking.
6. The Buddha asks Subhūti by what causes and conditions the mind does not sink within the deep prajñā. The speaker turns to the Buddha, and what he asks is the cause. The Buddha asks why the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's mind does not sink within the deep prajñāpāramitā. On the surface this question is addressed to Subhūti; in fact it is raised for the great assembly. Note that the sūtra uses 「不沒」 tr. "does not sink" and not 「不驚」 tr. "is not startled"—the treatise-author later explains the reason himself: 「深處應當沒而不沒」 tr. "in the deep place one would be expected to sink, and yet one does not sink," from which it can be known that what is guarded against is falling down in the deep place, and within the deep prajñā the most dangerous move is exactly this. The question itself already contains a premise: not to sink in the deep place needs a reason. The treatise-author later sets up four rounds of question and answer specifically for this question, from which one can see the weight this question carries in this chapter.
7. Subhūti answers that it does not sink because it is without anything existent, because it is separated, because it is quiescent; one who sinks, the matter of sinking, and the place of sinking are all unfindable. The answer is in two parts. The first part gives three reasons: prajñāpāramitā does not sink because it is without anything existent, does not sink because it is separated, does not sink because it is quiescent. The latter part takes the firewood from under the cauldron: this bodhisattva does not find one who sinks, does not find a matter of sinking, does not find a place of sinking, because all dharmas are unfindable. The first part speaks of the dharma that is practised; the latter part speaks of the person who could sink and the place into which one would sink. When all three are unfindable, then the matter of 「沒」 tr. "sinking" cannot be established at all—it is not forcibly enduring so as not to sink; it is that no place can be found in which to sink. If the reader takes this as encouragement, it loses its force; it is a statement of fact. At the end Subhūti adds a sentence about bowing in reverence, which receives exactly the Buddha's words in the next passage.
8. The Buddha says that the gods of Light-Sound and the others also bow, the buddhas of the ten directions also keep him in mind, and Māras as many as the sands of the Ganges cannot hinder him. The Buddha pushes the range of those who bow upward: not only do Śakra Devānām Indra and the gods, the Brahmā king and the gods, and the lords of the world and the gods bow to this bodhisattva, but beyond these and above them the heaven of Light-Sound, the heaven of Universal Purity, the heaven of Abundant Fruit, and the Pure Abodes all bow as well. He pushes one layer further up—the immeasurable buddhas of the ten directions also keep this bodhisattva in mind; know that this bodhisattva is as a Buddha. The last sentence is a guarantee of protection: if the beings in worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges all became Māras, and each one of these Māras in turn conjured up Māras, all such Māras could not hinder the bodhisattva who practises prajñāpāramitā. Reading the three sentences together, one can see a sequence: the gods bow to him, the buddhas keep him in mind, Māra cannot break him. So extolling is not merely a kind word; it is a real pattern of protection.
9. Accomplishing two dharmas, he cannot be broken by Māra—contemplating all dharmas as empty, and not abandoning any being. The sūtra of fascicle 79 takes up the statement above that Māra cannot break him, and brings out directly its reason. The Buddha says that the bodhisattva-mahāsattva accomplishes two dharmas and Māra cannot break him; what are the two? Contemplating all dharmas as empty, and not abandoning any being. This is the bone-sentence of this chapter. The items of the two dharmas the sūtra gives itself; there is no need to look elsewhere. One must see clearly that the two are parallel and not one before the other: it is not first contemplating emptiness and then arousing compassion, nor first delivering beings and then training in emptiness. If one takes only one of them, the sūtra does not allow it to be called accomplishing. If the practitioner feels himself leaning to one side, this sentence is the most direct mirror in which to look.
10. The second pair of two dharmas; the gods draw near and enquire; the buddhas of the ten directions extol his name and clan. The sūtra goes on to bring out the second pair of two dharmas: what he does is as what he says, and he is also kept in mind by the buddhas. These two dharmas look plain and ordinary, yet they are the guarantee that the first two dharmas land on the ground—contemplating emptiness and not abandoning beings, if not seen in word and deed, is only a view. After this the sūtra says that the gods come to where the bodhisattva is, draw near, enquire, exhort, and comfort him, and it lists item by item the things he is to be for them, beginning from 「無護眾生汝為作護」 tr. "for beings without protection you will be a protection"—be a protection, be a support, be a rescue, be the ultimate path, be a refuge, be an island, for those in darkness be a light, for the blind be eyes. Only after this comes the sentence to which the name of this chapter is tied: when the immeasurable asaṃkhyeya buddhas now present in the ten directions teach the Dharma in the great assembly, they themselves praise and extol the name and clan of this bodhisattva-mahāsattva; and as examples it raises Śākyamuni himself extolling the bodhisattva Jewel Mark, the bodhisattva Śikhin, and the bodhisattvas in the world of Akṣobhya Buddha. In reading this passage, note the occasion of the extolling—it is at the time of teaching the Dharma in the great assembly, not a private commendation.
11. Subhūti asks which bodhisattvas obtain extolling, and the Buddha answers: the avaivartika. The sūtra turns to question and answer. Subhūti asks which bodhisattva-mahāsattvas the buddhas, when teaching the Dharma, themselves praise and extol; the Buddha answers: the avaivartika bodhisattvas. This answer seems already complete, but it is in fact only the first layer. Subhūti at once asks again which avaivartika bodhisattvas are praised by the Buddha—from which one can see that he heard something still unsettled in the Buddha's answer. When in reading the sūtra one meets an answer followed again by a question, do not take it for repetition; the questioner is often pressing a general label one step tighter on behalf of the listeners. In the later text of this chapter the treatise-author sets up a question and answer specifically for this repeated question, precisely because he saw this point.
12. The Buddha lists what the avaivartika practises and trains in, and extends it to those who have not yet obtained the acceptance of non-arising and yet have faith and understanding. The Buddha's second-layer answer has two branches. One branch is those bodhisattvas who train just as Akṣobhya Buddha practised and trained when he was a bodhisattva. The other branch is more important: there are bodhisattvas who practise prajñāpāramitā, who have faith in and understand that all dharmas are non-arising and have not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising, who have faith in and understand that all dharmas are empty and have not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising, who have faith in and understand that all dharmas are false and deceptive, not real, and not firm, and have not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising—of this kind too the Buddha, when teaching the Dharma, gladly himself praises and extols the name and clan. The latter branch is more important because it widens the threshold of extolling from those who have realised to those who have faith and understanding. The sūtra also gives the fruit: this bodhisattva extinguishes the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha grounds, will obtain the prediction of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, will abide on the ground of the avaivartika, and having abided on this ground will obtain sarvajñā.
13. One who hears the deep prajñā with a mind clear and keen, without doubt and without regret, will hear it widely in the presence of Akṣobhya Buddha and the bodhisattvas. The third branch speaks of the person who hears the Dharma. If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva hears this deep prajñāpāramitā and his mind is clear and keen, without doubt and without regret, and he has this thought, 「是事如佛所說」 tr. "this matter is as the Buddha has said," this bodhisattva too will hear prajñā widely in the presence of Akṣobhya Buddha and the bodhisattvas and have faith in and understand it, and, as the Buddha has said, will abide on the ground of the avaivartika. At the end the sūtra itself makes a weighing: merely to hear prajñāpāramitā already brings great benefit, how much more to have faith and understanding; having faith and understanding, to abide as it teaches and practise as it teaches; having abided and practised as it teaches, to abide within the omniscience of all kinds. The sequence here is extremely clear—hearing, faith and understanding, abiding and practising as it teaches, abiding within the omniscience of all kinds. The practitioner may ask himself at which link he stands today; there is no need to skip steps.
14. The pressing questions on abiding within suchness, the Buddha's word-for-word approval, and Śakra Devānām Indra's sigh. The final passage is the most perilous section of the whole chapter. Subhūti presses his questions twice: if the bodhisattva-mahāsattva has the dharma of nothing to be attained, how does he abide in sarvajñā? The Buddha answers: he abides within the suchness of all dharmas. Subhūti presses again, three challenges in one breath: apart from suchness there is no further dharma to be found—who abides within suchness? Who, having abided within suchness, will obtain awakening? Who, abiding within suchness, will teach the Dharma? The Buddha not only does not refute him but restates his words word for word and approves them, and supplies the reason—because of this suchness, arising is unfindable, ceasing is unfindable, abiding-and-changing is unfindable; if the arising, ceasing, and abiding-and-changing of a dharma are unfindable, who within this will abide in suchness? Śakra Devānām Indra at once sighs that what the bodhisattvas do is very hard, and Subhūti asks Kauśika in return: within the emptiness of all dharmas, who is startled, who sinks, who is terrified, who is afraid, who doubts, who regrets? Śakra then, by shooting upward into space and the arrow going without obstruction, praises his teaching of the Dharma as unobstructed. Pressing questions, approval, the added cut, sighing at the difficulty, the counter-question, and the setting-up of a simile follow one after another, and this section hollows out the word 「住」 tr. "abide" completely, while the matter of teaching the Dharma still stands.
15. The treatise-author explains the intent of the question and glosses the true and real and the not true and real. At the beginning of Treatise ①, the treatise-author first supplies where the sūtra text is coming from: Śāriputra raised this question only after hearing the dharma of the mark of non-discrimination above and greatly rejoicing in his mind. Next come the glosses: a true and real dharma is settled and certain and does not change, that is, it can be taken hold of and can be clung to; if it is not true and real, it is false and deceptive, lying speech. These two glosses are the key to reading the whole chapter. See clearly how the treatise-author handles this dilemma—he does not deny the opposition of the two, but points out that prajñā does not lie on this line of opposition. Next he answers why Subhūti dared to answer that it is without true reality: Subhūti constantly delights in practising deep emptiness and his mind is without hindrance, and so he answers that practising prajñā is practising what is without true reality, because prajñāpāramitā is empty, without a fixed mark, and without discrimination. Reading this, one can know that the answer could come forth because it rests on what the answerer practises, not only on what he knows.
16. Even the dharma born of false and deceptive causes and conditions that is contemplated is unfindable; by reason of worldly truth the true and real is spoken of. The treatise-author continues to extend the meaning: the false and deceptive conditioned dharmas which the bodhisattva formerly trained in and clung to within birth and death are still unfindable—how much less can prajñāpāramitā, born of false and deceptive causes and conditions and contemplated later, a dharma that is not a place of clinging, be found. This is an inference from the heavy to the light—even the coarse and heavy objects of clinging are unfindable, how much less what was never an object of clinging. The concluding sentence is most important: by reason of worldly truth the true and real is spoken of; within the highest meaning the true and real is unfindable, how much less the not true and real. This sentence sets up the division of the two truths without letting the two truths contend—to speak of the true and real is to speak in terms of worldly truth; within the highest meaning even the word true and real has no place to stand. When the practitioner meets words about the true and real and the not true and real in the sūtras and treatises that contradict each other, let him first check on which truth each stands, and not hasten to judge that earlier and later contradict. Needing one another with this meaning, there is further a gloss by the treatise-author immediately after the gods' joyful words—「第一義即是平等法，但以異名說」 tr. "the highest meaning is precisely the equal dharma, only spoken of under a different name." Above, the treatise now says 「第一深義」 tr. "the foremost deep meaning," now says 「平等法」 tr. "the equal dharma," and the reader easily suspects them to be two dharmas; with one sentence the treatise-author cuts off the doubt: the two are one in substance and different in name. With this gloss, the later 「於平等法而不證」 tr. "not realising within the equal dharma" and 「行第一深義而不作證」 tr. "practising the foremost deep meaning and not realising it" can only then be read as one and the same matter, and one does not mistake where the difficulty lies for a matter of names.
17. Question and answer one: the distinction between one hard and one not hard lies in clinging and not clinging. The treatise-author sets up the first question: not realising within the equal dharma, and delivering beings though beings are ultimately empty—these two are both ultimately empty; why is it said that one is hard and one is not hard? The answer has three sections: beings, because they are false and deceptive provisional names, are a place of clinging, while the equal dharma, because it is unconditioned, is not a place of clinging; beings arise as provisional names from conditioned dharmas, while the unconditioned dharma is the highest meaning; to be able not to cling at the place of inverted clinging is hard, while not to cling at the place where there is no clinging is not hard. The subtlety of this answer is that it does not rank high and low by the depth of emptiness, but divides hard and easy by whether the object faced is a place clung to by habitual residues. The practitioner can test himself right here: in sitting meditation, to let go of a thought is not hard; only to let go of the person or matter one cares about most is hard—the hard place was never in the dharma; it is in the place of clinging.
18. The simile of the tamed horse that sees its own shadow and is not startled. The treatise-author first cites a general statement—「眾生空故，大莊嚴亦空；若大莊嚴空而能發心為難」 tr. "because beings are empty, the great adornment too is empty; if the great adornment is empty and yet one can arouse the mind, this is hard"—and then brings out the simile. It is as a tamed horse that sees its own shadow and is not startled. Why? Because it knows of itself that the shadow comes out of its body. The bodhisattva is likewise: he knows that ultimate emptiness arises by reason of the false dharmas of the coming together of the conditioned, and so on hearing this matter he is not startled and does not sink. The key to this simile lies in the two Chinese characters 「自知」 tr. "knows of itself": the horse is not startled not because the shadow has disappeared but because it knows where the shadow comes from. Ultimate emptiness is likewise—it is not that the bodhisattva cannot see the marks of dependent arising; it is that he knows from where these marks arise. If the reader understands not being startled as numbness, he loses this simile; not being startled comes from knowing, not from dullness.
19. Only by being unafraid in the two layers of the emptiness of beings and the emptiness of dharmas is one truly practising prajñā. Here the treatise-author makes a division. Because form and the other dharmas are separated, beings too are separated; to be separated is called empty. If beings were empty and dharmas were not empty, there ought to be terror and fear; if dharmas too are empty, there is no place for terror and fear to arise. At the end he gathers it all in: above, because he heard of the emptiness of beings, he was not afraid; now, because he hears of the emptiness of dharmas, he is not afraid; if on hearing these two emptinesses he is not afraid, this is truly practising prajñā. This place must not be read hastily—the sūtra in the preceding passage already said not startled and not sinking; the treatise-author here breaks it into two layers precisely to guard against the practitioner passing off the first layer as the second. The emptiness of the self is easy to grant; the emptiness of dharmas is hard to settle into; many of the terrors and fears in practice arise exactly at this layer of the emptiness of dharmas. The method of self-testing is extremely simple: on hearing ‘the dharma you cultivate is also empty’, does the mind tighten more than on hearing ‘the people you deliver are also empty’?
20. Question and answer two: why the Buddha, the omniscient one, asks his disciple. The treatise-author sets up the second question: the Buddha is the omniscient one; why does he ask his disciple about the mind not being startled and not sinking? The answer has three layers. First, because there were doubts in the assembly, and out of respect and awe they did not dare to ask, therefore the Buddha asks—the Buddha raises the question on behalf of the great assembly. Second, this foremost meaning of equality is very deep and hard to obtain; in the deep place one would be expected to sink and yet one does not sink, and so he tests Subhūti by asking. Third, the Buddha has made Subhūti the master of the teaching, and by rule the listener should question and challenge. The three layers are each different: the first is for the listeners, the second is to show the depth of the Dharma, the third is to establish the form of teaching the Dharma. When in reading the treatise one meets one question with three answers, do not take only the first; the three answers are often three different levels, not repetition of the same meaning.
21. Question and answer three: why he does not himself act as master of the teaching but has Subhūti speak. The third question goes a step further: the Buddha is omniscient; why does he not himself act as master of the teaching? The answer says: in the assembly there are people who think that the Buddha's wisdom is immeasurable and boundless while our power of knowledge has a measure, and if their minds have doubts they do not dare to ask; for the sake of these people he commands Subhūti to speak. The essential point of this answer is that it attributes the arrangement of the seat of teaching to the faculties of the listeners, not to the superiority or inferiority of the speaker. That the Buddha does not speak himself is not because the Buddha cannot speak; it is so that those who do not dare to ask the Buddha have somewhere to ask. This meaning can still be used today: in setting up a seat of the Dharma, first see whether the listeners can open their mouths, not only whether the speaker can expound.
22. Question and answer four: why he does not have the great bodhisattvas speak, together with what someone says. The fourth question: if so, why does he not have the great bodhisattvas speak? The answer says: the great bodhisattvas' wisdom too is great and inconceivable, and because their majestic virtue is weighty, people also do not dare to question and challenge them. This follows the same line of reasoning as the previous question—where majesty is weighty, people do not dare to ask. Below this the treatise-author brings out a different account: someone says that the arhat, the pratyekabuddha, and the Buddha, because their ignorance bound to the three realms is exhausted forever without remainder, can teach the Dharma as it really is; the bodhisattvas, though they have widely gathered merit, have not exhausted their outflows and so may perhaps not be believed; therefore he does not command them. This account is, in this chapter, the only place of 「有人言」 tr. "someone says"; in the whole chapter it appears only this once. The reader must see its standing clearly—this is another school's account recorded by the treatise-author, not a judgement set up by the treatise-author himself; the treatise-author records it without refuting it and also without giving it his approval.
23. Question and answer five: why he does not command Śāriputra and the other great disciples. The fifth question: Śāriputra is foremost in wisdom, and there are the other great disciples; why are they not commanded? The answer says: this matter has already been answered before, namely, Subhūti delights in the practice of emptiness and is especially good at teaching emptiness; because prajñāpāramitā speaks much of emptiness, he has Subhūti speak. The answer itself admits 「先已答」 tr. "already answered before," from which it can be seen that the treatise-author does not shy from saying something again. The key point lies in the two Chinese characters 「偏善」 tr. "especially good"—it is not that Subhūti's wisdom surpasses Śāriputra's, but that what he excels in corresponds precisely to the Dharma being taught. In this there is a consistent sense of measure: in commanding the seat of the Dharma, correspondence is taken, not rank. The four rounds of question and answer close here, and what they resolve throughout is one and the same matter—why the seat for teaching emptiness rests upon Subhūti.
24. The treatise-author retells the sūtra text to conclude fascicle 78—the cause of the gods' bowing and the fruit of the buddhas' keeping him in mind. This passage lies within Treatise ①, yet its form is a retelling of the sūtra. The treatise-author retells Subhūti's words to the Buddha: all dharmas are ultimately empty and without anything existent; because they are without anything existent, their own marks are separated; because they are separated from marks, they are constantly quiescent; because they are constantly quiescent, there is no recollection, imagining, and discrimination; therefore the bodhisattva should not be startled and should not sink; one who sinks, the place of sinking, and the dharma of sinking are all unfindable. Next he retells the words Subhūti spoke to the Buddha after he had answered. Further on he divides item by item the gods who bow: the earth spirits, the spirits in space, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the Trāyastriṃśa heaven, with Śakra as their chief; the Brahmā king is the lord of the beings of the Brahmā world in the first dhyāna; the lords of the world are the lords of the remaining gods of the desire realm—these are what the treatise-author calls the three kinds of gods, whose items the treatise-author gives himself; there is no need to look elsewhere. The reason for the bowing he also gives himself: this bodhisattva gives up his own pleasure and desire to benefit beings, whereas these three kinds of gods only seek pleasure for themselves. Next he distinguishes the noble and the base: the gods of the desire realm, because their minds are much given to clinging to sexual desire, their bowing is not worth prizing; the gods of the first dhyāna have initial and sustained thought and are scattered, and are also not wondrous enough; the gods above, whose minds are pure, bow, and only this is hard. At the end he concludes with the fruit of the buddhas' keeping him in mind—know that this bodhisattva is as a Buddha, because he will certainly reach the Buddha's path without retrogressing, and Māras as many as the sands of the Ganges cannot break him. In reading this passage, recognise its standing: this is the treatise-author retelling the sūtra text to sum up the preceding fascicle, not starting another, new passage of dialogue.
25. Treatise ② explains the two dharmas by which Māra cannot break him—the causes and conditions of the sun and moon, and the fault of one-sided clinging to either of the two paths. At the beginning of the treatise of fascicle 79, the treatise-author first sets out the doubt of the assembly: by what causes and conditions does the bodhisattva obtain such power that Māra cannot break him? Next he relates the two causes and conditions of the Buddha's answer: first, contemplating all dharmas as empty; second, not abandoning any being. After this comes the most essential simile of this chapter—by the causes and conditions of the sun and the moon, the ten thousand things are moistened and grow; with only the moon and no sun, the ten thousand things are wet and ruined; with only the sun and no moon, the ten thousand things are scorched and spoiled; because the sun and moon come together, the ten thousand things ripen. Where it is matched to the Dharma, the treatise-author speaks with the utmost clarity: the bodhisattva too has two paths, the first compassion, the second emptiness; if he has only the mind of pity and has no wisdom, then his mind sinks into the inversion of 「無眾生而有眾生」 tr. "there being beings where there are no beings"; if he has only the mind of emptiness and abandons the mind of pitying and delivering beings, then he falls into annihilation. The force of this simile lies in that it does not say the two complement each other; it says the two rescue each other—lacking one is not lacking a half; it is ruining the whole.
26. Using the two matters together—because emptiness too is empty he does not cling to emptiness; because he does not take hold of the mark of beings it does not hinder emptiness. The previous passage spoke of the fault of one-sided clinging; this passage speaks of the method of using both together. The treatise-author explains: he contemplates all dharmas as empty, and because emptiness too is empty he does not cling to emptiness; therefore it does not hinder pitying beings; he contemplates pitying beings, and yet does not cling to beings and does not take hold of the mark of beings; he only pities beings and leads them into emptiness; therefore, though he practises pity, it does not hinder emptiness; though he practises emptiness, because he also does not take hold of the mark of emptiness, it does not hinder the mind of pity—as the sun and moon need one another. See clearly that each side has a safety-key: the key on the side of emptiness is 「空亦空」 tr. "emptiness too is empty"; the key on the side of compassion is 「不取眾生相」 tr. "not taking hold of the mark of beings." If either key loosens, one falls back into the fault of the previous passage. The most usable sentence in the gate of practice is 「引導入空」 tr. "leads them into emptiness"—pity does not stop at consoling; it leads people toward emptiness; once this sentence is established, kindness and compassion and prajñā are not two matters.
27. What he does is as what he says, and he is kept in mind by the buddhas—the similes of the five kinds of vajra-holding spirits and of fish-roe not kept in mind by the mother. The treatise-author explains the second pair of two dharmas, bringing out a result on each side. On the negative side: the spirits and gods despise people who speak falsely; if the bodhisattva does not practise as he says, then the five kinds of vajra-holding spirits abandon him and no longer guard him, and evil ghosts find an opening; this person readily gives rise to evil thoughts; because of evil thoughts he produces evil deeds; because he produces evil deeds he falls into the evil destinies. This is a complete chain of falling, whose starting point is only that word and deed do not match. On the other side: the bodhisattva who is not kept in mind by the buddhas has his roots of goodness rot and be ruined, as fish-roe not kept in mind by the mother rot and are ruined and do not come to life. This simile is extremely apt—the ruin of the fish-roe does not come from an outside force but only from there being no one keeping it in mind. At the end he concludes by citing the sūtra's words: 「所作如所言，亦為諸佛所念。得此二法故，不可破壞」 tr. "What he does is as what he says, and he is also kept in mind by the buddhas. Because he obtains these two dharmas, he cannot be broken." The two dharmas are one inner and one outer, and yet the pivot of both lies in the reality of word and deed.
28. Question and answer six: how the gods, who have not obtained omniscience, can give the bodhisattva the prediction. The treatise-author sets up a question: the gods have not obtained omniscience; how can they give the bodhisattva the prediction? The answer has two branches. First, the gods are long-lived; from past buddhas they heard that those who practised in this way obtained the prediction, and now, seeing that the bodhisattva has such practice, they say it—this is comparing the present matter with former examples, not knowing the future by supernormal power. The treatise-author himself adds a criterion: because, seeing the cause, one knows there is the fruit. Second, the gods see that this bodhisattva practises the seal of the three gates of liberation, and also practises the mind of kindness and compassion toward beings, and therefore they say 「不久作佛」 tr. "before long he will become a Buddha." Note that the two items raised in the second branch are precisely another way of saying the two dharmas above—the three gates of liberation are the side of emptiness, and also practising kindness and compassion is the side of compassion. From this one can see that what the gods' prediction relies on is still the bone-sentence of this chapter.
29. Why the Buddha extols—the simile of the great general defeating the enemy, and the intent of the buddhas' praising the good and disparaging the evil. The treatise-author first points back to the preceding text with the meaning of 「無守護眾生汝為作守護，無歸與作歸」 tr. "for beings without protection and guarding you will be a protection and guard; for those without refuge be a refuge" and the rest, and then explains the matter of extolling. The simile says: it is as a great king has a great general who does not spare his body or life and has the skilful means to defeat hostile enemies, and is constantly praised by the king; the bodhisattva is likewise: he contemplates ultimate emptiness, does not spare his own body, defeats the thieves of the afflictions, has skilful means and does not realise, and teaches and transforms beings, and is praised by the buddhas. The four matters in the simile each match the Dharma one by one: not sparing body and life matches not sparing his own body; defeating the hostile enemies matches defeating the thieves of the afflictions; having skilful means matches having skilful means and not realising; being praised by the king matches being praised by the buddhas. Next he resolves a doubt—the buddhas, though they have no clinging mind, do not discriminate wholesome and unwholesome dharmas, and look upon the arhats and those of the outside paths also without hate or love; why do they still praise the good and disparage the evil? The treatise-author answers crisply: for the sake of benefiting beings, wishing to make beings rely on and attach themselves to good people, their minds following wholesome dharmas, so as to have them go out from the world. Extolling is a means of teaching and transforming, not a partiality on the Buddha's side. Before this passage, the treatise-author brings out another real example of extolling: the buddhas of the ten directions, when teaching the Dharma, also take as an example the bodhisattva who can, as it is said, accord with the real mark of all dharmas, and say these words: 「某方某世界菩薩雖未作佛，能如是行甚深般若波羅蜜，功德希有故。」 tr. "In such-and-such a direction, in such-and-such a world, there is a bodhisattva who, though he has not yet become a Buddha, can practise very deep prajñāpāramitā in this way, because his merit is rare." What is most worth noting lies in the four Chinese characters 「雖未作佛」 tr. "though he has not yet become a Buddha"—the one extolled is not a person whose fruition is already complete, but a person in the midst of practice; and the manner of extolling is to raise him as an example, so that those hearing the Dharma in other directions have a ready model to follow. The extolling of this chapter's name here shows its actual use.
30. Question and answer seven: in which sūtra it is said that these two bodhisattvas are praised by the Buddha. The treatise-author sets up a question that looks like a side-branch and is not a side-branch: in which sūtra is it said that these two bodhisattvas are praised by the Buddha? The answer says that the Buddha's sūtras are immeasurable; after the Buddha's nirvāṇa, evil kings of wrong views appeared, burned the scriptures, destroyed stūpas and monasteries, and killed the śramaṇas; after five hundred years the semblance Dharma became impure, and because the arhats and the bodhisattvas with supernormal powers were hard to meet, the deep sūtras were not all in Jambudvīpa; because few practised and received them, the gods, nāgas, and spirits took them away. The measure of this answer is excellent—it does not forcibly point to one sūtra, does not hide that it cannot be found, and gives the reason why it cannot be found. When in reading the treatise one meets such an answer, know that it is an honest answer and not an evasion; the treatise-author would rather say that the sūtra is no longer in this land than point casually to some sūtra to stop the question.
31. Question and answer eight: why Samantabhadra, Avalokiteśvara, and the others are not praised, and only the two bodhisattvas are commended. The treatise-author sets up a question: such as the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva Great Power and Might, Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva Maitreya, and the others—why are they not praised, and only the two bodhisattvas commended? The answer has three layers. First, these two bodhisattvas have not obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising, and yet can practise in a way resembling the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising, and cannot be broken by any of Māra's people; therefore the Buddha praises them as rare—what is praised lies in ‘not yet obtaining and yet being able to resemble’. Second, these two bodhisattvas have pure great vows and practice and a deep, great mind of kindness and compassion, and do not expect to become Buddhas quickly, for the sake of delivering beings. Third, the merits of the bodhisattvas Samantabhadra, Avalokiteśvara, and the rest are extremely great, and people all know them; these two bodhisattvas people do not yet know, and therefore they are extolled. The third layer is most worth savouring: extolling is in order to let people know; for one whom people already fully know, there is no need to mark him again. From this one can see that the use of extolling lies in guiding and receiving, not in ranking.
32. Question and answer nine: general extolling and particular extolling—why Subhūti asks again. The treatise-author first cites the sūtra: 「何等菩薩，佛說法時，稱揚讚歎說其名字？」 tr. "Which bodhisattvas, when the Buddha teaches the Dharma, does he extol and praise, speaking their names?"—and then sets up a question: the Buddha has already spoken of this earlier; why does Subhūti ask again? The answer says: the Buddha at first spoke of 「大菩薩」 tr. "great bodhisattvas," and later spoke of 「一切菩薩，從初發意乃至十地」 tr. "all bodhisattvas, from the first arousing of intent up to the ten grounds," and therefore Subhūti doubted and asked the Buddha. This answer explains very clearly where Subhūti's question came from—the two ranges, earlier and later, differ, one extremely narrow and one extremely wide, and so he must ask again to settle the items. The Buddha's answer is settled accordingly: though the Buddha loves and keeps in mind all bodhisattvas, among them are those whose virtue and practice excel, and he extols their names. Loving and keeping in mind is universal; naming is set apart; this one division is exactly what the name of this chapter is tied to.
33. The three kinds of difference between the three gates and the three gates of liberation, with the rarity of one who has gone out from the compliant acceptance of dharmas and has not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. The treatise-author explains the second kind of bodhisattva extolled by the Buddha: he has not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas and has not yet entered the bodhisattva's position; by the power of practising prajñāpāramitā he constantly considers and reckons, seeks the real mark of all dharmas, can have faith and understanding, can accept, and penetrates the mark of non-arising of all dharmas, emptiness, falseness and deception, and not being firm. Next he assigns them item by item: false and deceptive, not real, not firm—these are all the gate of impermanence, suffering, and non-self; all dharmas being empty is the gate of emptiness; all dharmas being non-arising is the real mark of all dharmas, the cessation of all contemplations. Then he assigns them once more to the three gates of liberation: false and deceptive, not real, not firm is the gate of liberation of non-action; all dharmas being empty is the gate of liberation of emptiness; all dharmas being non-arising is the gate of liberation of the signless—the treatise-author himself concludes, 「如是等三種差別」 tr. "such are the three kinds of difference." The items of both sets the treatise-author gives himself; there is no need to look elsewhere. At the end he points out why this person is rare: he has gone out from the compliant acceptance of dharmas and has not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, has gone out from the dharma of ordinary people and has not yet entered the dharma of the sages, and yet can believe and accept the dharma of the sages, like a person who has obtained the dharma of the sages; as the Buddha praises the avaivartika bodhisattva who can sever the two grounds and receive the prediction, this person is likewise. This passage is the most powerful section of the whole chapter for the ordinary practitioner—one who has not yet entered the position and yet can have faith and understanding is already among those the Buddha extols.
34. By the two roads of the power of faith and the power of wisdom one obtains being like an avaivartika; with the explanation of abiding within suchness and of the simile of shooting upward into space. The final passage gathers three matters. First, the treatise-author sets up a question: this bodhisattva already has faith in and understands prajñā; why does he further hear it from Akṣobhya Buddha and the bodhisattvas? The answer says that this person hears that what Akṣobhya Buddha practised when he was a bodhisattva was pure and wishes to emulate it; here he obtains the power of faith, there he obtains the power of wisdom; therefore he will abide on the ground of the avaivartika—the two powers are raised together, one obtained from his own hearing, one obtained from another's practice. Second, he explains abiding within suchness: Subhūti asks how, since all dharmas have the mark of emptiness and there is nothing to be attained, one abides in sarvajñā; the Buddha says: abiding within suchness. The treatise-author adds only one gloss—suchness is emptiness; the bodhisattva abiding within this ultimate emptiness is called abiding in sarvajñā. He also explains the causes and conditions by which the Buddha approves Subhūti's words and says that suchness too is empty: the arising, ceasing, and abiding-and-changing of this suchness are unfindable; if a dharma is without the three marks, it is ultimate emptiness; how can it be abided in? Third, he explains the final simile. Śakra Devānām Indra wished to take hold of a fixed mark of prajñā, and, hearing the Buddha and Subhūti together say that even the signless is unfindable, he sighed at its rarity; Subhūti asks in return: if all dharmas are ultimately empty and without anything existent, from where does doubt arise? Śakra's mind rejoiced, and he knew that all Subhūti teaches tends toward emptiness, and that if there were difficult questions they could not obstruct him, because emptiness too is empty. The treatise-author then glosses his simile word by word: space is ultimate emptiness; the arrow is Subhūti's wisdom; as an arrow in space is without obstruction, and when its force is exhausted it falls of itself, not because space is exhausted—Subhūti, when the matter of the causes and conditions for teaching the Dharma is accomplished, then stops, not because the Dharma is exhausted. On the reverse side he brings out a simile too: though a person has a sharp arrow, if he shoots at a wall it cannot pass through; though a person has sharp wisdom, if by wrong views he clings to existence, then he is obstructed and cannot get through. The whole chapter, beginning from 「行無真實法」 tr. "practising a dharma without true reality" and concluding with 「無障無礙法」 tr. "the dharma without hindrance and without obstruction," speaks from beginning to end of one and the same matter—only where there is no place of clinging is there nothing that obstructs.
Do Not Misread
Do not read 「行無真實法」 tr. "practising a dharma without true reality" as practising false and deceptive, lying speech. The treatise-author's gloss has already blocked this road in advance: the true and real is settled and certain, does not change, and can be taken hold of and can be clung to; the not true and real is false and deceptive, lying speech—if Subhūti's answer had taken the latter end, the treatise-author would not have needed to say further 「世諦故說真實」 tr. "by reason of worldly truth the true and real is spoken of." The sūtra itself also adds a cut: what is without true reality is still unfindable, how much less the true and real. Since not even the end of without true reality may be grasped, it can be seen that the answer is not taking one of the two but setting up neither. Read as nihilism, the later matters of the buddhas' extolling and the gods' bowing would have nothing to rest on.
Do not read ‘delivering beings is like delivering space’ as meaning that there is no need to deliver beings. At the very moment the sūtra says this, it is exalting the great adornment of the oath as hard to practise; the simile is used to show the difficulty, not to abolish. The treatise-author further divides hard and easy by clinging and not clinging, saying plainly that only to be able not to cling at the place of inverted clinging is hard. The second section of the whole chapter further sets up 「不捨一切眾生」 tr. "not abandoning any being" as one of the two dharmas, parallel with contemplating all dharmas as empty. If one reads it as meaning that since beings are empty the delivering too may be abandoned, one falls exactly on the side of annihilation which the treatise-author refutes.
Do not read 「心不驚、不沒」 tr. "the mind is not startled and does not sink" as emotional composure. The treatise-author breaks it into two layers—not afraid because beings are empty, not afraid because dharmas are empty—and says that only to be unafraid of both emptinesses is truly practising prajñā; and with the simile of the tamed horse that sees its own shadow and is not startled, he says plainly that the horse is not startled because 「自知影從身出」 tr. "it knows of itself that the shadow comes out of its body." From this it can be seen that not being startled is tied to knowing, not to endurance. If it is read as a psychological quality, the method of self-testing loses its ground: the real checkpoint is not what one's face looks like on hearing the Dharma, but whether, on hearing that the dharma one cultivates is also empty, the mind wants to grab hold.
Do not read 「有人言」 tr. "someone says" as the treatise-author's verdict. In the whole chapter there is only one place where someone says, coming after the answer to why he does not have the great bodhisattvas speak, and what it states is the account that the bodhisattvas, not having exhausted their outflows, may perhaps not be believed. The treatise-author records it without refuting it, and also without giving it his approval. In reading the treatise one must distinguish three standings: the meaning the treatise-author himself establishes, another school's account recorded by the treatise-author, and the sūtra text the treatise-author cites. Once these three are mixed, one will take another school's account as this treatise's verdict, and even turn it round to belittle the bodhisattvas—while this chapter throughout is precisely extolling the bodhisattvas.
Do not read the retelling of the sūtra in the latter part of Treatise ① as another, new dialogue. From the section where Subhūti tells the Buddha that all dharmas are ultimately empty, up to the fruit of the buddhas' keeping him in mind, although the form of the text has the appearance of sūtra text, it is in fact the treatise-author retelling the sūtra text to sum up the preceding fascicle, and within it dividing item by item the three kinds of gods and the distinction of noble and base. If it is read as a newly begun dialogue, one would mistakenly think that there is another round of question and answer here, and would attach the treatise-author's own divisions to the speakers in the sūtra. Once the attribution is wrong, the cause and effect of the gods' bowing in the later text cannot be read as one line.
Do not read 「如中住」 tr. "abiding within suchness" as there being some other place in which to abide. Subhūti three times presses the question that, apart from suchness, there is no further dharma to be found, so who abides within suchness; the Buddha not only does not refute him but restates his words word for word and approves them, and supplies that the arising, ceasing, and abiding-and-changing of suchness are all unfindable. The treatise-author's gloss is more direct: suchness is emptiness; abiding within this ultimate emptiness is called abiding in sarvajñā. So the word 「住」 tr. "abide" here is the abiding of non-abiding. If one reads it as first realising a suchness and then settling within it, the cut the Buddha added has nowhere to land.
Do not read the simile of shooting upward into space as saying that teaching the Dharma must in the end be exhausted. The treatise-author has already made the division: when its force is exhausted it falls of itself, not because space is exhausted; when the matter of the causes and conditions for teaching the Dharma is accomplished he then stops, not because the Dharma is exhausted. What is exhausted in the simile is the arrow's force, not space; what stops is the causes and conditions, not prajñā. The treatise-author also brings out a reverse simile—that one who shoots at a wall cannot pass through is because the wall obstructs, not because the arrow is blunt; a person has sharp wisdom and yet, clinging to existence through wrong views, is obstructed and cannot get through. Seen together, what the two similes discuss is always whether there is obstruction or not, not whether there is exhaustion or not.
Bearing on Practice
The first benefit is to recognise the hard place as lying back in the place of clinging. The treatise-author divides hard and easy not by the depth of the dharma but by whether the object faced is a place clung to by habitual residues—the equal dharma, being unconditioned, is not a place of clinging; beings, being false and deceptive provisional names, are a place of clinging. From this the practitioner can set up a daily self-check: what I let go of today—was it something I did not much care about to begin with, or the very thing I care about most? The former need not be counted as merit; only the latter is the hard practice of which the sūtra speaks. This one point can move practice from ‘effort on the cushion’ back to ‘effort at the place of clinging’.
The second benefit is the method of self-testing by dividing the two emptinesses into two layers. First ask yourself: on hearing that the people to be delivered are ultimately unfindable, does the mind move or not? Then ask: on hearing that the six perfections one cultivates, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, are also separated, does the mind move or not? The treatise-author says plainly that above, because he heard of the emptiness of beings, he was not afraid; now, because he hears of the emptiness of dharmas, he is not afraid; only to be unafraid of both emptinesses is truly practising prajñā. Most terror and fear arise at the second layer, because the dharma one cultivates is the practitioner's last foothold. This question can serve as the close of every stretch of effort.
The third benefit is that the simile of the sun and moon needing one another can serve to calibrate the two wheels. The treatise-author speaks very weightily—with only the moon and no sun the ten thousand things are wet and ruined; with only the sun and no moon the ten thousand things are scorched and spoiled; compassion without emptiness sinks into the inversion of there being beings, and emptiness that abandons compassion falls into annihilation. The method of calibration has two keys: on the side of emptiness, ask yourself whether there is 「空亦空」 tr. "emptiness too is empty"; on the side of compassion, ask yourself whether there is 「不取眾生相」 tr. "not taking hold of the mark of beings." With the two keys present, contemplating emptiness does not hinder pity, and pity does not hinder contemplating emptiness; if one of the two keys is lost, one knows on which wheel one is leaning today.
The fourth benefit is that the matching of word and deed is the root of protection. The treatise-author gives a complete chain: if one does not practise as one says, then the spirits and gods despise one, the vajra-holding spirits abandon one, evil ghosts find an opening, one readily gives rise to evil thoughts, produces evil deeds, and falls into the evil destinies. The starting point of the chain is extremely small—only that what is said and what is done do not match. Seen the other way round, the protection the sūtra speaks of also arises from the same place—what he does is as what he says, and he is also kept in mind by the buddhas. The practitioner need not first seek a response; let him first carry through the words already spoken aloud; the simile of fish-roe that rot and are ruined when not kept in mind by the mother speaks of exactly this: the matter cannot be handed over to another.
The fifth benefit is that those who have not yet entered the position are also among the extolled. The most consoling and yet least laziness-inducing section of this chapter is the second kind of bodhisattva the treatise-author explains—he has gone out from the compliant acceptance of dharmas and has not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, has gone out from the dharma of ordinary people and has not yet entered the dharma of the sages, yet can believe and accept the dharma of the sages, like a person who has obtained the dharma of the sages, and therefore is rare. What he relies on is only faith and understanding and acceptance, not having realised. From this the practitioner can know two things: first, not yet having obtained the acceptance of non-arising is no reason to be excluded; second, what is extolled is the portion 「能信解、忍，通一切法無生相、空、虛誑、不堅固」 tr. "can have faith and understanding, can accept, and penetrates the mark of non-arising of all dharmas, emptiness, falseness and deception, and not being firm," not a name or a rank. In daily use, to take these four items as the topics one considers and reckons is to walk the road this passage points to.
Further Resonances
The backbone of this chapter is two sections of sūtra text and two sections of treatise explanation. Sūtra ① begins from Śāriputra asking whether one practises a true and real dharma or practises a dharma without true reality; Subhūti answers that one practises what is without true reality, and says that what is without true reality is still unfindable, how much less the true and real; next the gods of the desire and form realms have the thought to bow in reverence to the person who arouses the mind and does not realise; Subhūti moves where the difficulty lies and takes delivering beings as like delivering space for his simile, setting out the four clauses of space being separated, empty, without firmness, and false and deceptive, and concludes that when, hearing that all dharmas are separated from marks, the mind is not startled, does not sink, is not terrified, is not afraid, this is practising prajñā; next the Buddha asks by what causes and conditions the mind does not sink within the deep prajñā, and Subhūti answers that it does not sink because it is without anything existent, because it is separated, because it is quiescent, and that one who sinks, the matter of sinking, and the place of sinking are all unfindable, and at the end says that the gods and Śakra Devānām Indra, the Brahmā king, and the lords of the world all bow to him; finally the Buddha says that the gods of Light-Sound, Universal Purity, Abundant Fruit, and the Pure Abodes also bow, that the buddhas of the ten directions also keep him in mind, that one should know this bodhisattva is as a Buddha, and that Māras as many as the sands of the Ganges cannot hinder him. Sūtra ② begins from accomplishing two dharmas so that Māra cannot break him—contemplating all dharmas as empty, and not abandoning any being; next it brings out the second pair of two dharmas, what he does is as what he says and he is also kept in mind by the buddhas, and tells of the gods drawing near, enquiring, exhorting, and comforting, and of the matters of being for them a protection, a support, a rescue, a refuge, an island, a light, and eyes; next it tells that when the buddhas of the ten directions teach the Dharma they themselves extol the bodhisattva's name and clan, and raises the two bodhisattvas Jewel Mark and Śikhin and the bodhisattvas in the world of Akṣobhya Buddha; next Subhūti asks which bodhisattvas obtain extolling, and the Buddha answers the avaivartika, and answers again with those who have faith in and understand that all dharmas are non-arising, empty, false and deceptive, not real, and not firm, and have not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising, and says that they extinguish the grounds of the two vehicles, will receive the prediction, and will abide on the ground of the avaivartika; next it tells that one who hears the deep prajñā with a mind clear and keen, without doubt and without regret, will hear it widely in the presence of Akṣobhya Buddha and the bodhisattvas, weighing that merely hearing already brings great benefit, how much more faith and understanding; finally it closes with the pressing questions on abiding within suchness and the Buddha's word-for-word approval; Śakra Devānām Indra sighs that what they do is very hard, Subhūti asks in return who within the emptiness of all dharmas is startled and who sinks, and Śakra, by shooting upward into space, praises his teaching of the Dharma as unobstructed. Treatise ① explains following the text with its explanation: first it supplies the intent of the question and glosses the true and real and the not true and real; next it explains why Subhūti answers that it is without true reality; next it extends the point that even the dharma born of false and deceptive causes and conditions that is contemplated is unfindable, and sets up the division between worldly truth and the highest meaning; next it sets up five rounds of question and answer—the distinction of one hard and one not hard, why the Buddha asks his disciple, why he does not himself act as master of the teaching, why he does not have the great bodhisattvas speak (bringing out what someone says), and why he does not command Śāriputra and the others; in between it brings out the simile of the tamed horse that sees its own shadow and the judgement of being unafraid of the two emptinesses; the final passage retells the sūtra text to conclude the preceding fascicle, divides item by item the three kinds of gods who bow and the noble and base among the pure gods, and concludes with the fruit of the buddhas' keeping him in mind. Treatise ② explains the two dharmas by which Māra cannot break him, brings out the simile of the causes and conditions of the sun and moon and the fault of one-sided clinging to either of the two paths, and next tells the method of using both matters together; next it explains what he does being as what he says and his being kept in mind by the buddhas, bringing out the similes of the five kinds of vajra-holding spirits and of fish-roe not kept in mind by the mother; next it sets up five rounds of question and answer—how the gods can give the prediction, in which sūtra the two bodhisattvas are spoken of, why Samantabhadra, Avalokiteśvara, and the others are not praised, why Subhūti asks again about general and particular extolling, and why one who already has faith in and understands prajñā further hears it from Akṣobhya Buddha and the bodhisattvas; in between it brings out the simile of the great general defeating the enemy and the intent of the buddhas' praising the good and disparaging the evil; next it explains the three kinds of difference between the three gates and the three gates of liberation and brings out the rarity of one who has gone out from the compliant acceptance of dharmas and has not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas; finally it explains the two roads of the power of faith and the power of wisdom, that abiding within suchness is abiding within ultimate emptiness, and that in shooting upward into space the arrow falls of itself when its force is exhausted and not because space is exhausted, and brings out the reverse simile of shooting at a wall and being unable to pass through.
Of the veins of meaning between this chapter and the chapters before and after it, three lines can be seen. First, inheriting from what precedes: what the preceding chapter made clear is the practice of aspiration and delight; this chapter carries on its momentum and asks why the buddhas extol—turning from the love and delight of beings to the admiring praise of all the sages; therefore the sūtra at its start still takes practising prajñā, true and real or not true and real, as its joint, and does not set up a separate stove. Second, within the chapter a turn is completed of itself: the first half speaks of why one is not startled and does not sink, the latter half speaks of where extolling returns; the two halves have as their pivot the section at the end of the fascicle that retells the sūtra text—once the cause of the gods' bowing is established, the buddhas' extolling is not a separate matter but still the fruit of the same passage of teaching. Third, passing on to what follows: this chapter ends with extolling the bodhisattva's name and clan, and the next chapter turns into the matter of entrustment; the two chapters stand one after the other, and the reader may view them together to see the difference between extolling and entrusting.
Of the ancient masters' explanations, two schools can be recorded for this chapter. Jizang, at the head of his sectional explanation of this chapter, directly establishes its meaning by the chapter name, saying: 「此下明度眾生如度空」 tr. "From here on it makes clear that delivering beings is like delivering space"—the chapter name he uses is "Delivering Space", which differs from the base text of this edition, which has "Extolling"; his explanation of the origin of this name says: 「空有不二，但惑者聞度眾生皆言度有，故今言度空耳」 tr. "Emptiness and existence are not two; it is only that the deluded, hearing of delivering beings, all say it is delivering something existent; therefore it now says delivering space"—thus the name "Delivering Space" is established as a remedy for the deluded ones' clinging to existence. His explanation of the question at the head of the chapter says: 「上品雖復廣辨前理空寂，未明智體無相，是以遣之也」 tr. "Although the preceding chapter widely discussed the principle above as empty and quiescent, it had not yet made clear that the substance of wisdom is signless; therefore it dispels this"—explaining Śāriputra's question by the signlessness of the substance of wisdom, which differs in angle from this treatise's glossing of the true and real as settled and certain and not changing; they are recorded side by side without judgement. His explanation of being unafraid of the two emptinesses says: 「若眾生空法不空，是可怖耳。今眾生空法復空，無有不空者，何所怖耶」 tr. "If beings were empty and dharmas not empty, that would be something to fear. Now beings are empty and dharmas too are empty; there is nothing that is not empty—what is there to fear?" and he also says: 「色離即眾生離者，明空無二無礙，故色空即眾生空也」 tr. "That form's being separated is beings' being separated makes clear that emptiness is without duality and without obstruction; therefore the emptiness of form is the emptiness of beings"—these two sayings accord with the measure kept by this treatise's section 「上聞眾生空故不畏，今聞法空故不畏」 tr. "above, because he heard of the emptiness of beings, he was not afraid; now, because he hears of the emptiness of dharmas, he is not afraid," and can serve as supporting evidence. His explanation of the two dharmas that cannot be broken says: 「又以解空故不退為凡夫，不捨眾生不退為聲聞也」 tr. "Further, because he understands emptiness he does not retrogress into an ordinary person; because he does not abandon beings he does not retrogress into a śrāvaka"—matching each of the two dharmas with one retrogression, which is close in meaning to what is taken by this treatise's simile of the sun and moon needing one another, though the words it sets up differ. His explanation of the Buddha's verbal praise divides it into three persons, saying: 「凡三人得歎：一者、得無生忍現前；二者、深信無生隣於不退必爾無疑；三者、從初發軫其心屈也」 tr. "In all, three persons receive praise: first, one in whom the acceptance of non-arising has been obtained and is present; second, one who deeply believes in non-arising, is near to non-retrogression, and will surely be so without doubt; third, one whose mind is bent from the time of first setting out"—dividing the items of extolling by three persons; this number three comes from Jizang's own sectional division, not from the text of this treatise, and is recorded for reference. Huiying, explaining this chapter, marks the intent of its sequence, saying: 「上明菩薩脩平等行，具生法二忍，故為一切眾生愛樂。今次明為諸天人所敬，眾聖嘆美，故次明此品」 tr. "Above it made clear that the bodhisattva cultivates the practice of equality and is endowed with the two acceptances of beings and of dharmas, and therefore is loved and delighted in by all beings. Next it now makes clear that he is revered by gods and humans and admired and praised by all the sages; therefore this chapter is set forth next"—judging the sequence of the preceding chapter and this one by love and delight and by admiring praise, which bears exactly on the line of inheriting from what precedes spoken of above. His sectional division of this chapter says: 「就此品中大有二分：第一、明菩薩行不二法，不證實際，而廣度眾生；第二、從何以故去，明十方諸佛稱揚菩薩」 tr. "Within this chapter there are broadly two parts: first, it makes clear that the bodhisattva practises the non-dual Dharma, does not realise the limit of reality, and widely delivers beings; second, from 'why?' onward, it makes clear that the buddhas of the ten directions extol the bodhisattva"; and further, on the section on extolling, he says: 「就稱揚中有通有別」 tr. "Within the extolling there is the general and the particular"—gathering by the two gates of general and particular the several kinds of bodhisattvas listed in the sūtra, which is close in meaning to what is taken by this treatise's division into the general statement of great bodhisattvas and the particular naming of their names. His explanation of the identity of the two emptinesses of beings and of dharmas says: 「眾生離即是色離者，當知生空即是法空，但從詮為異也」 tr. "That beings' being separated is form's being separated: know that the emptiness of beings is the emptiness of dharmas; they differ only by way of expression"; his explanation of the two dharmas that cannot be broken says: 「今以菩薩慈悲從實相生，屬無緣慈悲，故無窮盡所度無極」 tr. "Now, because the bodhisattva's kindness and compassion arise from the real mark, they belong to kindness and compassion without object; therefore they are inexhaustible, and those delivered are without limit"; his explanation of the matching of word and deed says: 「若不能如說行者，則是大妄語人，故為天神輕也」 tr. "If one cannot practise as one says, one is a person of great false speech; therefore he is slighted by the gods and spirits"; his explanation of severing the two grounds says: 「能斷二地者，經論多云離二乘地也」 tr. "As to being able to sever the two grounds: the sūtras and treatises mostly say it is leaving the ground of the two vehicles"—these four sayings all explain following the text, and each illuminates what this treatise says. In Huiying's Commentary he also himself calls this chapter 「第六十四品者，名為稱揚品」 tr. "The sixty-fourth chapter is named the chapter Extolling"; its chapter number differs by one place from the base text of this edition. The study of the variant names of the chapter title, the differing steps of the chapter sequence, the division of fascicles among the texts, and the differing chapters at which the interlinear notes at the fascicle ends conclude, is detailed in the Apparatus.
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，跨卷七十八、七十九，單一單元。卷七十八起於〔T25 0607c20〕、訖於〔T25 0613b21〕；其卷首題所繫者猶是前品——「大智度論釋願樂品第六十四」〔T25 0607c20〕，即卷七十八以前品之品題兼卷題開卷。本品品題「大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五」〔T25 0612a04〕逕接前品〈願樂品第六十四〉之末而起，品首無卷題、無造署譯署。其後卷七十八以卷末題「大智度論卷第七十八」〔T25 0613b21〕收，卷七十九以本品之續題「大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五之餘」〔T25 0613b24〕開卷，並帶造署「聖者龍樹造」〔T25 0613b27〕與譯署「後秦龜茲國三藏鳩摩羅什譯」〔T25 0613b28〕。品身訖於「是故須菩提說無障無礙法。」〔T25 0616a10〕一句，次品品題「大智度論釋囑累品第六十六」〔T25 0616a11〕緊接其後。故本品為跨卷·卷界落於品內之型——與品六十二〈同學品〉之「居卷中·不涉卷界」異，與品五十三〈趣一切智品〉之「居卷末·品尾繫卷尾」亦異；其與品四十八〈佛母品〉同為跨卷型，而本品之卷七十九續題另帶造署譯署，品四十八之續題無之，如實分記。
全品純漢字五千六百六十四。品內結構二【經】二【論】：【經】①〔T25 0612a05〕、【論】①〔T25 0612b29〕、【經】②〔T25 0613b29〕、【論】②〔T25 0614b22〕。四枚結構標記之校記狀況各異，為本品一特出處：【經】①無校記；【論】①有校記（宋、宮二本無此標記·star·見第八目）；【經】②於底本原缺，CBETA 據元、明、石三本補入（該處另掛一「不分卷及品【石】」之點錨注·見第八目）；【論】②有校記（宋、宮二本無此標記·其注帶星記·見第八目）。標記存否屬底本傳承層，結構計數仍依 CBETA 現行文本之標籤為準。
問答之數與說者結構：經①以舍利弗問須菩提發端〔T25 0612a05〕，須菩提報舍利弗〔T25 0612a06〕；次轉欲、色界諸天子「作是念」〔T25 0612a12〕（內心思惟，無外部受者，性質與問答有別，如實分記）、須菩提語諸天子〔T25 0612a15〕；次轉佛問須菩提〔T25 0612b08〕、須菩提白佛〔T25 0612b10〕、佛告須菩提〔T25 0612b20〕收經①。經②〔T25 0613b29〕段首雖為新起之【經】標記，然無「佛告」「爾時佛言」等重新起說標記，逕接「須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩成就二法，魔不能壞。」〔T25 0613b29〕——依上下文承經①末段佛語之脈絡，判為佛續說，於此註明「承前段連續開示，未見換說標記」，不作不確定計。其下換說有明文者：〔T25 0613c25〕「須菩提白佛言」／〔T25 0613c27〕「佛告須菩提」、〔T25 0613c28〕「須菩提言」／〔T25 0613c29〕「佛言」、〔T25 0614a19〕「須菩提白佛言」／〔T25 0614a22〕「佛告須菩提」、〔T25 0614a23〕「須菩提言」／〔T25 0614a27〕「佛告須菩提」、〔T25 0614b02〕「佛言」，末轉釋提桓因白佛〔T25 0614b10〕、須菩提語釋提桓因〔T25 0614b16〕、釋提桓因語須菩提〔T25 0614b19〕收經②。
論①以「釋曰：」〔T25 0612b29〕起論（起論標記，不計入問答對數），正式問答五組：〔T25 0612c20〕問／〔T25 0612c22〕答、〔T25 0613a10〕問／〔T25 0613a11〕答、〔T25 0613a15〕問／〔T25 0613a16〕答、〔T25 0613a18〕問／〔T25 0613a19〕答、〔T25 0613a23〕問／〔T25 0613a25〕答。論②亦「釋曰：」〔T25 0614b22〕起論，問答五組：〔T25 0614c20〕問／〔T25 0614c21〕答、〔T25 0615a12〕問／〔T25 0615a13〕答、〔T25 0615a17〕問／〔T25 0615a20〕答、〔T25 0615b05〕問／〔T25 0615b05〕答、〔T25 0615c01〕問／〔T25 0615c02〕答。逐字點之，「問曰：」十、「答曰：」十，兩數相等，與上列十組 loc 相合，無缺問缺答。「復次」十一見（〔T25 0613a12〕〔T25 0613a14〕〔T25 0613a21〕〔T25 0613c02〕〔T25 0614a02〕〔T25 0614a12〕〔T25 0615a22〕〔T25 0615a24〕〔T25 0615b12〕〔T25 0615b19〕〔T25 0615b28〕）；「有人言」一見，在論①〔T25 0613a21〕。
論①段內〔T25 0613a27〕至〔T25 0613b20〕一節文體為「須菩提白佛」「須菩提答已，白佛言」之經文式對話，非「問曰／答曰」之論主自問自答體，且緊接卷末題。此節在【論】①之結構標記範圍內（〔T25 0612b29〕起、〔T25 0613b29〕止），依本帙凡例判為論主重牒經文之對話（論主續引經文以總結上文），非經段之延伸；其判之底據為結構標記之位置，逐字可驗。
二、術語考
稱揚·稱譽·讚歎。 全品之總名在「稱揚」。經以佛之口業立其事：「自讚歎稱揚是菩薩摩訶薩名姓」〔T25 0613c14〕，而其所稱者有名有姓：「如我今說法時，自稱揚寶相菩薩、尸棄菩薩。」〔T25 0613c16〕。論釋佛何以有此稱揚：「讚歎善人，稱揚善法，毀訾不善。」〔T25 0615a10〕，其判準則在德之勝劣：「其中有德行勝者，稱揚其名字。」〔T25 0615b09〕。與「稱揚」並用者為「稱譽」，見於論之譬喻與收語：「常為國王所稱譽」〔T25 0615a06〕。「稱揚」一詞於本品範圍之漢字流十九見（另 CBETA 目次標記一見不計，其中品題〔T25 0612a04〕與卷七十九續題〔T25 0613b24〕各一見）、「稱譽」六見（〔T25 0615a06〕〔T25 0615a08〕〔T25 0615a19〕〔T25 0615a28〕〔T25 0615b24〕〔T25 0615b25〕）、「讚歎」二十見，以漢字流逐一定位所得。
度空。 本品異名之所本（品名兩造見第四目）。本論品身正文內無「度空」一詞（於本品範圍逐字重掃零命中），其名唯見於宋、宮、明三本之品題與所釋經之品題；而其義則在經文「是人欲度眾生，如欲度虛空。」〔T25 0612a21〕、「為欲與虛空共鬪。」〔T25 0612a27〕一段。吉藏即以此立名並自釋其故（見第六目）。異名之取義在科段之義，不在語之孤見，如實誌錄。
無真實法。 本品開卷之問答眼目。經：「菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，為行無真實法。」〔T25 0612a07〕，其理由即在般若自身無真實：「無真實不可得，何況真實！」〔T25 0612a10〕。論先訓「真實」之義：「真實法者，審定、不變異，即是可取、可著；若不真實，即是虛誑妄語。」〔T25 0612c02〕，復以二諦收之：「世諦故說真實；第一義中真實不可得，何況不真實！」〔T25 0612c11〕——真實與不真實兩名皆不可執，此即「無真實」之所指。
等法·平等法·第一義。 經作「等法」：「行於等法，不作實際證」〔T25 0612a14〕；論逕以異名釋之：「第一義即是平等法，但以異名說。」〔T25 0612c15〕——三名一指，論主自陳，非後人所配。
二法（觀空·不捨眾生）。 經②之綱：「觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生。」〔T25 0613c01〕，別出之第二對則為「所作如所言，亦為諸佛所念。」〔T25 0613c04〕。論釋其不可偏廢：「有二道：一者、悲，二者、空。」〔T25 0614b28〕，偏執之失亦逐一出之：「若但有憐愍心、無智慧，則心沒在無眾生而有眾生顛倒中；若但有空心，捨憐愍度眾生心，則墮斷滅中。」〔T25 0614b29〕。其得兼之法在空亦空：「觀一切法空，空亦空故不著空，是故不妨憐愍眾生」〔T25 0614c05〕。
阿鞞跋致。 佛所稱揚之第一類人。經：「阿鞞跋致菩薩，諸佛說法時，自讚歎稱揚。」〔T25 0613c27〕；論以其能斷地得記為驗：「能斷二地、得受記」〔T25 0615b24〕。「阿鞞跋致」於本品範圍九見（〔T25 0613c27〕〔T25 0613c29〕〔T25 0614a02〕〔T25 0614a11〕〔T25 0614a16〕〔T25 0615b24〕〔T25 0615c05〕〔T25 0615c07〕〔T25 0615c08〕）。所釋經同位一律作「阿惟越致」（見第四目）。
無生忍法·無生法忍·柔順法忍。 佛所稱揚之第二類人，正在「未得」之位。經：「信解一切法無生，未得無生忍法」〔T25 0614a03〕；論以三忍之次第定其所居：「是人出柔順法忍、未得無生法忍，出凡夫法、未入聖法」〔T25 0615b21〕——出柔順而未至無生，出凡夫而未入聖，此即所以希有。本品範圍內「無生忍法」六見、「無生法忍」三見（〔T25 0615b13〕〔T25 0615b22〕〔T25 0615b26〕）、「柔順法忍」一見（〔T25 0615b22〕），二名所指同一而經段用「無生忍法」、論段之末段轉用「無生法忍」，如實分記不代為統一。慧影疏於此另有師說（見第六目）。
三門·三解脫門。 論以二重配法釋經之「無生／空／虛誑不實不堅固」三句。其一配三法印門：「虛誑、不實、不堅固者，皆是無常、苦、無我門。」〔T25 0615b16〕；其二配三解脫門：「虛誑、不實、不堅固，即是無作解脫門；一切法空，即是空解脫門；一切法無生，即是無相解脫門。」〔T25 0615b19〕，收以「如是等三種差別。」〔T25 0615b21〕——同一經文兩重配屬，論主自標為「三種差別」，非二說相違。
如·薩婆若。 經以「如」答「住」之問：「菩薩摩訶薩住諸法如中，住薩婆若。」〔T25 0614a22〕；論即以空釋如：「如者即是空。菩薩住是畢竟空中，名為住薩婆若。」〔T25 0615c11〕。其不可住之理亦出於如之無三相：「若法無三相，即是畢竟空」〔T25 0615c16〕。
五種執金剛神。 論釋「所作如所言」之反面果報：「則五種執金剛神捨離、不復守護，惡鬼得便。」〔T25 0614c10〕——此語於本品一見。慧影疏於此比對前品之數（見第六目）。
三、譬喻與故事
本品要喻五，皆繫於所釋之義，無泛設。
調馬自見影（不驚之喻）。 論釋菩薩聞畢竟空而心不驚：「譬如調馬，自見影不驚。」〔T25 0612c29〕——何以不驚？「自知影從身出故。」〔T25 0613a01〕。喻之力在「從身出」三字：所畏者不是外來之物，是自己所現。論即以此配法：菩薩知畢竟空，而諸法「因有為和合虛妄法生故。」〔T25 0613a02〕——知其所從出，故不驚。
日月相須（二道兼用之喻）。 論釋觀空與不捨眾生何以不可偏廢，取天地間最平常之一事：「以日月因緣故，萬物潤生。」〔T25 0614b25〕，其偏廢之失即在此喻中現成：「但有月而無日，則萬物濕壞；但有日而無月，則萬物燋爛。」〔T25 0614b25〕，兼備乃成：「日、月和合故，萬物成熟。」〔T25 0614b27〕。論末以一句收之：「如日月相須。」〔T25 0614c09〕——空與悲不是兩件事之相加，是彼此相須而後各自成立。
魚子不為母念（諸佛所念之喻）。 論釋「亦為諸佛所念」之所以要緊：「如魚子不為母念，則爛壞不生。」〔T25 0614c13〕——所念者非賞賜，是生機；不為所念，善根自朽。此喻與上一句「則善根朽壞」〔T25 0614c13〕直接相扣。
大國王有大將（佛所稱譽之喻）。 論釋諸佛何以稱譽菩薩：「如大國王有大將，不惜身命，有方便能破怨敵，常為國王所稱譽」〔T25 0615a04〕——所稱者不在其位，在其不惜身命而有方便。配法亦逐項對出：菩薩「觀畢竟空，不惜我身，破煩惱賊，有方便而不作證，教化眾生，諸佛所稱譽。」〔T25 0615a06〕——「不作證」一項為菩薩所獨有，大將之喻無其對，論主自增之，如實分記。
仰射空中（說法無礙之喻）。 此喻先出於經，為釋提桓因之讚語：「譬如仰射空中，箭去無礙；須菩提說法無礙亦如是。」〔T25 0614b21〕；論於品末逐字拆之，配法三重：「虛空即是畢竟空，箭是須菩提智慧。」〔T25 0616a05〕，「如箭於空無礙，勢盡自墮，非為空盡」〔T25 0616a06〕——箭落非因空盡，說止非因法盡；復出其反面：「若有人雖有利箭，射壁不能過；人雖有利智慧，邪見著有，則礙而不能通。」〔T25 0616a08〕。喻之三支（空·箭·壁）皆有所配，非泛設之譬。「譬如仰射空中」之漢字流於 T25n1509 全論三見（〔T25 0197c17〕〔T25 0614b21〕〔T25 0616a05〕），本品二見，逐串重掃所得。
四、所釋經文
品名兩造網：稱揚／度空（並錄不判）。 本品品名兩造，逐一據底本誌之。其一，稱揚品——本論底本品題〔T25 0612a04〕「大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五」，其經證即經文之「自讚歎稱揚是菩薩摩訶薩名姓」〔T25 0613c14〕一事。其二，度空品——宋本作「大智論釋度空品第六十五上」（「大智論」省一「度」字·末綴「上」為分卷標記）、宮本作「大智論釋度空品第六十五品上」、明本作「釋度空品第六十五之上」（刪「大智度論」），三造皆以「度空」名品，其所本即經文「是人欲度眾生，如欲度虛空。」〔T25 0612a21〕一段。元本則作「大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五上」——品名同底本作「稱揚」，唯多「上」字；石本作「摩訶般若波羅品第六十四稱揚品」（經題式·品序 -1·題名亦作「稱揚」·「摩訶般若波羅」下無「蜜」字，依底本原樣誌）。故本論側之兩造分佈為：底本、元、石作「稱揚」，宋、宮、明作「度空」——非「宋元明宮」一體，元本於此與底本同系，如實分記。
卷七十九續題之兩造（元本內部不一致·專誌）。 卷七十九之續題〔T25 0613b24〕底本作「大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五之餘」，其異本則宋、宮作「大智度論卷第七十九釋度空品第六十五品下〔訖第六十六品〕」、元作「大智度論卷第七十九釋度空品第六十五下〔訖第六十六品〕」、明作「大智度論卷第七十九釋度空品第六十五下」——元本於品題處作「稱揚」而於續題處作「度空」，同一本之內兩讀並存，如實誌錄不強解。又宋、宮、元三本此處夾註「訖第六十六品」（明本無），即三本以「之餘」一段涵蓋至次品〈囑累品〉，與底本於卷七十九內另分次品起題〔T25 0616a11〕不同步——此為分卷與分品夾註之歧異，如實誌錄。
所釋經品題之鏡像兩讀（本目之眼）。 所釋經 T223 側本品品題〔T08 0360b09〕作「摩訶般若波羅蜜經度空品第六十五」，其注曰「度空【大】，稱揚【宋】【宮】【聖】」——T223 底本作「度空」，宋、宮、聖三本反作「稱揚」。以之對本論側品題注（底本作「稱揚」，宋、宮、明三本作「度空」），兩造校記恰成鏡像：本論之底本讀法（稱揚）正是 T223 諸異本之讀法，T223 之底本讀法（度空）正是本論諸異本之讀法。品名「稱揚／度空」之兩讀，非一藏之內部游移，而是兩藏傳承各自並存之兩讀，如實誌錄，不判孰正。品題另有夾註一枚〔T08 0360b10〕，其夾註作「丹稱揚品」——丹本夾註所標之名亦作「稱揚品」，與本論底本同系；該夾註之注曰「丹…品【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】，廿九【聖】」，即宋元明宮四本無此夾註、聖本此處作卷次「廿九」，如實並誌。
T223 mulu n 屬性 +1 偏移（續存）。 所釋經 T223 側本品之 mulu 標 n="66" 而顯文標「65 度空品」〔T08 0360b09〕——n 屬性 +1 偏移自品四十一以來屢見，本品續存（承品四十八既誌之常設體例，不重判）。其前後亦同款：「64 淨願品」n="65"〔T08 0358b16〕、「66 累教品」n="67"〔T08 0362a10〕。
T223 側品界繫卷末（與本論側異）。 所釋經卷第十九起於〔T08 0355c13〕，本品品題〔T08 0360b09〕居其中段，而本品訖於卷末題「摩訶般若波羅蜜經卷第十九」〔T08 0362a04〕——T223 側本品繫卷末；卷第二十起於〔T08 0362a07〕，次品〈累教品〉品題〔T08 0362a10〕緊接其後。本論側則跨卷七十八、七十九（見第一目），兩傳承於此品之卷品分劃不合，如實誌錄。
品次 -1 階（石本續存·並帶卷端卷末記）。 石本品題作「第六十四」，較底本「第六十五」少一，與品四十四以下逐品順推、同向同幅——-1 階鏈於本品續存。本品範圍內 -1 階另見一端：品末「礙」字注，石本作「礙〔礙釋第六十四品竟，摩訶般若經卷第七十九〕」（下帳第七十七條）——品末「釋某品竟」型夾註與品題兩層互證，皆作「六十四」，非孤證；且該夾註同時記石本之卷次「卷第七十九」，即石本以本品之終為其卷七十九之終，而底本卷七十九至〔T25 0620c12〕方竟，底本／石本卷品雙軌不疊合，如實誌錄不強解。同位另有一點錨注「第七十九卷終【石】」〔T25 0616a10〕（無 app·見第八目），與上一證同指。慧影疏之自編號亦作「第六十四品」（見第六目），惟彼屬疏家內部編號，非底本異文，性質有別，如實區分。
全量牒經對讀（兩側對勘·異文八處·逐處誌其校記之有無）。 本論經①經②與所釋經〈度空品〉逐字幾近同文，其異八處：
- 大誓莊嚴／大莊嚴——本論作「諸菩薩摩訶薩大誓莊嚴：『我當度無量無邊阿僧祇眾生。』」〔T25 0612a17〕，T223 作「諸菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴」〔T08 0360b23〕，少一「誓」字。本論側此處有注「誓【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」（下帳第五條）——宋、元、明、宮四本無「誓」字，所成之讀正是 T223 底本之讀；T223 側此處無校記。
- 不作證／不證——本論作「諸菩薩摩訶薩於等法不作證聲聞、辟支佛地，不為難。」〔T25 0612a16〕，T223 作「於等法不證聲聞、辟支佛地，不為難。」〔T08 0360b22〕。本論側此處有注「作【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」（下帳第四條）——四本刪「作」字，所成之讀亦正是 T223 底本之讀；T223 側無校記。此二處與上一處同段連出，四本之刪字兩見，方向一致，如實並誌。
- 聞是法／聞是深法——本論作「若菩薩摩訶薩聞是法，心不驚、不沒」〔T25 0612b01〕，T223 作「若菩薩摩訶薩聞是深法，心不驚不沒」〔T08 0360c08〕，多一「深」字。兩造於此皆無校記，屬傳承用字之異，如實誌錄，不以一造之讀判另一造。
- 世界／國土——本論作「若恒河沙等世界中眾生悉使為魔」〔T25 0612b25〕，T223 作「若如恒河沙等國土中眾生悉使為魔」〔T08 0361a04〕。本論側此處為 star 注「世界【大】＊｜國土【石】＊」（下帳第十條·其注掛於前品〈願樂品〉·見第八目）——石本作「國土」，正與 T223 底本之讀合；T223 側此處無校記。本品「世界」一詞之石本異文另有五處作「國」而非「國土」（下帳第四十四、四十五、五十二、五十五、五十六條），石本此二型用字不同，如實區分不混併。
- 名姓／名字——本論作「歡喜自讚歎稱揚名姓」〔T25 0614a07〕，T223 作「歡喜自讚歎稱揚名字」〔T08 0361b16〕。兩造於此皆無校記；惟本論論段釋此經時逕作「稱揚其名字。」〔T25 0615b09〕、「佛稱名讚歎」〔T25 0615b16〕，論主牒經時已用「名字」，與所釋經同，如實分記。
- 阿鞞跋致／阿惟越致——本論作「阿鞞跋致菩薩，諸佛說法時，自讚歎稱揚。」〔T25 0613c27〕，T223 作「阿惟越致菩薩，諸佛說法時自讚歎稱揚。」〔T08 0361b06〕。兩造於此皆無校記；另以漢字流雙向重掃：「阿鞞跋致」於本品範圍九見、於 T223 本品範圍零見，「阿惟越致」於本品範圍零見、於 T223 本品範圍七見——兩藏之譯名習慣各自成系，非本品一處之偶異，如實誌錄。
- 如憍尸迦／汝憍尸迦——本論作「如憍尸迦說：『菩薩摩訶薩所為甚難』」〔T25 0614b16〕，T223 作「汝憍尸迦說菩薩摩訶薩所為甚難」〔T08 0361c27〕。本論側此處有注「如【大】｜汝【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」（下帳第三十九條）——四本作「汝」，正與 T223 底本之讀合；T223 側無校記。
- 虛誑不實不堅固／虛誑不實無所有不堅固——本論作「信解一切法虛誑、不實、不堅固，未得無生忍法。」〔T25 0614a05〕，T223 作「信解一切法虛誑不實、無所有、不堅固，未得無生忍法。」〔T08 0361b13〕，多「無所有」三字。兩造於此皆無校記；本論論段兩度牒此三名皆作三支（「虛誑、不實、不堅固者，皆是無常、苦、無我門。」〔T25 0615b16〕、「虛誑、不實、不堅固，即是無作解脫門」〔T25 0615b19〕），論主所據之經本與本論底本同為三支，如實誌錄。
另誌二處（經文同而論段配屬可辨者·非異文）。 其一，「是諸天皆來至菩薩所，親近、諮問、勸喻、安慰」〔T25 0613c05〕／T223 作「是諸天皆來到菩薩所，親近諮問勸喻安慰」〔T08 0361a13〕——本論側有注「至【大】｜到【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】」（下帳第三十條），五本皆作「到」，與 T223 底本合。其二，T223 於「如說住、如說行」一段作「如說住、如說行、如說住。如說行已，住一切種智中。」〔T08 0361b27〕，本論作「如說住、如說行；如說住、行已，住一切種智中。」〔T25 0614a18〕——本論側此處有注「住【大】｜〔－〕【宋】」及一 rest 型注「〔住〕－【宋】，〔如說〕【宮】」（下帳第三十六條·見第八目），兩造之重文分合各異，校記亦兩層，如實並誌不強解。
對照組（七串·兩藏各自唯一見·對位唯一）。 「虛空虛誑，當知眾生亦虛誑。」〔T25 0612a24〕／〔T08 0360c02〕；「不得沒者、不得沒事、不得沒處」〔T25 0612b13〕／〔T08 0360c20〕；「觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生。」〔T25 0613c01〕／〔T08 0361a08〕；「自稱揚寶相菩薩、尸棄菩薩。」〔T25 0613c16〕／〔T08 0361a24〕；「冥者為作明，盲者為作眼。」〔T25 0613c12〕／〔T08 0361a19〕；「菩薩摩訶薩住諸法如中，住薩婆若。」〔T25 0614a22〕／〔T08 0361c03〕；「誰驚、誰沒？誰怖、誰畏？誰疑、誰悔？」〔T25 0614b18〕／〔T08 0361c29〕。以上七串之漢字流，於 T25n1509 全論與 T08n0223 全經各唯一見（逐串於兩藏底本以 markup 容錯法獨立重掃，非轉抄），對位唯一、無他品可淆。另誌兩串之見數不為一者，以免以估值充數：「為行真實法？為行無真實法？」於 T25n1509 全論二見（〔T25 0612a06〕〔T25 0612c02〕，經一見、論主牒經一見）、於 T08n0223 全經一見〔T08 0360b12〕；「譬如仰射空中」於 T25n1509 全論三見（〔T25 0197c17〕〔T25 0614b21〕〔T25 0616a05〕，首見在本品之外）、於 T08n0223 全經一見〔T08 0362a02〕。判為「同品異名」（品身逐字幾近同文，品名兩造之異見上）。本論【論】層為論體之結構性擴增，所釋經無此層，非異文。
五、般若義眼
本品之眼，在「稱揚」二字落到一個極不像獎賞的地方——佛所稱揚者，先是已成之人，復及還沒到而已經像到了的人。其義可約為五重。
其一，行般若即行無真實。開卷舍利弗一問直取根本：行般若是行真實法還是無真實法？須菩提答得毫不遲疑：「菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，為行無真實法。」〔T25 0612a07〕——理由不在行者，在般若自身：「無真實不可得，何況真實！」〔T25 0612a10〕。論主怕人把「無真實」再立成一個實法，故先訓「真實」之義：「真實法者，審定、不變異，即是可取、可著」〔T25 0612c02〕，再以二諦收之：「世諦故說真實；第一義中真實不可得，何況不真實！」〔T25 0612c11〕——連「不真實」也不可得，這一層不補上，前一句就成了新的執處。
其二，難處不在不證，在度空。諸天子見菩薩於等法不作證而欲禮敬，須菩提卻把「難」字挪了位置：於平等法不作證「不為難」，難的是「知眾生畢竟不可得而度眾生，是乃為難！」〔T25 0612a18〕——「是人欲度眾生，如欲度虛空。」〔T25 0612a21〕，乃至「為欲與虛空共鬪。」〔T25 0612a27〕。論主替這個『一難一不難』出了判準：「眾生，虛誑假名故，是所著處；平等法，無為故，非所著處。」〔T25 0612c22〕，所以「於顛倒著處而能不著為難；於無著處不著，是不為難。」〔T25 0612c25〕——難易不由境之深淺定，由著處不著處定。這也正是本品異名「度空」之所取。
其三，不驚不沒之驗有兩重。經先說聞眾生離相而心不驚，次說聞一切法離相而心不驚不沒不怖不畏；論主把這兩重點破：「若眾生空，法不空，應有怖畏；若法亦空，無生怖畏處。」〔T25 0613a04〕——怖畏須有一個能怖之處，法若也空，連那個處也沒有了。故收語曰：「上聞眾生空故不畏，今聞法空故不畏。」〔T25 0613a07〕，「若聞是二空不畏，是為真行般若。」〔T25 0613a08〕。而不驚之所以可能，論以一喻說盡：「譬如調馬，自見影不驚。」〔T25 0612c29〕——「自知影從身出故。」〔T25 0613a01〕。所畏的從來不是空，是把自己現的影子當成了外來的東西。
其四，魔壞不得處，在二法兼行。經②以二法立菩薩之不可壞：「觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生。」〔T25 0613c01〕。論主先說偏執之失：「若但有憐愍心、無智慧，則心沒在無眾生而有眾生顛倒中；若但有空心，捨憐愍度眾生心，則墮斷滅中。」〔T25 0614b29〕，再說兼行何以可能——關鍵在空亦空：「觀一切法空，空亦空故不著空，是故不妨憐愍眾生」〔T25 0614c05〕，末以一喻收之：「如日月相須。」〔T25 0614c09〕。第二對二法「所作如所言，亦為諸佛所念。」〔T25 0613c04〕則落在更實的地方：言行不副則「則五種執金剛神捨離、不復守護，惡鬼得便。」〔T25 0614c10〕；不為佛念則善根自朽——「如魚子不為母念，則爛壞不生。」〔T25 0614c13〕。
其五，佛所稱揚者，是未得而似得之人。須菩提兩度追問佛所稱揚的究竟是哪一等菩薩，佛之答一層比一層低：先是阿鞞跋致，再是「信解一切法無生，未得無生忍法」〔T25 0614a03〕之人。論主替這一低處說明其所以希有：「是人出柔順法忍、未得無生法忍，出凡夫法、未入聖法」〔T25 0615b21〕——他既已不是凡夫，又還不是聖人，正在那個最沒有憑據的中間。佛之稱揚先及阿鞞跋致，復以「復次」推及此處——亦及未得無生忍而能信解者。而佛之所以要稱揚，論主說得極平實：諸佛本「無分別善不善法，視諸阿羅漢、外道亦無憎愛」〔T25 0615a09〕，其稱揚乃為利益眾生——「欲使眾生依附好人，心隨善法，令出世間故。」〔T25 0615a11〕。至於何以獨舉寶相、尸棄二菩薩而不舉遍吉、觀世音，論主亦不迴避，並出三解，其第三解最樸素：「遍吉、觀世音菩薩等功德極大，人皆知；是二菩薩，人未知，故稱揚。」〔T25 0615a24〕——稱揚之用在補人所不知，不在錦上添花。全品收在須菩提說法無礙之喻上：「虛空即是畢竟空，箭是須菩提智慧。」〔T25 0616a05〕，「如箭於空無礙，勢盡自墮，非為空盡」〔T25 0616a06〕——所稱揚者之所以無礙，正因他射的是空；而礙者之所以礙，只因「邪見著有，則礙而不能通。」〔T25 0616a09〕。
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。本品古德覆讀兩家：釋所釋經之吉藏疏存完整專章，釋本論之慧影疏亦存完整專章；天台系五書與均正書於本品皆零命中（見下）。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）。 於所釋經〈度空品〉之逐文疏，起「度空品第六十五」〔X24n0451 0317a23〕，迄次品「囑累品第六十六」〔X24n0451 0318a11〕起前，覆本品經全篇。吉藏用「度空」名，同 T223 底本系統，與本論底本「稱揚」相異。其可誌者五。
其一，立名之由與「度空」之訓——「此下明度眾生如度空，能度眾生亦是度眾生。」〔X24n0451 0317a24〕，其下更出何以不逕言度有：「但惑者聞度眾生皆言度有，故今言度空耳。」〔X24n0451 0317b02〕——以破執有之機立「度空」一名，與本論經文「是人欲度眾生，如欲度虛空。」〔T25 0612a21〕同指而說法各異，如實分記。
其二，逕引本論為釋——「論云：身子聞上品無分別法，心大歡喜」〔X24n0451 0317b08〕：所引即本論論①起處「爾時，舍利弗聞上無分別相法，心大歡喜」〔T25 0612b29〕，字有小異（「上品無分別法」／「上無分別相法」），屬吉藏約引非逐字全同，繫屬如上分記：「」內為吉藏原文，非本論原文。其下釋「真實／不真實」亦沿論意而語各異。
其三，論之問答亦被引為科——「論問云：平等法不證，眾生畢竟空，云何一難一不？答：平等是不著法，而菩薩依理不著，故不為。眾生是假名法，應生著而不著，故為難也。」〔X24n0451 0317b23〕：所引即本論〔T25 0612c20〕一組問答，吉藏所述之答與本論「眾生，虛誑假名故，是所著處；平等法，無為故，非所著處。」〔T25 0612c22〕同指，亦屬約引。其釋二空不怖則自出：「若眾生空法不空，是可怖耳。今眾生空法復空，無有不空者，何所怖耶？」〔X24n0451 0317c04〕——與本論「若眾生空，法不空，應有怖畏；若法亦空，無生怖畏處。」〔T25 0613a04〕相值。
其四，佛何以問弟子——「次佛問須菩提何故不沒不怖者，眾生中有疑，佛為之發問」〔X24n0451 0317c07〕：與本論第一解「以眾會有疑，敬難故不敢問，是以佛問。」〔T25 0613a11〕同；本論另出二解（試問·說法主應受問難），吉藏但取其一，不列三解，兩家所詳不同，如實分記。其釋諸天作禮之等次亦自出：「欲天內有覺觀外有五欲，梵天外不著五欲內有覺觀，皆是不淨天而敬菩薩，未足為貴」〔X24n0451 0317c16〕——與本論「欲界諸天，著婬欲心多故，禮不足為貴；初禪天有覺觀散亂，亦不足為妙」〔T25 0613b12〕相值而配屬小異（吉藏以覺觀五欲交錯分內外，本論以婬欲、覺觀分二天），並錄不判。
其五，五段科與三人得歎——吉藏以五段科經之後半：「爾時欲界諸天下，大段第二、諸天見菩薩成行故身業禮敬」〔X24n0451 0317b17〕、「菩薩如是下，第四、諸天口業秤歎。」〔X24n0451 0318a03〕、「十方諸佛於大眾中下，第五、佛口業秤歎。」〔X24n0451 0318a06〕——以身業／口業分諸天與佛之稱揚，本論無此配。其釋佛所歎之人則作三類：「凡三人得歎：一者、得無生忍現前；二者、深信無生隣於不退必爾無疑；三者、從初發軫其心屈也。」〔X24n0451 0318a07〕——本論之三類為大菩薩／阿鞞跋致／未得無生忍而能信解者（見第二目），二家分法相值而次第不同，並錄不判。又其釋二法不可偏廢作「成就空非二道，故魔不能壞。」〔X24n0451 0317c21〕〔按：底本字如此；依下文空悲對舉，「非」疑「悲」之形訛，照錄不改。〕，並出「又以解空故不退為凡夫，不捨眾生不退為聲聞也。」〔X24n0451 0317c24〕——以二退配二法，本論但以萬物濕壞、燋爛為喻（見第三目），所重不同。其釋第二對二法則作「次、所作如所言，即五金剛護之，魔不能壞。二、為諸佛所念，如魚子得成也。」〔X24n0451 0318a01〕——與本論「五種執金剛神」〔T25 0614c10〕、「如魚子不為母念，則爛壞不生。」〔T25 0614c13〕兩喻逐一相值，惟吉藏作正面（護之·得成）、本論作反面（捨離·爛壞），如實分記。
慧影《大智度論疏》（X46n0791）。 為釋本論之唯一古疏，僅殘卷存世；本品有完整專章，起〔X46n0791 0908b03〕，迄次品「第六十五品者，名為囑累品」〔X46n0791 0909c13〕起前，另於卷首總目列「釋稱揚品第六十五」〔X46n0791 0794b22〕與「釋稱揚品第六十五之餘」〔X46n0791 0794b23〕。慧影用「稱揚」名，同本論底本系統，與 T223／吉藏「度空」系統相異——品名兩系於古德之間亦交叉分布，如實誌錄不強解。其可誌者六。
其一，自編號 -1 與品位——「第六十四品者，名為稱揚品。」〔X46n0791 0908b03〕：慧影自稱本品為「第六十四品」，較底本少一；次品同款作「第六十五品者，名為囑累品」〔X46n0791 0909c13〕——疏家內部編號自成一系，與石本之 -1 階同向而來源有別，如實分記。惟其卷首總目〔X46n0791 0794b22〕仍作「第六十五」，同一疏之目與身兩讀並存，如實誌錄。又前品之題於其總目作「釋願樂品第十四」〔X46n0791 0794b22〕、於其身之章題亦作「釋願樂品第十四」〔X46n0791 0907a12〕，而該章自數則作「第六十三品者，名為願樂品。」〔X46n0791 0907a13〕——「第十四」一讀目身兩見，非總目之孤例，與其自數之「第六十三品」不相應，逐字據底本誌錄，不代為校正。
其二，品次相生之判——「何故次願樂品，後明於此品？上明菩薩脩平等行，具生法二忍，故為一切眾生愛樂。今次明為諸天人所敬，眾聖嘆美，故次明此品。」〔X46n0791 0908b03〕，並自陳其編號之所本：「論將次釋，故云第六十四品釋論也。」〔X46n0791 0908b06〕——以「愛樂」配前品、「嘆美」配本品，本論無此配，係慧影自立之科。
其三，二分之科——「就此品中大有二分：第一、明菩薩行不二法，不證實際，而廣度眾生；第二、從何以故去，明十方諸佛稱揚菩薩。」〔X46n0791 0908b07〕——與吉藏之五段科異（吉藏作五、慧影作二），二家科判各立，並錄不判。其第二分之起處自標於經「何以故」句下，與本論之【經】【論】分段不相涉，如實分記。又其釋生法二空作「眾生離即是色離者，當知生空即是法空，但從詮為異也。」〔X46n0791 0908b12〕——與本論「色等法離故，眾生亦離。」〔T25 0613a04〕相值而立語各異。
其四，二法之釋出「愛見大悲」一目——「則起眾生相而度。眾生相而度眾生，名為愛見大悲，則於眾生有疲惓想。」〔X46n0791 0908c06〕，其正面則作「今以菩薩慈悲從實相生，屬無緣慈悲，故無窮盡所度無極。」〔X46n0791 0908c07〕——以愛見大悲／無緣慈悲之對立釋「觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生」〔T25 0613c01〕之二法，本論無此二名（本論但以日月相須為喻，見第三目），此為慧影所獨出，如實誌錄。
其五，稱揚有通有別——「就稱揚中有通有別。」〔X46n0791 0908c15〕，其下以從初發意至四十一地為通、阿鞞跋致與未得無生忍住順忍中者為別（原文於「阿」下用 CBETA 造字，本帳不轉寫其字形，逕誌其義）——與本論之三類（大菩薩／阿鞞跋致／未得無生忍者）相值而立名不同，並錄不判。又其釋論主問答之體例作「論論釋云：以有著為問，以無者為答，故得成往復也。」〔X46n0791 0908c24〕（「論論」二字依底本原樣誌）。
其六，日月喻之外書引與師說二端——慧影於本論日月喻下大段引外典而後辨之：「外書云：以陰陽化萬物。」〔X46n0791 0909a07〕，繼以佛法之解正之：「如佛法中解：日行三道：夏行北道，正對人上，故熱」〔X46n0791 0909a15〕，末判曰「此中言以日月故化萬物者，此義為正。」〔X46n0791 0909a17〕——本論於日月喻但取其相須之義，無寒暑所由之論，此為慧影所獨出。又其釋三忍之位引師說：「師言：此是順忍、無生忍中間出凡夫地。」〔X46n0791 0909b22〕，釋「能斷二地」則作「能斷二地者，經論多云離二乘地也。」〔X46n0791 0909b24〕——與本論「能斷二地、得受記」〔T25 0615b24〕相值而以二乘地實之，本論未實其目，如實分記。其比對「五種執金剛神」之數亦自出：「五種執金剛神已下，上不退品中言五性，今言五種，餘經中五方，即是一義也。」〔X46n0791 0909b01〕。慧影全章多以「當說」「當一一說」為節收語，屬其疏體，非缺釋。
均正《大乘四論玄義》（X46n0784）·零命中（如實誌）。 於全檔獨立回搜「稱揚品」「度空品」「寶相菩薩」「尸棄菩薩」「仰射空中」「不捨一切眾生」六串，皆零命中——均正於本品無具名引，如實誌錄負結果。
智顗《摩訶止觀》（T46n1911）·《釋禪波羅蜜次第法門》（T46n1916）·《妙法蓮華經玄義》（T33n1716）·《法華玄義釋籤》（T33n1717）·湛然《止觀輔行傳弘決》（T46n1912）·皆無本品之引（如實誌）。 同六串於五檔全檔回搜，除《摩訶止觀》「仰射空中」一見外皆零命中。該一見為「又如仰射空中，筈筈相拄，不令墮地。」〔T46n1911 0075c08〕——其喻作「筈筈相拄」（箭箭相接不令墮地），與本品「箭去無礙」「勢盡自墮，非為空盡」〔T25 0616a06〕之取義相反，非本品之引，如實誌錄不充作覆帶。又《止觀輔行傳弘決》「大論七十九」一見〔T46n1912 0203a14〕所引為「如執菅草」之喻，回核其在本論之位為〔T25 0594a06〕（卷七十六），非本品之文；「大論七十八」一見〔T46n1912 0333a27〕所引為燈炷品十地之說，亦非本品，如實分記，不以卷數相近充作本品之引。
七、互讀與承衍
本品之義脈，前後相承者有四，皆此目所誌，不代定讀。
其一，星記回指前品之硬鏈（校勘層之品次承衍）。 本品範圍內七枚 star 之中，二枚之注不在本品而在前品〈願樂品第六十四〉：「世界」→「國土」一注在〔T25 0608a19〕、【論】結構標記存否一注在〔T25 0609c09〕（見第八目）。即品六十四、六十五共用同一批通則性校勘注，注只在首見品定義一次，後品逐次以 star 掛回——校勘層之品次相承，本品兩枚回指跨品（對應見上），本帳如實誌之。其向後之一端亦同款：本品〔T25 0614b22〕【論】標記之注（下帳第四十條）帶星記，其共用者在次品〈囑累品〉〔T25 0618a25〕，由本品向後掛出，一收一放，如實並誌。
其二，『如先說』『如經廣說』之本論自指（論主自證）。 論主於本品四度以略語指他處：「佛念因緣，如先說。」〔T25 0613b16〕、「『無守護眾生汝為作守護，無歸與作歸』等義，如先說。」〔T25 0614c24〕、「如恒河沙等魔，不能壞是菩薩，如經廣說。」〔T25 0613b19〕、「乃至『無有是處』，如經廣說。」〔T25 0615c14〕。「如先說」於本品範圍二見、「如經廣說」二見，逐串重掃所得。前二者指本論前文之已釋（佛念因緣·無護無歸等義），後二者指所釋經之廣文，論主以此省其重列；本品之簡處多由此出，誌其承。
其三，『稱揚』與次品『囑累』之相生。 本品末句「是故須菩提說無障無礙法。」〔T25 0616a10〕之後，次品即〈囑累品第六十六〉〔T25 0616a11〕。本論本品內無前指次品之明文（於本品範圍逐字查「囑累」零命中），惟宋、宮、元三本於卷七十九續題下夾註「訖第六十六品」（見第四目），以「之餘」一段涵蓋至次品——即版本傳承之一系視本品與次品為一段。慧影疏之品次配亦於此處承接（見第六目）。誌其關聯，不代定讀。
其四，寶庫掛鏈（穩定徵引·軟引）。 本品「觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生」之二法、「日月相須」之喻與其空悲兼行之訓、『未得無生法忍而能信解』者為佛所稱揚之一判、與「仰射空中」箭勢自墮非為空盡之說法喻，為後世論空悲雙運、論位次未滿而德可稱之所本，落穩定徵引〔T25n1509 稱揚品·卷七十八至七十九〕；諸帙引本論處尚未定稿，故軟引，俟其逐字核存。此屬般若義下貫行門之承衍，誌錄不判。
八、校本與版本說明
本品底本為《大智度論》（T25n1509）卷七十八至七十九〔T25 0612a04–0616a10〕（品身正文自品題〔T25 0612a04〕起，終於「是故須菩提說無障無礙法。」句迄〔T25 0616a10〕；次品品題〔T25 0616a11〕前；本品範圍內有卷末題一枚〔T25 0613b21〕）；所釋經校本為《摩訶般若波羅蜜經》（T08n0223）〈度空品〉〔T08 0360b09–0362a04〕；古德疏校本為吉藏《大品經義疏》（X24n0451，覆所釋經〔X24n0451 0317a23–0318a10〕）與慧影《大智度論疏》（X46n0791，覆本論〔X46n0791 0908b03–0909c12〕）；均正《大乘四論玄義》（X46n0784）本品零命中，智顗《摩訶止觀》（T46n1911）《釋禪波羅蜜次第法門》（T46n1916）《妙法蓮華經玄義》（T33n1716）《法華玄義釋籤》（T33n1717）與湛然《止觀輔行傳弘決》（T46n1912）皆無本品之引（見第六目）。書號與書名依各檔底本 <title level="m"> 逐一核對所得。異讀校記依大正校勘，涉大正底本與宋、元、明、宮、石（石山寺本）諸本及 CBETA 校之異——本品七十八條之帳內全區未見【聖】本入帳（於本品範圍全部校勘底本逐條核 wit5 零命中），與品六十二之有聖本入帳者不同，如實誌錄。
品題注入七十八條之帳（與品六十二之體例不同）。 本品品題〔T25 0612a04〕之異讀有正式校勘條一枚（其正讀含經題元素），故入本帳為第一條；卷七十九續題〔T25 0613b24〕同款，入本帳為第二十七條。此與品六十二之品題注為點錨型、不入該品四十條之帳者體例不同——兩品之異出於底本結構本身，非本帳之取捨，如實誌之。工作底本檔末清單七十八條與校勘條七十八機械相合。
star 七枚·二枚跨品回指·五枚品內共用（專列）。 本品範圍內 star anchor 七枚，逐枚解其校勘條之對應目標並定位所屬品：
beg_85a〔T25 0612b26〕「世界」——corresp→note(0608002)〔T25 0608a19〕，屬品六十四〈願樂品〉範圍，跨品回指。該注底本全文原樣：「世界【大】＊，國土【石】＊」。beg_85b〔T25 0612b29〕【論】結構標記——corresp→note(0609009)〔T25 0609c09〕，亦屬品六十四〈願樂品〉範圍，跨品回指。該注底本全文原樣：「【論】【大】＊，〔－〕【宋】【宮】＊」。beg_85c〔T25 0614a21〕「若」字——corresp→note(0614002)，即本品〔T25 0614a12〕之注（下帳第三十五條），品內自共用。beg_85d〔T25 0615a03〕、beg_85e〔T25 0615a26〕、beg_85f〔T25 0615a28〕、beg_860〔T25 0615a29〕四枚「世界」——corresp 皆→note(0614010)，即本品〔T25 0614c29〕之注（下帳第四十四條），一注四共用。該注底本全文原樣：「世界【大】＊，國【石】＊」。
七枚之分佈為二枚跨品回指、五枚品內共用。另本品〔T25 0614b22〕【論】標記之注（下帳第四十條）底本帶星記「【論】【大】＊，〔－〕【宋】【宮】＊」，其共用之 star（beg_865）在次品〈囑累品〉〔T25 0618a25〕，本品為定義處、次品為共用處，一併誌之。star 目標之注文於底本帶「＊」記，本帳依底本原樣保留（下帳第十、十二、三十五、三十七、四十、四十四、四十五、五十二、五十五、五十六條）。
CBETA 校訂層二條（【CB】｜【大】雙層·專列）。 其一，〔T25 0613b29〕「【經】【CB】｜〔－〕【大】｜【經】【元】【明】【石】」（下帳第二十九條）——本品第二【經】結構標記於【大】底本原缺（底本之 <lem resp="#resp3" wit="#wit.cbeta">【經】</lem> 配 <rdg wit="#wit.orig"><space quantity="0"/></rdg>），CBETA 據元、明、石三本補入，本版讀者面從 CBETA 現行文本讀法。其二，〔T25 0615a20〕「曰【CB】｜言【大】｜曰【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」（下帳第五十一條）——底本作「言」，CBETA 據宋元明宮訂為「曰」（即「答曰：」之「曰」），本版從 CBETA 讀法。二條之正文皆從【CB】欄而非【大】欄，誌之以免誤讀為底本原字。
點錨注三條·無校勘條·不入七十八條之帳（專列）。 本品範圍內另有三枚點錨注，其下無校勘條，故不入本帳之七十八條，逐條專誌：其一，〔T25 0613b20〕之注，底本原樣「不分卷及品【石】」——繫於卷七十八品身之末、卷末題之前。其二，〔T25 0613b29〕之注（CBETA 校訂型），底本原樣「不分卷及品【石】」——與第二十九條之【經】補入校勘條同位並掛。同一語於本品兩見，皆記石本不依卷品之體例，如實並誌。其三，〔T25 0616a10〕之注，底本原樣「第七十九卷終【石】」——繫於品末句之後，與下帳第七十七條之石本夾註同指石本卷次（見第四目）。三條皆專誌於此，不另立條目。
rest 型注一條（專列）。 〔T25 0614a18〕「住」字之注除 type="mod" 外另有 type="rest" 一層，底本原樣「〔住〕－【宋】，〔如說〕【宮】」——即宋本刪「住」字、宮本於此增「如說」二字，而 app 層之 <rdg> 僅載宋本一讀（下帳第三十六條）。注層與 app 層之差如實誌錄，並列不判；其與所釋經重文分合之關係見第四目。
校記附註（傍註）一條·原樣保留（專列）。 〔T25 0616a10〕「礙【大】｜〔礙釋第六十四品竟，摩訶般若經卷第七十九〕【石】」（下帳第七十七條）——括注內即石本之品末收束記，並為 -1 階之第二端證與石本卷次之證（見第四目），本帳原樣保留不刪。
校勘總帳（七十八條全量對帳·底本原樣）。 下依底本出現序全量列之，內含 star 十條（定義處與共用處隨條標明），異本讀法並列保存，正文仍從現行底本讀法（第二十九、五十一條從【CB】欄）：
app 條（七十八·底本出現序·star-corresp 隨條標明）
- 〔T25 0612a04〕大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五【大】｜大智論釋度空品第六十五上【宋】｜大智論釋度空品第六十五品上【宮】｜大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五上【元】｜釋度空品第六十五之上【明】｜摩訶般若波羅品第六十四稱揚品【石】（品題注·品名兩造與石本 -1 階之底據·見第四目）
- 〔T25 0612a07〕為【大】｜〔－〕【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0612a11〕實【大】｜實法【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0612a16〕作【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】（四本刪「作」字·所成之讀正是所釋經底本之讀·見第四目）
- 〔T25 0612a17〕誓【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】（四本刪「誓」字·同上·見第四目）
- 〔T25 0612b19〕天【大】｜諸天【石】
- 〔T25 0612b19〕天【大】｜天四【宋】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0612b21〕及【大】｜〔－〕【石】
- 〔T25 0612b21〕薩【大】｜薩摩訶薩【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】
- 〔T25 0612b26〕世界【大】＊｜國土【石】＊（star·corresp→note(0608002)＝品六十四〈願樂品〉〔T25 0608a19〕注·跨品回指·石本之讀正是所釋經底本之讀·見第四目）
- 〔T25 0612b27〕復【大】｜復變【石】
- 〔T25 0612b29〕【論】【大】＊｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】＊（結構標記存否注·star·corresp→note(0609009)＝品六十四〈願樂品〉〔T25 0609c09〕注·跨品回指）
- 〔T25 0612c02〕法【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】
- 〔T25 0612c02〕法【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0612c14〕應【大】｜應作【石】
- 〔T25 0612c20〕亦【大】｜亦空【宋】【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0613a13〕處【大】｜虛【石】
- 〔T25 0613a15〕說【大】｜說法【石】
- 〔T25 0613a23〕漏【大】｜滿【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0613a28〕常【大】｜〔－〕【宮】
- 〔T25 0613a29〕驚、不應【大】｜〔－〕【石】
- 〔T25 0613b05〕空【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0613b06〕帝【大】｜天帝【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0613b13〕天【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【石】
- 〔T25 0613b14〕作【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0613b21〕論【大】｜論釋【宋】【宮】（卷末題之注）
- 〔T25 0613b24〕大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五之餘〔卷七十九〕【大】｜大智度論卷第七十九釋度空品第六十五品下〔訖第六十六品〕【宋】【宮】｜大智度論卷第七十九釋度空品第六十五下【明】｜大智度論卷第七十九釋度空品第六十五下〔訖第六十六品〕【元】（卷七十九續題注·lem 內含夾註「卷七十九」·宋宮元三本另帶夾註「訖第六十六品」·見第四目）
- 〔T25 0613b27〕聖者龍樹造【大】｜〔－〕【石】（造署注·石本無造署）
- 〔T25 0613b29〕【經】【CB】｜〔－〕【大】｜【經】【元】【明】【石】（CBETA 校訂層·底本原缺此結構標記·正文從【CB】欄·同位另掛點錨注「不分卷及品【石】」·見上專列）
- 〔T25 0613c06〕至【大】｜到【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】（五本作「到」·與所釋經底本合·見第四目）
- 〔T25 0613c17〕復【大】｜復次【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0613c19〕如【大】｜如是【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0613c29〕讚【大】｜讚嘆【石】
- 〔T25 0614a08〕時【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0614a12〕若【大】＊｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】＊（star 定義處·note(0614002)·所共用者見下第三十七條）
- 〔T25 0614a18〕住【大】｜〔－〕【宋】（另有 rest 型注一層「〔住〕－【宋】，〔如說〕【宮】」·app 層唯載宋本一讀·見上專列）
- 〔T25 0614a21〕若【大】＊｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】＊（star·corresp→note(0614002)＝本品〔T25 0614a12〕注·品內共用）
- 〔T25 0614a27〕言【大】｜說【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0614b16〕如【大】｜汝【宋】【元】【明】【宮】（四本作「汝」·與所釋經底本合·見第四目）
- 〔T25 0614b22〕【論】【大】＊｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】＊（結構標記存否注·star 定義處·note(0614006)·其共用者在次品〈囑累品〉〔T25 0618a25〕·由本品向後掛出）
- 〔T25 0614b22〕菩薩【大】｜〔－〕【石】
- 〔T25 0614c17〕諮【大】｜𧫎【明】
- 〔T25 0614c20〕授【大】｜受【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】
- 〔T25 0614c29〕世界【大】＊｜國【石】＊（star 定義處·note(0614010)·四處共用者見下第四十五、五十二、五十五、五十六條）
- 〔T25 0615a03〕世界【大】＊｜國【石】＊（star·corresp→note(0614010)＝本品〔T25 0614c29〕注·品內共用）
- 〔T25 0615a10〕愛【大】｜無愛【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615a11〕訾【大】｜呰【宮】
- 〔T25 0615a18〕力勢【大】｜勢力【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0615a18〕尸【大】｜師【明】
- 〔T25 0615a19〕故【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615a20〕曰【CB】｜言【大】｜曰【宋】【元】【明】【宮】（CBETA 校訂層·正文從【CB】欄·見上專列）
- 〔T25 0615a26〕世界【大】＊｜國【石】＊（star·corresp→note(0614010)·品內共用）
- 〔T25 0615a27〕佛【大】｜佛國【石】
- 〔T25 0615a27〕初【大】｜從初【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0615a28〕世界【大】＊｜國【石】＊（star·corresp→note(0614010)·品內共用）
- 〔T25 0615a29〕世界【大】＊｜國【石】＊（star·corresp→note(0614010)·品內共用）
- 〔T25 0615b01〕二【大】｜三【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】
- 〔T25 0615b02〕讚【大】｜說【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0615b02〕歎【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615b09〕揚【大】｜歎【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615b10〕稱【大】｜讚【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0615b12〕讚【大】｜稱【石】
- 〔T25 0615b13〕法忍【大】｜忍法【宋】【元】【明】【宮】（「無生法忍」／「無生忍法」二名之異·見第二目）
- 〔T25 0615b17〕苦【大】｜若【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615b19〕觀【大】｜觀門【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0615b24〕譽【大】｜舉【石】
- 〔T25 0615b25〕受【大】｜授【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615c07〕如【大】｜如是【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615c07〕信【大】｜以信【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615c11〕薩婆【大】｜菩薩【明】
- 〔T25 0615c18〕若【大】｜若波羅蜜【石】
- 〔T25 0615c20〕言【大】｜〔－〕【石】
- 〔T25 0615c25〕處【大】｜安處【元】【明】｜安住【石】
- 〔T25 0615c27〕欲【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615c29〕從何【大】｜何從【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】
- 〔T25 0616a10〕能【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0616a10〕礙【大】｜〔礙釋第六十四品竟，摩訶般若經卷第七十九〕【石】（校記附註〔傍註〕原樣保留·石本品末收束記·-1 階第二端證·見第四目）
- 〔T25 0616a10〕法【大】｜〔－〕【宮】【石】
以上七十八條與工作底本錨點校記之數機械相合（工作底本檔末清單七十八條·校勘條七十八），star 之目標已隨條標明。品題注與續題注已入此帳（與品六十二體例之異已見上文）；star 七枚、CBETA 校訂層二條、點錨注三條、rest 型注一條、校記附註一條已於上文專列。
所釋經 witness 對讀（已展開八處·餘未展開·誌闕待補）。 所釋經 T223 側本品對讀範圍〔T08 0360b09–0362a04〕內，其與本論互印之八處異文（大誓莊嚴／大莊嚴·不作證／不證·聞是法／聞是深法·世界／國土·名姓／名字·阿鞞跋致／阿惟越致·如憍尸迦／汝憍尸迦·虛誑不實不堅固／虛誑不實無所有不堅固）與品題之鏡像兩讀、丹本夾註，已逐條誌於第四目。餘條之逐條並錄未展開，據實誌其未展開，不以估值充數。
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; it crosses Fascicles 78 and 79, as a single unit. Fascicle 78 begins at〔T25 0607c20〕 and ends at〔T25 0613b21〕; the title at its head is still tied to the preceding chapter—「大智度論釋願樂品第六十四」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Aspiration and Delight, the Sixty-fourth"〔T25 0607c20〕, that is, Fascicle 78 opens with the chapter title of the preceding chapter serving also as its fascicle title. The chapter title of this chapter, 「大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Extolling, the Sixty-fifth"〔T25 0612a04〕, rises directly on the end of the preceding chapter, "Aspiration and Delight", the Sixty-fourth, with no fascicle title and no author's or translator's signature at the head of the chapter. After this, Fascicle 78 closes with the fascicle-end title 「大智度論卷第七十八」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Seventy-eight"〔T25 0613b21〕, and Fascicle 79 opens with this chapter's continuation title 「大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五之餘」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Extolling, the Sixty-fifth, the remainder"〔T25 0613b24〕, carrying in addition the author's signature 「聖者龍樹造」 tr. "Composed by the noble Nāgārjuna"〔T25 0613b27〕 and the translator's signature 「後秦龜茲國三藏鳩摩羅什譯」 tr. "Translated by Kumārajīva, Tripiṭaka master of Kucha, in the Later Qin"〔T25 0613b28〕. The body of the chapter ends at the sentence 「是故須菩提說無障無礙法。」 tr. "Therefore Subhūti teaches the dharma without hindrance and without obstruction."〔T25 0616a10〕; the title of the next chapter, 「大智度論釋囑累品第六十六」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Entrustment, the Sixty-sixth"〔T25 0616a11〕, follows directly after it. This chapter is therefore of the type ‘crossing fascicles · the fascicle boundary falling within the chapter’—different from the 「居卷中·不涉卷界」 tr. "lying within the fascicle · not touching a fascicle boundary" of Chapter 62, "Training Alike", and different also from the 「居卷末·品尾繫卷尾」 tr. "placed at the end of the fascicle · the chapter's end tied to the fascicle's end" of Chapter 53, "Tending toward Omniscience"; it belongs to the fascicle-crossing type together with Chapter 48, "The Mother of the Buddhas", yet the continuation title of Fascicle 79 in this chapter carries in addition the author's and translator's signatures, which the continuation title of Chapter 48 lacks; recorded separately, as they are.
The whole chapter has five thousand six hundred and sixty-four pure Chinese characters. The structure within the chapter is two 【經】 and two 【論】: 【經】①〔T25 0612a05〕, 【論】①〔T25 0612b29〕, 【經】②〔T25 0613b29〕, and 【論】②〔T25 0614b22〕. The collation state of the four structural markers differs in each case, and this is one distinctive point of this chapter: 【經】① has no collation note; 【論】① has a collation note (the two editions Song and Palace lack this marker · star · see Section VIII); 【經】② is originally missing in the base text, and CBETA adds it on the basis of the three texts Yuan, Ming, and Ishiyama (at that place there hangs in addition a point-anchor note, 「不分卷及品【石】」 tr. "no division of fascicle or chapter (Ishiyama)" · see Section VIII); 【論】② has a collation note (the two editions Song and Palace lack this marker · its note carries a star mark · see Section VIII). Whether a marker is present or absent belongs to the layer of the base text's transmission; the structural count still follows the tags of the current CBETA text.
The number of questions and answers, and the speaker structure: Sūtra ① opens with Śāriputra asking Subhūti〔T25 0612a05〕, and Subhūti replies to Śāriputra〔T25 0612a06〕; next it turns to the gods of the desire realm and the form realm, who 「作是念」 tr. "had this thought"〔T25 0612a12〕 (an inward reflection, with no outward recipient, different in nature from question and answer; recorded separately, as it is), and Subhūti speaks to the gods〔T25 0612a15〕; next it turns to the Buddha asking Subhūti〔T25 0612b08〕, Subhūti saying to the Buddha〔T25 0612b10〕, and the Buddha telling Subhūti〔T25 0612b20〕, which closes Sūtra ①. Although at the head of Sūtra ②〔T25 0613b29〕 there is a newly begun 【經】 marker, it has no marker of a fresh start of speech such as 「佛告」 tr. "the Buddha told" or 「爾時佛言」 tr. "at that time the Buddha said", and it goes straight on to 「須菩提！菩薩摩訶薩成就二法，魔不能壞。」 tr. "Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva accomplishes two dharmas, Māra cannot break him."〔T25 0613b29〕—following the thread of the Buddha's words at the end of Sūtra ① in the context above and below, it is judged to be the Buddha continuing to speak; it is noted here as 「承前段連續開示，未見換說標記」 tr. "a continuous teaching carried on from the preceding segment, with no marker of a change of speaker seen", and is not counted as uncertain. Below this, the changes of speaker that have explicit wording are: 〔T25 0613c25〕「須菩提白佛言」 tr. "Subhūti said to the Buddha" / 〔T25 0613c27〕「佛告須菩提」 tr. "the Buddha told Subhūti", 〔T25 0613c28〕「須菩提言」 tr. "Subhūti said" / 〔T25 0613c29〕「佛言」 tr. "the Buddha said", 〔T25 0614a19〕「須菩提白佛言」 tr. "Subhūti said to the Buddha" / 〔T25 0614a22〕「佛告須菩提」 tr. "the Buddha told Subhūti", 〔T25 0614a23〕「須菩提言」 tr. "Subhūti said" / 〔T25 0614a27〕「佛告須菩提」 tr. "the Buddha told Subhūti", and 〔T25 0614b02〕「佛言」 tr. "the Buddha said"; at the last it turns to Śakra Devānām Indra saying to the Buddha〔T25 0614b10〕, Subhūti speaking to Śakra Devānām Indra〔T25 0614b16〕, and Śakra Devānām Indra speaking to Subhūti〔T25 0614b19〕, which closes Sūtra ②.
Treatise ① begins the treatise with 「釋曰：」 tr. "The explanation says:"〔T25 0612b29〕 (a marker for beginning the treatise, not counted in the number of question-and-answer pairs), and its formal questions and answers are five groups: 〔T25 0612c20〕 question / 〔T25 0612c22〕 answer, 〔T25 0613a10〕 question / 〔T25 0613a11〕 answer, 〔T25 0613a15〕 question / 〔T25 0613a16〕 answer, 〔T25 0613a18〕 question / 〔T25 0613a19〕 answer, and 〔T25 0613a23〕 question / 〔T25 0613a25〕 answer. Treatise ② likewise begins the treatise with 「釋曰：」 tr. "The explanation says:"〔T25 0614b22〕, and has five groups of questions and answers: 〔T25 0614c20〕 question / 〔T25 0614c21〕 answer, 〔T25 0615a12〕 question / 〔T25 0615a13〕 answer, 〔T25 0615a17〕 question / 〔T25 0615a20〕 answer, 〔T25 0615b05〕 question / 〔T25 0615b05〕 answer, and 〔T25 0615c01〕 question / 〔T25 0615c02〕 answer. Counted character by character, 「問曰：」 tr. "Question:" occurs ten times and 「答曰：」 tr. "Answer:" ten times; the two numbers are equal and agree with the loci of the ten groups listed above, with no missing question and no missing answer. 「復次」 tr. "furthermore" is seen eleven times (〔T25 0613a12〕〔T25 0613a14〕〔T25 0613a21〕〔T25 0613c02〕〔T25 0614a02〕〔T25 0614a12〕〔T25 0615a22〕〔T25 0615a24〕〔T25 0615b12〕〔T25 0615b19〕〔T25 0615b28〕); 「有人言」 tr. "someone says" is seen once, in Treatise ①〔T25 0613a21〕.
Within Treatise ①, the passage from〔T25 0613a27〕 to〔T25 0613b20〕 is written in the style of sūtra-form dialogue—「須菩提白佛」 tr. "Subhūti said to the Buddha", 「須菩提答已，白佛言」 tr. "Subhūti, having answered, said to the Buddha"—and not in the style of the treatise-author's own question and answer, 「問曰／答曰」 tr. "Question / Answer"; and it comes directly before the fascicle-end title. This passage lies within the range of the structural marker 【論】① (beginning at〔T25 0612b29〕 and ending at〔T25 0613b29〕); following the conventions of this text it is judged to be the treatise-author's restatement of the sūtra's dialogue (the treatise-author continuing to cite the sūtra text in order to sum up what precedes), not an extension of the sūtra segment; the basis of this judgement is the position of the structural marker, which can be verified character by character.
II. Terms Examined
Extolling · acclaim · praise. The general name of the whole chapter lies in 「稱揚」 tr. "extolling". The sūtra establishes the matter by the Buddha's deed of speech: 「自讚歎稱揚是菩薩摩訶薩名姓」 tr. "themselves praise and extol the name and clan of this bodhisattva-mahāsattva"〔T25 0613c14〕, and those whom he extols have name and clan: 「如我今說法時，自稱揚寶相菩薩、尸棄菩薩。」 tr. "As I now, when I teach the Dharma, myself extol the bodhisattva Jewel Mark and the bodhisattva Śikhin."〔T25 0613c16〕. The Treatise explains why the Buddha has this extolling: 「讚歎善人，稱揚善法，毀訾不善。」 tr. "They praise good people, extol wholesome dharmas, and disparage what is unwholesome."〔T25 0615a10〕, and its criterion lies in the superiority or inferiority of virtue: 「其中有德行勝者，稱揚其名字。」 tr. "Among them, those whose virtuous conduct is superior, he extols by name."〔T25 0615b09〕. Used alongside 「稱揚」 tr. "extolling" is 「稱譽」 tr. "acclaim", seen in the treatise's simile and closing words: 「常為國王所稱譽」 tr. "is always acclaimed by the king"〔T25 0615a06〕. Within the range of this chapter, in the stream of Chinese characters, the word 「稱揚」 tr. "extolling" is seen nineteen times (one further occurrence in a CBETA table-of-contents marker is not counted; among them the chapter title〔T25 0612a04〕 and the continuation title of Fascicle 79〔T25 0613b24〕 one each), 「稱譽」 tr. "acclaim" six times (〔T25 0615a06〕〔T25 0615a08〕〔T25 0615a19〕〔T25 0615a28〕〔T25 0615b24〕〔T25 0615b25〕), and 「讚歎」 tr. "praise" twenty times, obtained by locating them one by one in the stream of Chinese characters.
Delivering space. The source of this chapter's variant name (for the two lines of the chapter name, see Section IV). Within the main text of the chapter body of this treatise there is no word 「度空」 tr. "delivering space" (re-scanned character by character over the range of this chapter, zero hits); the name is seen only in the chapter titles of the three editions Song, Palace, and Ming, and in the chapter title of the sūtra explained; its meaning, however, lies in the passage of the sūtra text 「是人欲度眾生，如欲度虛空。」 tr. "This person's wishing to deliver beings is like wishing to deliver space."〔T25 0612a21〕 and 「為欲與虛空共鬪。」 tr. "It is wishing to fight together with space."〔T25 0612a27〕. Jizang sets up the name on this very basis and explains his reason himself (see Section VI). The variant name takes its meaning from the meaning of the section, not from a solitary occurrence of the word; recorded as it is.
A dharma without true reality. The eye of the question and answer with which the chapter opens. The sūtra: 「菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，為行無真實法。」 tr. "The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises prajñāpāramitā practises a dharma without true reality."〔T25 0612a07〕; the reason lies precisely in prajñā itself being without true reality: 「無真實不可得，何況真實！」 tr. "What is without true reality is unfindable, how much less the true and real!"〔T25 0612a10〕. The Treatise first glosses the meaning of 「真實」 tr. "true and real": 「真實法者，審定、不變異，即是可取、可著；若不真實，即是虛誑妄語。」 tr. "A true and real dharma is settled and certain and does not change; this is what can be taken hold of and can be clung to; if it is not true and real, it is false and deceptive, lying speech."〔T25 0612c02〕, and again gathers it in by the two truths: 「世諦故說真實；第一義中真實不可得，何況不真實！」 tr. "By reason of worldly truth the true and real is spoken of; within the highest meaning the true and real is unfindable, how much less the not true and real!"〔T25 0612c11〕—neither of the two names, the true and real and the not true and real, can be held on to; this is what 「無真實」 tr. "without true reality" points to.
The dharma of equality · the equal dharma · the highest meaning. The sūtra writes 「等法」 tr. "the dharma of equality": 「行於等法，不作實際證」 tr. "practises in the dharma of equality and does not take the realisation of the limit of reality"〔T25 0612a14〕; the Treatise glosses it straightway by other names: 「第一義即是平等法，但以異名說。」 tr. "The highest meaning is the equal dharma; it is only spoken of by a different name."〔T25 0612c15〕—three names with one referent, stated by the treatise-author himself, not matched up by later people.
Two dharmas (contemplating emptiness · not abandoning beings). The headline of Sūtra ②: 「觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生。」 tr. "He contemplates all dharmas as empty, and he does not abandon any being."〔T25 0613c01〕; the second pair, brought out separately, is 「所作如所言，亦為諸佛所念。」 tr. "What he does is as what he says, and he is also kept in mind by the buddhas."〔T25 0613c04〕. The Treatise explains that neither may be neglected: 「有二道：一者、悲，二者、空。」 tr. "There are two paths: the first is compassion, the second is emptiness."〔T25 0614b28〕, and brings out one by one the fault of holding to one side: 「若但有憐愍心、無智慧，則心沒在無眾生而有眾生顛倒中；若但有空心，捨憐愍度眾生心，則墮斷滅中。」 tr. "If he only has the mind of pity and has no wisdom, then his mind sinks into the inversion of there being beings where there are no beings; if he only has the mind of emptiness and abandons the mind of pitying and delivering beings, then he falls into annihilation."〔T25 0614b29〕. The way to hold both lies in emptiness too being empty: 「觀一切法空，空亦空故不著空，是故不妨憐愍眾生」 tr. "He contemplates all dharmas as empty, and because emptiness too is empty he does not cling to emptiness; therefore it does not hinder pitying beings"〔T25 0614c05〕.
Avaivartika. The first class of persons extolled by the Buddha. The sūtra: 「阿鞞跋致菩薩，諸佛說法時，自讚歎稱揚。」 tr. "The avaivartika bodhisattva—when the buddhas teach the Dharma, they themselves praise and extol him."〔T25 0613c27〕; the Treatise takes as its proof his being able to cut off the grounds and receive the prediction: 「能斷二地、得受記」 tr. "can cut off the two grounds and receive the prediction"〔T25 0615b24〕. 「阿鞞跋致」 tr. "avaivartika" is seen nine times within the range of this chapter (〔T25 0613c27〕〔T25 0613c29〕〔T25 0614a02〕〔T25 0614a11〕〔T25 0614a16〕〔T25 0615b24〕〔T25 0615c05〕〔T25 0615c07〕〔T25 0615c08〕). In the same position the sūtra explained has 「阿惟越致」 tr. "avaivartika" throughout (see Section IV).
The dharma of the acceptance of non-arising · the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas · the compliant acceptance of dharmas. The second class of persons extolled by the Buddha, standing precisely in the position of 「未得」 tr. "not yet obtained". The sūtra: 「信解一切法無生，未得無生忍法」 tr. "has faith in and understands that all dharmas are non-arising, and has not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising"〔T25 0614a03〕; the Treatise fixes where he stands by the sequence of the three acceptances: 「是人出柔順法忍、未得無生法忍，出凡夫法、未入聖法」 tr. "This person has gone out from the compliant acceptance of dharmas and has not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, has gone out from the dharma of ordinary people and has not yet entered the dharma of the sages"〔T25 0615b21〕—gone out from compliant acceptance yet not reached non-arising, gone out from the ordinary yet not entered the sagely: this is why he is rare. Within the range of this chapter 「無生忍法」 tr. "the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising" is seen six times, 「無生法忍」 tr. "the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas" three times (〔T25 0615b13〕〔T25 0615b22〕〔T25 0615b26〕), and 「柔順法忍」 tr. "the compliant acceptance of dharmas" once (〔T25 0615b22〕); the two names point to one and the same thing, yet the sūtra segment uses 「無生忍法」 tr. "the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising" and the final part of the treatise segment turns to 「無生法忍」 tr. "the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas"; recorded separately, as they are, without unifying them on anyone's behalf. Huiying's Commentary has here in addition a teacher's saying (see Section VI).
The three gates · the three gates of liberation. The Treatise explains the three phrases of the sūtra, 「無生／空／虛誑不實不堅固」 tr. "non-arising / empty / false and deceptive, not real, not firm", by a twofold matching. First, it matches them to the gates of the three seals of the Dharma: 「虛誑、不實、不堅固者，皆是無常、苦、無我門。」 tr. "False and deceptive, not real, not firm—these are all the gates of impermanence, suffering, and non-self."〔T25 0615b16〕; second, it matches them to the three gates of liberation: 「虛誑、不實、不堅固，即是無作解脫門；一切法空，即是空解脫門；一切法無生，即是無相解脫門。」 tr. "False and deceptive, not real, not firm—this is the gate of liberation of non-action; all dharmas are empty—this is the gate of liberation of emptiness; all dharmas are non-arising—this is the gate of liberation of the signless."〔T25 0615b19〕, and gathers them in with 「如是等三種差別。」 tr. "Such are the three kinds of distinction."〔T25 0615b21〕—one and the same sūtra text receives two matchings, which the treatise-author himself marks as 「三種差別」 tr. "three kinds of distinction"; they are not two contradictory accounts.
Suchness · sarvajñā. The sūtra answers with 「如」 tr. "suchness" the question of 「住」 tr. "abiding": 「菩薩摩訶薩住諸法如中，住薩婆若。」 tr. "The bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides within the suchness of all dharmas and abides in sarvajñā."〔T25 0614a22〕; the Treatise at once glosses suchness by emptiness: 「如者即是空。菩薩住是畢竟空中，名為住薩婆若。」 tr. "Suchness is emptiness. The bodhisattva's abiding within this ultimate emptiness is called abiding in sarvajñā."〔T25 0615c11〕. The reason why it cannot be abided in also comes from suchness having none of the three marks: 「若法無三相，即是畢竟空」 tr. "If a dharma has none of the three marks, it is ultimate emptiness"〔T25 0615c16〕.
The five kinds of vajra-holding spirits. The Treatise explains the retribution on the reverse side of 「所作如所言」 tr. "what he does is as what he says": 「則五種執金剛神捨離、不復守護，惡鬼得便。」 tr. "then the five kinds of vajra-holding spirits abandon him and no longer guard him, and evil ghosts find an opening."〔T25 0614c10〕—this phrase is seen once in this chapter. Huiying's Commentary here compares the number with that of an earlier chapter (see Section VI).
III. Similes and Stories
This chapter has five chief similes, all tied to the meaning explained, none set up at random.
The tamed horse seeing its own shadow (the simile of not being startled). The Treatise explains the bodhisattva's mind not being startled on hearing of ultimate emptiness: 「譬如調馬，自見影不驚。」 tr. "As a tamed horse, seeing its own shadow, is not startled."〔T25 0612c29〕—why is it not startled? 「自知影從身出故。」 tr. "Because it knows of itself that the shadow comes out of its body."〔T25 0613a01〕. The force of the simile lies in the three Chinese characters 「從身出」 tr. "comes out of its body": what is feared is not something come from outside, it is what one has oneself cast. The Treatise at once matches it to the teaching: the bodhisattva knows ultimate emptiness, and dharmas arise 「因有為和合虛妄法生故。」 tr. "because they are born from conditioned, compounded, false dharmas."〔T25 0613a02〕—knowing where they come from, he is not startled.
The sun and moon needing one another (the simile of using the two paths together). The Treatise explains why contemplating emptiness and not abandoning beings may neither be neglected, taking the most ordinary thing between heaven and earth: 「以日月因緣故，萬物潤生。」 tr. "By the causes and conditions of the sun and the moon, the ten thousand things are moistened and grow."〔T25 0614b25〕; the fault of neglecting one of them is already present in this simile: 「但有月而無日，則萬物濕壞；但有日而無月，則萬物燋爛。」 tr. "With only the moon and no sun, the ten thousand things would be wet and ruined; with only the sun and no moon, the ten thousand things would be scorched and spoiled."〔T25 0614b25〕; having both, they are accomplished: 「日、月和合故，萬物成熟。」 tr. "Because the sun and the moon come together, the ten thousand things ripen."〔T25 0614b27〕. At the end the Treatise gathers it in with one phrase: 「如日月相須。」 tr. "As the sun and moon need one another."〔T25 0614c09〕—emptiness and compassion are not the adding together of two things; they need one another, and only then does each stand.
Fish-roe not kept in mind by the mother (the simile of being kept in mind by the buddhas). The Treatise explains why 「亦為諸佛所念」 tr. "he is also kept in mind by the buddhas" matters: 「如魚子不為母念，則爛壞不生。」 tr. "As fish-roe, when the mother does not keep them in mind, rot and are ruined and do not come to life."〔T25 0614c13〕—what is kept in mind is not a reward, it is the spark of life; not kept in mind, the roots of goodness rot of themselves. This simile is directly linked with the phrase just before it, 「則善根朽壞」 tr. "then his roots of goodness rot and are ruined"〔T25 0614c13〕.
A great king has a great general (the simile of being acclaimed by the Buddha). The Treatise explains why the buddhas acclaim bodhisattvas: 「如大國王有大將，不惜身命，有方便能破怨敵，常為國王所稱譽」 tr. "As a great king has a great general who does not spare his body or life, has skilful means, can break the enemy, and is always acclaimed by the king"〔T25 0615a04〕—what is acclaimed lies not in his rank but in his not sparing body and life while having skilful means. The matching too is set out item by item: the bodhisattva 「觀畢竟空，不惜我身，破煩惱賊，有方便而不作證，教化眾生，諸佛所稱譽。」 tr. "contemplates ultimate emptiness, does not spare his own body, breaks the thieves of the afflictions, has skilful means and yet does not take realisation, teaches and transforms beings, and is acclaimed by the buddhas."〔T25 0615a06〕—the item 「不作證」 tr. "does not take realisation" is peculiar to the bodhisattva, and the simile of the great general has nothing to correspond to it; the treatise-author added it himself; recorded separately, as it is.
Shooting upward into space (the simile of teaching the Dharma without obstruction). This simile first appears in the sūtra, as Śakra Devānām Indra's words of praise: 「譬如仰射空中，箭去無礙；須菩提說法無礙亦如是。」 tr. "As when one shoots upward into space, the arrow goes without obstruction; Subhūti's teaching of the Dharma without obstruction is also like this."〔T25 0614b21〕; the Treatise, at the end of the chapter, takes it apart word by word, with a threefold matching: 「虛空即是畢竟空，箭是須菩提智慧。」 tr. "Space is ultimate emptiness; the arrow is Subhūti's wisdom."〔T25 0616a05〕, 「如箭於空無礙，勢盡自墮，非為空盡」 tr. "as an arrow in space is without obstruction, and when its force is exhausted it falls of itself, not because space is exhausted"〔T25 0616a06〕—the arrow's falling is not because space is exhausted, and the teaching's stopping is not because the Dharma is exhausted; it also brings out the reverse side: 「若有人雖有利箭，射壁不能過；人雖有利智慧，邪見著有，則礙而不能通。」 tr. "If there is a person who, though he has a sharp arrow, shoots at a wall, it cannot pass through; though a person has sharp wisdom, if by wrong views he clings to existence, then he is obstructed and cannot get through."〔T25 0616a08〕. Each of the three limbs of the simile (space · arrow · wall) has something it is matched to; it is not a simile set up at random. The stream of Chinese characters 「譬如仰射空中」 tr. "as when one shoots upward into space" is seen three times in the whole of T25n1509 (〔T25 0197c17〕〔T25 0614b21〕〔T25 0616a05〕), twice in this chapter, obtained by re-scanning string by string.
IV. The Sūtra Passage Explained
The two lines of the chapter name: Extolling / Delivering Space (recorded side by side without judgement). The chapter name of this chapter has two lines, recorded one by one on the basis of the base text. First, "Extolling"—the chapter title of the base text of this treatise〔T25 0612a04〕, 「大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Extolling, the Sixty-fifth", whose sūtra warrant is the matter in the sūtra text, 「自讚歎稱揚是菩薩摩訶薩名姓」 tr. "themselves praise and extol the name and clan of this bodhisattva-mahāsattva"〔T25 0613c14〕. Second, "Delivering Space"—the Song edition has 「大智論釋度空品第六十五上」 tr. "Treatise on Great Wisdom, Commentary on the Chapter on Delivering Space, the Sixty-fifth, first part" (「大智論」 tr. "Treatise on Great Wisdom" omits one character, 「度」 tr. "crossing"; the 「上」 tr. "first part" appended at the end is a mark of fascicle division), the Palace edition has 「大智論釋度空品第六十五品上」 tr. "Treatise on Great Wisdom, Commentary on the Chapter on Delivering Space, the Sixty-fifth chapter, first part", and the Ming edition has 「釋度空品第六十五之上」 tr. "Commentary on the Chapter on Delivering Space, the Sixty-fifth, its first part" (deleting 「大智度論」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa"); all three name the chapter 「度空」 tr. "Delivering Space", and what they are based on is the passage of the sūtra text 「是人欲度眾生，如欲度虛空。」 tr. "This person's wishing to deliver beings is like wishing to deliver space."〔T25 0612a21〕. The Yuan edition, however, has 「大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五上」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Extolling, the Sixty-fifth, first part"—its chapter name is the same as the base text, 「稱揚」 tr. "Extolling", with only the addition of the character 「上」 tr. "first part"; the Ishiyama text has 「摩訶般若波羅品第六十四稱揚品」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāra, the Sixty-fourth Chapter, the Chapter on Extolling" (in the form of a sūtra title · chapter order -1 · its title too has 「稱揚」 tr. "Extolling" · below 「摩訶般若波羅」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāra" there is no character 「蜜」 tr. "-mitā", recorded as it stands in the base text). Therefore the distribution of the two lines on the side of this treatise is: the base text, the Yuan, and the Ishiyama have 「稱揚」 tr. "Extolling"; the Song, the Palace, and the Ming have 「度空」 tr. "Delivering Space"—not 「宋元明宮」 tr. "Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace" as one body; here the Yuan edition belongs to the same line as the base text; recorded separately, as it is.
The two lines of the continuation title of Fascicle 79 (internal inconsistency in the Yuan edition · noted separately). The continuation title of Fascicle 79〔T25 0613b24〕 in the base text reads 「大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五之餘」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Commentary on the Chapter on Extolling, the Sixty-fifth, the remainder"; among the variant texts, the Song and Palace have 「大智度論卷第七十九釋度空品第六十五品下〔訖第六十六品〕」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Seventy-nine, Commentary on the Chapter on Delivering Space, the Sixty-fifth chapter, second part [ending at the Sixty-sixth chapter]", the Yuan has 「大智度論卷第七十九釋度空品第六十五下〔訖第六十六品〕」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Seventy-nine, Commentary on the Chapter on Delivering Space, the Sixty-fifth, second part [ending at the Sixty-sixth chapter]", and the Ming has 「大智度論卷第七十九釋度空品第六十五下」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Seventy-nine, Commentary on the Chapter on Delivering Space, the Sixty-fifth, second part"—the Yuan edition has 「稱揚」 tr. "Extolling" at the chapter title and 「度空」 tr. "Delivering Space" at the continuation title; two readings stand side by side within one and the same edition, recorded as it is, without forcing an explanation. Further, the three editions Song, Palace, and Yuan here have the interlinear note 「訖第六十六品」 tr. "ending at the Sixty-sixth chapter" (the Ming lacks it); that is, these three editions let the passage of 「之餘」 tr. "the remainder" cover as far as the next chapter, "Entrustment", which is out of step with the base text's separately setting up the title of the next chapter within Fascicle 79〔T25 0616a11〕—this is a divergence between the interlinear notes on fascicle division and on chapter division; recorded as it is.
The mirror-image pair of readings of the chapter title of the sūtra explained (the eye of this section). On the side of the sūtra explained, T223, the chapter title of this chapter〔T08 0360b09〕 reads 「摩訶般若波羅蜜經度空品第六十五」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, the Chapter on Delivering Space, the Sixty-fifth", and its note says 「度空【大】，稱揚【宋】【宮】【聖】」 tr. "Delivering Space (Taishō); Extolling (Song, Palace, Shōgozō)"—the T223 base text has 「度空」 tr. "Delivering Space", while the three editions Song, Palace, and Shōgozō have, on the contrary, 「稱揚」 tr. "Extolling". Set against the note on the chapter title on the side of this treatise (the base text has 「稱揚」 tr. "Extolling"; the three editions Song, Palace, and Ming have 「度空」 tr. "Delivering Space"), the collation notes of the two lines form exactly a mirror image: the base-text reading of this treatise (Extolling) is exactly the reading of the variant texts of T223, and the base-text reading of T223 (Delivering Space) is exactly the reading of the variant texts of this treatise. The two readings of the chapter name, 「稱揚／度空」 tr. "Extolling / Delivering Space", are not a drifting within one canon, but two readings which the transmissions of the two canons each hold side by side; recorded as it is, without judging which is correct. The chapter title has in addition one interlinear note〔T08 0360b10〕, which reads 「丹稱揚品」 tr. "Khitan: Chapter on Extolling"—the name marked by the interlinear note of the Khitan edition is also 「稱揚品」 tr. "Chapter on Extolling", of the same line as the base text of this treatise; the note on that interlinear note says 「丹…品【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】，廿九【聖】」 tr. "Khitan … chapter (Taishō); [absent] (Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace); twenty-nine (Shōgozō)", that is, the four editions Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace lack this interlinear note, and the Shōgozō has at this place the fascicle number 「廿九」 tr. "twenty-nine"; recorded side by side as it is.
The +1 offset of the n attribute of the T223 mulu (continuing). On the side of the sūtra explained, T223, the mulu of this chapter is marked n="66", while the displayed text marks it 「65 度空品」 tr. "65 Chapter on Delivering Space"〔T08 0360b09〕—the +1 offset of the n attribute has been seen repeatedly since Chapter 41 and continues in this chapter (the standing convention already recorded from Chapter 48 on; not judged again). The chapters before and after are of the same pattern: 「64 淨願品」 tr. "64 Chapter on Pure Vow" n="65"〔T08 0358b16〕, and 「66 累教品」 tr. "66 Chapter on Entrusting the Teaching" n="67"〔T08 0362a10〕.
On the T223 side the chapter boundary is tied to the fascicle's end (different from the side of this treatise). Fascicle 19 of the sūtra explained begins at〔T08 0355c13〕; the chapter title of this chapter〔T08 0360b09〕 lies in its middle section, and this chapter ends at the fascicle-end title 「摩訶般若波羅蜜經卷第十九」 tr. "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Fascicle Nineteen"〔T08 0362a04〕—on the T223 side this chapter is tied to the fascicle's end; Fascicle 20 begins at〔T08 0362a07〕, and the chapter title of the next chapter, "Entrusting the Teaching"〔T08 0362a10〕, follows directly after it. The side of this treatise, by contrast, crosses Fascicles 78 and 79 (see Section I); the two transmissions do not agree on the division of fascicle and chapter at this chapter; recorded as it is.
Chapter order -1 step (continuing in the Ishiyama text · with notes at the fascicle's head and end). The Ishiyama text's chapter title has 「第六十四」 tr. "the Sixty-fourth", one less than the base text's 「第六十五」 tr. "the Sixty-fifth", in the same direction and by the same amount as has been traced forward chapter by chapter from Chapter 44 on—the chain of the -1 step continues in this chapter. Within the range of this chapter the -1 step is seen at one further point: the note on the character 「礙」 tr. "obstruction" at the end of the chapter, where the Ishiyama text has 「礙〔礙釋第六十四品竟，摩訶般若經卷第七十九〕」 tr. "obstruction [obstruction; the Commentary on the Sixty-fourth Chapter ends; Mahāprajñā Sūtra, Fascicle Seventy-nine]" (entry seventy-seven of the ledger below)—the interlinear note of the type 「釋某品竟」 tr. "the Commentary on such-and-such Chapter ends" at the chapter's end and the chapter title confirm each other at two layers, both having 「六十四」 tr. "sixty-four"; it is not a solitary proof; and that interlinear note at the same time records the Ishiyama text's fascicle number, 「卷第七十九」 tr. "Fascicle Seventy-nine", that is, the Ishiyama text makes the end of this chapter the end of its Fascicle 79, whereas the base text's Fascicle 79 ends only at〔T25 0620c12〕; the two tracks of fascicle and chapter in the base text and the Ishiyama text do not coincide; recorded as it is, without forcing an explanation. At the same position there is in addition a point-anchor note, 「第七十九卷終【石】」 tr. "end of Fascicle Seventy-nine (Ishiyama)"〔T25 0616a10〕 (without an app · see Section VIII), pointing to the same thing as the proof above. Huiying's Commentary too numbers the chapter itself as 「第六十四品」 tr. "the Sixty-fourth chapter" (see Section VI), but that belongs to the commentator's internal numbering, not to the variants of the base text; different in nature, and distinguished as it is.
Full reading of the sūtra as cited against the sūtra explained (collation of the two sides · eight variant places · noting at each place whether there is a collation note). Sūtra ① and Sūtra ② of this treatise and "Delivering Space" of the sūtra explained are almost identical word for word; they differ in eight places:
- the great adornment of the oath / the great adornment—this treatise has 「諸菩薩摩訶薩大誓莊嚴：『我當度無量無邊阿僧祇眾生。』」 tr. "The bodhisattva-mahāsattvas' great adornment of the oath: ‘I shall deliver immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya beings.’"〔T25 0612a17〕, and T223 has 「諸菩薩摩訶薩大莊嚴」 tr. "the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas' great adornment"〔T08 0360b23〕, lacking one character, 「誓」 tr. "oath". On the side of this treatise there is a note here, 「誓【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "oath (Taishō) | [absent] (Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace)" (entry five of the ledger below)—the four editions Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace lack the character 「誓」 tr. "oath", and the reading so formed is exactly the reading of the T223 base text; on the T223 side there is no collation note here.
- does not take realisation / does not realise—this treatise has 「諸菩薩摩訶薩於等法不作證聲聞、辟支佛地，不為難。」 tr. "That the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas within the dharma of equality do not take realisation of the śrāvaka ground or the pratyekabuddha ground is not hard."〔T25 0612a16〕, and T223 has 「於等法不證聲聞、辟支佛地，不為難。」 tr. "That within the dharma of equality they do not realise the śrāvaka ground or the pratyekabuddha ground is not hard."〔T08 0360b22〕. On the side of this treatise there is a note here, 「作【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "take (Taishō) | [absent] (Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace)" (entry four of the ledger below)—the four editions delete the character 「作」 tr. "take", and the reading so formed is again exactly the reading of the T223 base text; on the T223 side there is no collation note. These two places come out consecutively in the same passage as the preceding one; the four editions' deletion of a character is seen twice, in the same direction; recorded side by side as it is.
- hears this dharma / hears this deep dharma—this treatise has 「若菩薩摩訶薩聞是法，心不驚、不沒」 tr. "If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, hearing this dharma, has a mind that is not startled and does not sink"〔T25 0612b01〕, and T223 has 「若菩薩摩訶薩聞是深法，心不驚不沒」 tr. "If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, hearing this deep dharma, has a mind that is not startled and does not sink"〔T08 0360c08〕, with one character more, 「深」 tr. "deep". Neither of the two lines has a collation note here; it belongs to the differences of wording between the transmissions; recorded as it is, without judging the reading of one line by that of the other.
- world / land—this treatise has 「若恒河沙等世界中眾生悉使為魔」 tr. "if the beings in worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges were all made Māras"〔T25 0612b25〕, and T223 has 「若如恒河沙等國土中眾生悉使為魔」 tr. "if the beings in lands as many as the sands of the Ganges were all made Māras"〔T08 0361a04〕. On the side of this treatise this is a star note, 「世界【大】＊｜國土【石】＊」 tr. "world (Taishō)* | land (Ishiyama)*" (entry ten of the ledger below · its note hangs in the preceding chapter, "Aspiration and Delight" · see Section VIII)—the Ishiyama text has 「國土」 tr. "land", agreeing precisely with the reading of the T223 base text; on the T223 side there is no collation note here. For the word 「世界」 tr. "world" in this chapter, the Ishiyama text has in five further places 「國」 tr. "country" rather than 「國土」 tr. "land" (entries forty-four, forty-five, fifty-two, fifty-five, and fifty-six of the ledger below); the Ishiyama text's wording differs between these two types; distinguished as it is, not merged.
- name and clan / name—this treatise has 「歡喜自讚歎稱揚名姓」 tr. "rejoicing, they themselves praise and extol his name and clan"〔T25 0614a07〕, and T223 has 「歡喜自讚歎稱揚名字」 tr. "rejoicing, they themselves praise and extol his name"〔T08 0361b16〕. Neither of the two lines has a collation note here; however, where the treatise segment of this treatise explains this sūtra it writes straightway 「稱揚其名字。」 tr. "he extols them by name."〔T25 0615b09〕 and 「佛稱名讚歎」 tr. "the Buddha names and praises them"〔T25 0615b16〕; when the treatise-author cites the sūtra he already uses 「名字」 tr. "name", the same as the sūtra explained; recorded separately, as it is.
- avaivartika in its two transliterations—this treatise has 「阿鞞跋致菩薩，諸佛說法時，自讚歎稱揚。」 tr. "The avaivartika bodhisattva—when the buddhas teach the Dharma, they themselves praise and extol him."〔T25 0613c27〕, and T223 has 「阿惟越致菩薩，諸佛說法時自讚歎稱揚。」 tr. "The avaivartika bodhisattva—when the buddhas teach the Dharma they themselves praise and extol him."〔T08 0361b06〕. Neither of the two lines has a collation note here; further, re-scanning the stream of Chinese characters in both directions: 「阿鞞跋致」 tr. "avaivartika" is seen nine times within the range of this chapter and zero times within the range of this chapter in T223; 「阿惟越致」 tr. "avaivartika" is seen zero times within the range of this chapter and seven times within the range of this chapter in T223—the habits of the two canons in rendering the name each form their own system; it is not a chance difference at one place in this chapter; recorded as it is.
- ‘as Kauśika’ / ‘you, Kauśika’—this treatise has 「如憍尸迦說：『菩薩摩訶薩所為甚難』」 tr. "As Kauśika says: ‘What the bodhisattva-mahāsattva does is very hard’"〔T25 0614b16〕, and T223 has 「汝憍尸迦說菩薩摩訶薩所為甚難」 tr. "You, Kauśika, say that what the bodhisattva-mahāsattva does is very hard"〔T08 0361c27〕. On the side of this treatise there is a note here, 「如【大】｜汝【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "as (Taishō) | you (Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace)" (entry thirty-nine of the ledger below)—the four editions have 「汝」 tr. "you", agreeing precisely with the reading of the T223 base text; on the T223 side there is no collation note.
- false and deceptive, not real, not firm / false and deceptive, not real, without anything existent, not firm—this treatise has 「信解一切法虛誑、不實、不堅固，未得無生忍法。」 tr. "has faith in and understands that all dharmas are false and deceptive, not real, not firm, and has not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising."〔T25 0614a05〕, and T223 has 「信解一切法虛誑不實、無所有、不堅固，未得無生忍法。」 tr. "has faith in and understands that all dharmas are false and deceptive, not real, without anything existent, not firm, and has not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising."〔T08 0361b13〕, with the three characters 「無所有」 tr. "without anything existent" in addition. Neither of the two lines has a collation note here; where the treatise segment of this treatise twice cites these three names, it has three limbs in both places (「虛誑、不實、不堅固者，皆是無常、苦、無我門。」 tr. "False and deceptive, not real, not firm—these are all the gates of impermanence, suffering, and non-self."〔T25 0615b16〕, 「虛誑、不實、不堅固，即是無作解脫門」 tr. "False and deceptive, not real, not firm—this is the gate of liberation of non-action"〔T25 0615b19〕); the text of the sūtra on which the treatise-author relied has three limbs, as does the base text of this treatise; recorded as it is.
Two further places noted (the sūtra text the same, but the treatise segment's matching distinguishable · not variants). First, 「是諸天皆來至菩薩所，親近、諮問、勸喻、安慰」 tr. "These gods all come to where the bodhisattva is, draw near, enquire, exhort, and comfort"〔T25 0613c05〕 / T223 has 「是諸天皆來到菩薩所，親近諮問勸喻安慰」 tr. "These gods all arrive at where the bodhisattva is, draw near, enquire, exhort, and comfort"〔T08 0361a13〕—on the side of this treatise there is a note, 「至【大】｜到【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】」 tr. "come to (Taishō) | arrive at (Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, Ishiyama)" (entry thirty of the ledger below); the five texts all have 「到」 tr. "arrive at", agreeing with the T223 base text. Second, in the passage 「如說住、如說行」 tr. "abides as taught, practises as taught", T223 has 「如說住、如說行、如說住。如說行已，住一切種智中。」 tr. "abides as taught, practises as taught, abides as taught. Having practised as taught, he abides within the omniscience of all kinds."〔T08 0361b27〕, and this treatise has 「如說住、如說行；如說住、行已，住一切種智中。」 tr. "abides as taught, practises as taught; having abided and practised as taught, he abides within the omniscience of all kinds."〔T25 0614a18〕—on the side of this treatise there is a note here, 「住【大】｜〔－〕【宋】」 tr. "abide (Taishō) | [absent] (Song)", and a note of the rest type, 「〔住〕－【宋】，〔如說〕【宮】」 tr. "[abide] − (Song); [as taught] (Palace)" (entry thirty-six of the ledger below · see Section VIII); the joining and dividing of the repeated words differ in the two lines, and the collation notes too are in two layers; recorded side by side as it is, without forcing an explanation.
Control group (seven strings · each seen only once in each of the two canons · one-to-one in position). 「虛空虛誑，當知眾生亦虛誑。」 tr. "Space is false and deceptive; know that beings too are false and deceptive."〔T25 0612a24〕 / 〔T08 0360c02〕; 「不得沒者、不得沒事、不得沒處」 tr. "does not find one who sinks, does not find a matter of sinking, does not find a place of sinking"〔T25 0612b13〕 / 〔T08 0360c20〕; 「觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生。」 tr. "He contemplates all dharmas as empty, and he does not abandon any being."〔T25 0613c01〕 / 〔T08 0361a08〕; 「自稱揚寶相菩薩、尸棄菩薩。」 tr. "I myself extol the bodhisattva Jewel Mark and the bodhisattva Śikhin."〔T25 0613c16〕 / 〔T08 0361a24〕; 「冥者為作明，盲者為作眼。」 tr. "For those in darkness they become light; for the blind they become eyes."〔T25 0613c12〕 / 〔T08 0361a19〕; 「菩薩摩訶薩住諸法如中，住薩婆若。」 tr. "The bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides within the suchness of all dharmas and abides in sarvajñā."〔T25 0614a22〕 / 〔T08 0361c03〕; 「誰驚、誰沒？誰怖、誰畏？誰疑、誰悔？」 tr. "Who is startled, who sinks? Who is terrified, who is afraid? Who doubts, who regrets?"〔T25 0614b18〕 / 〔T08 0361c29〕. The stream of Chinese characters of each of the above seven strings is seen only once in the whole of T25n1509 and in the whole of T08n0223 (each string independently re-scanned in the base texts of the two canons by the full-text method, not copied from elsewhere); they are one-to-one in position, with no other chapter to confuse them with. Two further strings whose number of occurrences is not one are noted, so as not to make up numbers with estimates: 「為行真實法？為行無真實法？」 tr. "Is it practising a true and real dharma? Is it practising a dharma without true reality?" is seen twice in the whole of T25n1509 (〔T25 0612a06〕〔T25 0612c02〕, once in the sūtra and once where the treatise-author cites the sūtra), and once in the whole of T08n0223〔T08 0360b12〕; 「譬如仰射空中」 tr. "as when one shoots upward into space" is seen three times in the whole of T25n1509 (〔T25 0197c17〕〔T25 0614b21〕〔T25 0616a05〕, the first of them outside this chapter), and once in the whole of T08n0223〔T08 0362a02〕. The judgement is 「同品異名」 tr. "different name, same chapter" (the chapter body almost identical word for word; for the differences in the chapter name, see above). The 【論】 layer of this treatise is a structural expansion belonging to the treatise form; the sūtra explained has no such layer, and it is not a variant.
V. The Prajñā Eye
The eye of this chapter lies in the two Chinese characters 「稱揚」 tr. "extolling" landing in a place that looks least of all like a reward—those whom the Buddha extols are first persons already accomplished, and then also those who have not yet arrived and yet already look as if they had. Its meaning can be summed up in five layers.
First, practising prajñā is practising what is without true reality. Śāriputra's question at the opening goes straight to the root: is practising prajñā practising a true and real dharma, or a dharma without true reality? Subhūti answers without the least hesitation: 「菩薩摩訶薩行般若波羅蜜，為行無真實法。」 tr. "The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises prajñāpāramitā practises a dharma without true reality."〔T25 0612a07〕—the reason lies not in the practitioner but in prajñā itself: 「無真實不可得，何況真實！」 tr. "What is without true reality is unfindable, how much less the true and real!"〔T25 0612a10〕. The treatise-author, fearing that people will set up 「無真實」 tr. "without true reality" once more as a real dharma, first glosses the meaning of 「真實」 tr. "true and real": 「真實法者，審定、不變異，即是可取、可著」 tr. "A true and real dharma is settled and certain and does not change; this is what can be taken hold of and can be clung to"〔T25 0612c02〕, and then gathers it in by the two truths: 「世諦故說真實；第一義中真實不可得，何況不真實！」 tr. "By reason of worldly truth the true and real is spoken of; within the highest meaning the true and real is unfindable, how much less the not true and real!"〔T25 0612c11〕—even 「不真實」 tr. "the not true and real" is unfindable; if this layer is not supplied, the preceding sentence at once becomes a new place of clinging.
Second, the hard place lies not in not realising but in delivering space. The gods, seeing that the bodhisattva does not take realisation within the dharma of equality, wished to bow to him in reverence; Subhūti, however, moved the character 「難」 tr. "hard" from its position: not taking realisation within the equal dharma 「不為難」 tr. "is not hard"; what is hard is 「知眾生畢竟不可得而度眾生，是乃為難！」 tr. "To know that beings are ultimately unfindable and yet to deliver beings: this indeed is hard!"〔T25 0612a18〕—「是人欲度眾生，如欲度虛空。」 tr. "This person's wishing to deliver beings is like wishing to deliver space."〔T25 0612a21〕, and so on up to 「為欲與虛空共鬪。」 tr. "It is wishing to fight together with space."〔T25 0612a27〕. The treatise-author supplies the criterion for this ‘one hard, one not hard’: 「眾生，虛誑假名故，是所著處；平等法，無為故，非所著處。」 tr. "Beings, because they are false and deceptive provisional names, are a place that is clung to; the equal dharma, because it is unconditioned, is not a place that is clung to."〔T25 0612c22〕, and so 「於顛倒著處而能不著為難；於無著處不著，是不為難。」 tr. "to be able not to cling at the place of inverted clinging is hard; not to cling at the place where there is no clinging is not hard."〔T25 0612c25〕—hard and easy are not settled by the depth of the object; they are settled by whether it is a place of clinging or not a place of clinging. This is also precisely what the chapter's variant name, 「度空」 tr. "Delivering Space", takes up.
Third, the test of not being startled and not sinking has two layers. The sūtra first says that on hearing that beings are separated from marks his mind is not startled, and next says that on hearing that all dharmas are separated from marks his mind is not startled, does not sink, is not terrified, is not afraid; the treatise-author opens up these two layers: 「若眾生空，法不空，應有怖畏；若法亦空，無生怖畏處。」 tr. "If beings were empty and dharmas were not empty, there would have to be terror and fear; if dharmas too are empty, there is no place for terror and fear to arise."〔T25 0613a04〕—terror and fear must have some place in which one can be terrified; if dharmas too are empty, not even that place remains. So the closing words say: 「上聞眾生空故不畏，今聞法空故不畏。」 tr. "Above, because he heard of the emptiness of beings he was not afraid; now, because he hears of the emptiness of dharmas he is not afraid."〔T25 0613a07〕, 「若聞是二空不畏，是為真行般若。」 tr. "If on hearing of these two emptinesses he is not afraid, this is truly practising prajñā."〔T25 0613a08〕. And as to how not being startled is possible, the Treatise says it all with one simile: 「譬如調馬，自見影不驚。」 tr. "As a tamed horse, seeing its own shadow, is not startled."〔T25 0612c29〕—「自知影從身出故。」 tr. "Because it knows of itself that the shadow comes out of its body."〔T25 0613a01〕. What is feared was never emptiness; it is taking the shadow one has oneself cast for something come from outside.
Fourth, the place where Māra cannot break him lies in practising the two dharmas together. Sūtra ② establishes by two dharmas that the bodhisattva cannot be broken: 「觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生。」 tr. "He contemplates all dharmas as empty, and he does not abandon any being."〔T25 0613c01〕. The treatise-author first speaks of the fault of holding to one side: 「若但有憐愍心、無智慧，則心沒在無眾生而有眾生顛倒中；若但有空心，捨憐愍度眾生心，則墮斷滅中。」 tr. "If he only has the mind of pity and has no wisdom, then his mind sinks into the inversion of there being beings where there are no beings; if he only has the mind of emptiness and abandons the mind of pitying and delivering beings, then he falls into annihilation."〔T25 0614b29〕, and then says how practising both together is possible—the key lies in emptiness too being empty: 「觀一切法空，空亦空故不著空，是故不妨憐愍眾生」 tr. "He contemplates all dharmas as empty, and because emptiness too is empty he does not cling to emptiness; therefore it does not hinder pitying beings"〔T25 0614c05〕, and at the end gathers it in with one simile: 「如日月相須。」 tr. "As the sun and moon need one another."〔T25 0614c09〕. The second pair of two dharmas, 「所作如所言，亦為諸佛所念。」 tr. "What he does is as what he says, and he is also kept in mind by the buddhas."〔T25 0613c04〕, lands in a more concrete place still: when words and conduct do not match, 「則五種執金剛神捨離、不復守護，惡鬼得便。」 tr. "then the five kinds of vajra-holding spirits abandon him and no longer guard him, and evil ghosts find an opening."〔T25 0614c10〕; when he is not kept in mind by the Buddha, his roots of goodness rot of themselves—「如魚子不為母念，則爛壞不生。」 tr. "As fish-roe, when the mother does not keep them in mind, rot and are ruined and do not come to life."〔T25 0614c13〕.
Fifth, the one whom the Buddha extols is the person who has not yet obtained and yet resembles one who has. Subhūti twice presses the question of just which rank of bodhisattva it is that the Buddha extols, and the Buddha's answers go one layer lower each time: first the avaivartika, then the person who 「信解一切法無生，未得無生忍法」 tr. "has faith in and understands that all dharmas are non-arising, and has not yet obtained the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising"〔T25 0614a03〕. The treatise-author explains on behalf of this low place why it is rare: 「是人出柔順法忍、未得無生法忍，出凡夫法、未入聖法」 tr. "This person has gone out from the compliant acceptance of dharmas and has not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, has gone out from the dharma of ordinary people and has not yet entered the dharma of the sages"〔T25 0615b21〕—he is already no longer an ordinary person, and is not yet a sage, standing exactly in that middle which has the least to go upon. The Buddha's extolling first reaches the avaivartika, and then with 「復次」 tr. "furthermore" is pushed on to this place—it reaches also those who have not yet obtained the acceptance of non-arising and yet can have faith and understanding. And as to why the Buddha should extol at all, the treatise-author says it most plainly: the buddhas by origin 「無分別善不善法，視諸阿羅漢、外道亦無憎愛」 tr. "do not discriminate wholesome and unwholesome dharmas, and look upon arhats and those of the outside paths also without hate or love"〔T25 0615a09〕; their extolling is for the benefit of beings—「欲使眾生依附好人，心隨善法，令出世間故。」 tr. "wishing to make beings rely on and attach themselves to good people, their minds following wholesome dharmas, so as to have them go out from the world."〔T25 0615a11〕. As to why the two bodhisattvas Jewel Mark and Śikhin alone are raised and not Samantabhadra and Avalokiteśvara, the treatise-author does not evade it either, and brings out three explanations together, of which the third is the plainest: 「遍吉、觀世音菩薩等功德極大，人皆知；是二菩薩，人未知，故稱揚。」 tr. "The merits of the bodhisattvas Samantabhadra, Avalokiteśvara, and the rest are extremely great, and people all know them; these two bodhisattvas people do not yet know, and therefore they are extolled."〔T25 0615a24〕—the use of extolling lies in supplying what people do not know, not in adding flowers to brocade. The whole chapter closes on the simile of Subhūti's teaching the Dharma without obstruction: 「虛空即是畢竟空，箭是須菩提智慧。」 tr. "Space is ultimate emptiness; the arrow is Subhūti's wisdom."〔T25 0616a05〕, 「如箭於空無礙，勢盡自墮，非為空盡」 tr. "as an arrow in space is without obstruction, and when its force is exhausted it falls of itself, not because space is exhausted"〔T25 0616a06〕—the one who is extolled is without obstruction precisely because what he shoots at is emptiness; and the one who is obstructed is obstructed only because 「邪見著有，則礙而不能通。」 tr. "by wrong views he clings to existence, and then he is obstructed and cannot get through."〔T25 0616a09〕.
VI. Divergent Readings of the Masters
The Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa has no tradition of a full commentary proceeding text by text; the ancient masters' citations and explanations generally lean on what is actually there. For this chapter two ancient masters are re-read: Jizang's Commentary, which explains the sūtra explained, preserves a complete dedicated section, and Huiying's Commentary, which explains this treatise, also preserves a complete dedicated section; the five books of the Tiantai line and Junzheng's book all have zero hits for this chapter (see below). This section records the correspondence of what they comment on and cite with this chapter, without judging the relative merit of each master's interpretation.
Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451). His text-by-text commentary on "Delivering Space" of the sūtra explained begins with 「度空品第六十五」 tr. "Chapter on Delivering Space, the Sixty-fifth"〔X24n0451 0317a23〕 and ends before the beginning of the next chapter, 「囑累品第六十六」 tr. "Chapter on Entrustment, the Sixty-sixth"〔X24n0451 0318a11〕, covering the whole of the sūtra of this chapter. Jizang uses the name 「度空」 tr. "Delivering Space", the same as the system of the T223 base text, and different from 「稱揚」 tr. "Extolling" of the base text of this treatise. There are five points to record.
First, the reason for setting up the name, and the gloss of 「度空」 tr. "delivering space"—「此下明度眾生如度空，能度眾生亦是度眾生。」 tr. "From here on it makes clear that delivering beings is like delivering space; being able to deliver beings is also delivering beings."〔X24n0451 0317a24〕; below this he further brings out why it does not simply speak of delivering existence: 「但惑者聞度眾生皆言度有，故今言度空耳。」 tr. "But the deluded, hearing of delivering beings, all say it is delivering what exists; therefore it now speaks of delivering space."〔X24n0451 0317b02〕—he sets up the name 「度空」 tr. "Delivering Space" as an occasion for breaking the clinging to existence, pointing to the same thing as the sūtra text of this treatise, 「是人欲度眾生，如欲度虛空。」 tr. "This person's wishing to deliver beings is like wishing to deliver space."〔T25 0612a21〕, but speaking of it differently; recorded separately, as it is.
Second, citing this treatise directly as explanation—「論云：身子聞上品無分別法，心大歡喜」 tr. "The treatise says: Body-son, hearing the dharma without discrimination in the chapter above, had a mind of great joy"〔X24n0451 0317b08〕: what is cited is where Treatise ① of this treatise begins, 「爾時，舍利弗聞上無分別相法，心大歡喜」 tr. "At that time Śāriputra, hearing the dharma of the mark of non-discrimination above, had a mind of great joy"〔T25 0612b29〕; the words differ slightly (「上品無分別法」 tr. "the dharma without discrimination in the chapter above" / 「上無分別相法」 tr. "the dharma of the mark of non-discrimination above"), it being Jizang's abridged citation, not identical word for word; the attribution is recorded separately as above: what is inside 「」 tr. "the quotation brackets" is Jizang's original text, not the original text of this treatise. Below this his explanation of 「真實／不真實」 tr. "true and real / not true and real" also follows the treatise's meaning in different words.
Third, the treatise's question and answer too are cited as part of his outline—「論問云：平等法不證，眾生畢竟空，云何一難一不？答：平等是不著法，而菩薩依理不著，故不為。眾生是假名法，應生著而不著，故為難也。」 tr. "The treatise asks: the equal dharma is not realised, beings are ultimately empty; how is it that one is hard and one is not? Answer: equality is a dharma of non-clinging, and the bodhisattva, relying on principle, does not cling; therefore it is not [hard]. Beings are dharmas of provisional names; one ought to give rise to clinging and yet does not cling; therefore it is hard."〔X24n0451 0317b23〕: what is cited is the group of question and answer at〔T25 0612c20〕 of this treatise; the answer Jizang gives points to the same thing as this treatise's 「眾生，虛誑假名故，是所著處；平等法，無為故，非所著處。」 tr. "Beings, because they are false and deceptive provisional names, are a place that is clung to; the equal dharma, because it is unconditioned, is not a place that is clung to."〔T25 0612c22〕, again an abridged citation. His explanation of not fearing the two emptinesses, however, is his own: 「若眾生空法不空，是可怖耳。今眾生空法復空，無有不空者，何所怖耶？」 tr. "If beings were empty and dharmas not empty, that would indeed be something to fear. Now beings are empty and dharmas too are empty; there is nothing that is not empty—what is there to fear?"〔X24n0451 0317c04〕—matching this treatise's 「若眾生空，法不空，應有怖畏；若法亦空，無生怖畏處。」 tr. "If beings were empty and dharmas were not empty, there would have to be terror and fear; if dharmas too are empty, there is no place for terror and fear to arise."〔T25 0613a04〕.
Fourth, why the Buddha asks his disciple—「次佛問須菩提何故不沒不怖者，眾生中有疑，佛為之發問」 tr. "Next, as to the Buddha's asking Subhūti why he does not sink and is not terrified: there were doubts among the beings, and the Buddha raised the question for them"〔X24n0451 0317c07〕: the same as this treatise's first explanation, 「以眾會有疑，敬難故不敢問，是以佛問。」 tr. "Because the assembly had doubts and, out of reverence and awe, did not dare to ask, therefore the Buddha asked."〔T25 0613a11〕; this treatise brings out two further explanations (a testing question · the master of the teaching ought to receive questions and challenges); Jizang takes only one of them and does not list the three explanations; what the two masters set out in detail differs; recorded separately, as it is. His explanation of the grades of the gods' bowing is also his own: 「欲天內有覺觀外有五欲，梵天外不著五欲內有覺觀，皆是不淨天而敬菩薩，未足為貴」 tr. "The gods of desire have initial and sustained thought within and the five desires without; the Brahmā gods without do not cling to the five desires, yet within have initial and sustained thought; all are impure gods, and though they revere the bodhisattva, it is not yet worth prizing"〔X24n0451 0317c16〕—matching this treatise's 「欲界諸天，著婬欲心多故，禮不足為貴；初禪天有覺觀散亂，亦不足為妙」 tr. "The gods of the desire realm, because their minds cling much to sexual desire—their bowing is not worth prizing; the gods of the first dhyāna have initial and sustained thought and are scattered and disordered—this too is not enough to be wondrous"〔T25 0613b12〕, but with a slight difference in how they are assigned (Jizang divides inner and outer by crossing initial and sustained thought with the five desires; this treatise divides the two kinds of gods by sexual desire and by initial and sustained thought); recorded side by side without judgement.
Fifth, the outline in five sections and the three persons who obtain praise—Jizang outlines the latter half of the sūtra in five sections: 「爾時欲界諸天下，大段第二、諸天見菩薩成行故身業禮敬」 tr. "From ‘at that time the gods of the desire realm’ on: the second great section, in which the gods, seeing that the bodhisattva has accomplished his practice, bow in reverence with the deed of the body"〔X24n0451 0317b17〕, 「菩薩如是下，第四、諸天口業秤歎。」 tr. "From ‘the bodhisattva thus’ on: the fourth, in which the gods praise with the deed of speech."〔X24n0451 0318a03〕, 「十方諸佛於大眾中下，第五、佛口業秤歎。」 tr. "From ‘the buddhas of the ten directions in the great assembly’ on: the fifth, in which the Buddha praises with the deed of speech."〔X24n0451 0318a06〕—he divides the extolling of the gods and that of the Buddha by the deed of the body and the deed of speech, a matching this treatise does not have. His explanation of the persons whom the Buddha praises makes three classes: 「凡三人得歎：一者、得無生忍現前；二者、深信無生隣於不退必爾無疑；三者、從初發軫其心屈也。」 tr. "In all, three persons obtain praise: first, the one who has obtained the acceptance of non-arising, and it is present before him; second, the one who deeply believes in non-arising, is neighbour to non-retrogression, and will certainly be so without doubt; third, the one whose mind bends to it from the first setting out of his carriage."〔X24n0451 0318a07〕—the three classes of this treatise are the great bodhisattvas / the avaivartika / those who have not yet obtained the acceptance of non-arising and yet can have faith and understanding (see Section II); the divisions of the two masters match but their order differs; recorded side by side without judgement. Further, his explanation of why the two dharmas may not be neglected reads 「成就空非二道，故魔不能壞。」 tr. "He accomplishes the two paths of ‘emptiness’ and ‘not’; therefore Māra cannot break him."〔X24n0451 0317c21〕〔Note: the base text reads so; in view of the pairing of emptiness and compassion in the lines that follow, 「非」 tr. "not" is suspected to be a graphic error for 「悲」 tr. "compassion"; recorded as it stands, unaltered.〕, and he brings out besides 「又以解空故不退為凡夫，不捨眾生不退為聲聞也。」 tr. "Again, because he understands emptiness he does not fall back into being an ordinary person; because he does not abandon beings he does not fall back into being a śrāvaka."〔X24n0451 0317c24〕—he matches the two fallings-back to the two dharmas, whereas this treatise uses only the wet ruin and the scorched spoiling of the ten thousand things as its simile (see Section III); what they stress differs. His explanation of the second pair of two dharmas reads 「次、所作如所言，即五金剛護之，魔不能壞。二、為諸佛所念，如魚子得成也。」 tr. "Next, what he does is as what he says: then the five vajra[-holders] guard him, and Māra cannot break him. Second, he is kept in mind by the buddhas, as fish-roe come to completion."〔X24n0451 0318a01〕—matching one by one the two similes of this treatise, 「五種執金剛神」 tr. "the five kinds of vajra-holding spirits"〔T25 0614c10〕 and 「如魚子不為母念，則爛壞不生。」 tr. "As fish-roe, when the mother does not keep them in mind, rot and are ruined and do not come to life."〔T25 0614c13〕, except that Jizang puts it positively (they guard him · they come to completion) and this treatise negatively (they abandon him · they rot and are ruined); recorded separately, as it is.
Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791). The only ancient commentary that explains this treatise, surviving only in fragmentary fascicles; this chapter has a complete dedicated section, beginning at〔X46n0791 0908b03〕 and ending before the beginning of the next chapter, 「第六十五品者，名為囑累品」 tr. "The sixty-fifth chapter is named the Chapter on Entrustment"〔X46n0791 0909c13〕; in addition, the general table of contents at the head of the fascicle lists 「釋稱揚品第六十五」 tr. "Commentary on the Chapter on Extolling, the Sixty-fifth"〔X46n0791 0794b22〕 and 「釋稱揚品第六十五之餘」 tr. "Commentary on the Chapter on Extolling, the Sixty-fifth, the remainder"〔X46n0791 0794b23〕. Huiying uses the name 「稱揚」 tr. "Extolling", the same as the system of the base text of this treatise, and different from the 「度空」 tr. "Delivering Space" system of T223 and Jizang—the two systems of the chapter name are distributed crosswise among the ancient masters too; recorded as it is, without forcing an explanation. There are six points to record.
First, his own numbering -1 and the chapter's position—「第六十四品者，名為稱揚品。」 tr. "The sixty-fourth chapter is named the Chapter on Extolling."〔X46n0791 0908b03〕: Huiying himself calls this chapter 「第六十四品」 tr. "the sixty-fourth chapter", one less than the base text; the next chapter is of the same pattern, 「第六十五品者，名為囑累品」 tr. "The sixty-fifth chapter is named the Chapter on Entrustment"〔X46n0791 0909c13〕—the commentator's internal numbering forms its own system, in the same direction as the Ishiyama text's -1 step but from a different source; recorded separately, as it is. Yet the general table of contents at the head of his fascicle〔X46n0791 0794b22〕 still has 「第六十五」 tr. "the Sixty-fifth"; the table of contents and the body of one and the same commentary have two readings side by side; recorded as it is. Further, the title of the preceding chapter is given in his general table of contents as 「釋願樂品第十四」 tr. "Commentary on the Chapter on Aspiration and Delight, the Fourteenth"〔X46n0791 0794b22〕, and also in the section title in his body as 「釋願樂品第十四」 tr. "Commentary on the Chapter on Aspiration and Delight, the Fourteenth"〔X46n0791 0907a12〕, while that section numbers itself as 「第六十三品者，名為願樂品。」 tr. "The sixty-third chapter is named the Chapter on Aspiration and Delight."〔X46n0791 0907a13〕—the reading 「第十四」 tr. "the Fourteenth" is seen in both the table of contents and the body, not a solitary instance in the general table of contents, and does not correspond with his own count, 「第六十三品」 tr. "the sixty-third chapter"; recorded word for word on the basis of the base text, without correcting it on his behalf.
Second, his judgement on how the chapters arise in sequence—「何故次願樂品，後明於此品？上明菩薩脩平等行，具生法二忍，故為一切眾生愛樂。今次明為諸天人所敬，眾聖嘆美，故次明此品。」 tr. "Why, following the Chapter on Aspiration and Delight, is this chapter made clear afterwards? Above it made clear that the bodhisattva cultivates the practice of equality and is complete in the two acceptances, of beings and of dharmas, and is therefore loved and delighted in by all beings. Now next it makes clear that he is revered by gods and humans and praised and admired by the sages; therefore it next makes this chapter clear."〔X46n0791 0908b03〕, and he himself states the basis of his numbering: 「論將次釋，故云第六十四品釋論也。」 tr. "The treatise is about to explain it next; therefore it says ‘the sixty-fourth chapter, the explanation of the treatise’."〔X46n0791 0908b06〕—he matches 「愛樂」 tr. "love and delight" to the preceding chapter and 「嘆美」 tr. "praise and admiration" to this chapter, a matching this treatise does not have; it is an outline set up by Huiying himself.
Third, the outline in two divisions—「就此品中大有二分：第一、明菩薩行不二法，不證實際，而廣度眾生；第二、從何以故去，明十方諸佛稱揚菩薩。」 tr. "Within this chapter there are broadly two divisions: first, it makes clear that the bodhisattva practises the non-dual dharma, does not realise the limit of reality, and yet widely delivers beings; second, from ‘why is it?’ onward, it makes clear that the buddhas of the ten directions extol the bodhisattva."〔X46n0791 0908b07〕—different from Jizang's outline in five sections (Jizang makes five, Huiying two); the outlines of the two masters each stand; recorded side by side without judgement. The starting point of his second division is marked by himself below the sentence of the sūtra 「何以故」 tr. "why is it?", and does not concern the division of this treatise into 【經】 and 【論】; recorded separately, as it is. Further, his explanation of the two emptinesses of beings and of dharmas reads 「眾生離即是色離者，當知生空即是法空，但從詮為異也。」 tr. "As for ‘the separation of beings is the separation of form’: know that the emptiness of beings is the emptiness of dharmas; they differ only according to the explanation."〔X46n0791 0908b12〕—matching this treatise's 「色等法離故，眾生亦離。」 tr. "Because form and the other dharmas are separated, beings too are separated."〔T25 0613a04〕, but set out in different words.
Fourth, his explanation of the two dharmas brings out the item 「愛見大悲」 tr. "the great compassion of affectionate views"—「則起眾生相而度。眾生相而度眾生，名為愛見大悲，則於眾生有疲惓想。」 tr. "then he gives rise to the mark of beings and delivers them. Delivering beings with the mark of beings is called the great compassion of affectionate views; then toward beings he has the notion of weariness."〔X46n0791 0908c06〕; its positive side reads 「今以菩薩慈悲從實相生，屬無緣慈悲，故無窮盡所度無極。」 tr. "Now, because the bodhisattva's kindness and compassion arise from the real mark, they belong to kindness and compassion without object; therefore they are inexhaustible, and those delivered are without limit."〔X46n0791 0908c07〕—he explains the two dharmas, 「觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生」 tr. "he contemplates all dharmas as empty, and he does not abandon any being"〔T25 0613c01〕, by the opposition of the great compassion of affectionate views and kindness and compassion without object; this treatise has neither of these two names (this treatise uses only the sun and moon needing one another as its simile, see Section III); this is brought out by Huiying alone; recorded as it is.
Fifth, extolling is general and specific—「就稱揚中有通有別。」 tr. "Within extolling there is the general and the specific."〔X46n0791 0908c15〕; below this he takes those from the first arousing of intent up to the forty-first ground as the general, and the avaivartika and those who have not yet obtained the acceptance of non-arising and abide in compliant acceptance as the specific (the original text uses a CBETA composed character below 「阿」 tr. "a", and this ledger does not transcribe the shape of that character, but records its meaning directly)—matching the three classes of this treatise (the great bodhisattvas / the avaivartika / those who have not yet obtained the acceptance of non-arising) but with different names; recorded side by side without judgement. Further, his account of the style of the treatise-author's questions and answers reads 「論論釋云：以有著為問，以無者為答，故得成往復也。」 tr. "The treatise, the treatise explains: it takes clinging to existence as the question and the absence of it as the answer, and so a going back and forth is formed."〔X46n0791 0908c24〕 (the two characters 「論論」 tr. "treatise, treatise" recorded as they stand in the base text).
Sixth, two points: a citation from outside books and a teacher's saying, on the simile of the sun and moon—under the treatise's simile of the sun and moon Huiying cites outside scriptures at length and then discusses them: 「外書云：以陰陽化萬物。」 tr. "Outside books say: by yin and yang the ten thousand things are transformed."〔X46n0791 0909a07〕, and then corrects this by the explanation within the Buddha's Dharma: 「如佛法中解：日行三道：夏行北道，正對人上，故熱」 tr. "As it is explained within the Buddha's Dharma: the sun travels three paths; in summer it travels the northern path, directly above people, and therefore it is hot"〔X46n0791 0909a15〕, and at the end he judges: 「此中言以日月故化萬物者，此義為正。」 tr. "What is said here, that the ten thousand things are transformed by means of the sun and moon—this meaning is correct."〔X46n0791 0909a17〕—this treatise, in the simile of the sun and moon, takes only the meaning of their needing one another, and has no discussion of where cold and heat come from; this is brought out by Huiying alone. Further, his explanation of the position of the three acceptances cites a teacher's saying: 「師言：此是順忍、無生忍中間出凡夫地。」 tr. "The teacher says: this is going out from the ground of ordinary people, in the middle between compliant acceptance and the acceptance of non-arising."〔X46n0791 0909b22〕, and his explanation of 「能斷二地」 tr. "can cut off the two grounds" reads 「能斷二地者，經論多云離二乘地也。」 tr. "As for ‘can cut off the two grounds’, the sūtras and treatises mostly say that it is being far from the grounds of the two vehicles."〔X46n0791 0909b24〕—matching this treatise's 「能斷二地、得受記」 tr. "can cut off the two grounds and receive the prediction"〔T25 0615b24〕 but making it concrete as the grounds of the two vehicles, whereas this treatise does not make its items concrete; recorded separately, as it is. His comparison of the number of 「五種執金剛神」 tr. "the five kinds of vajra-holding spirits" is also his own: 「五種執金剛神已下，上不退品中言五性，今言五種，餘經中五方，即是一義也。」 tr. "From ‘the five kinds of vajra-holding spirits’ on: in the Chapter on Non-retrogression above it says ‘five clans’, here it says ‘five kinds’, in other sūtras ‘five directions’; these are one meaning."〔X46n0791 0909b01〕. Throughout his section Huiying mostly uses 「當說」 tr. "it will be explained" and 「當一一說」 tr. "each will be explained" as the closing words of a paragraph; this belongs to his commentarial style and is not a lack of explanation.
Junzheng's Profound Meaning of the Four Mahāyāna Treatises (X46n0784) · zero hits (recorded as it is). Searching the whole file independently for the six strings 「稱揚品」 tr. "Chapter on Extolling", 「度空品」 tr. "Chapter on Delivering Space", 「寶相菩薩」 tr. "the bodhisattva Jewel Mark", 「尸棄菩薩」 tr. "the bodhisattva Śikhin", 「仰射空中」 tr. "shoots upward into space", and 「不捨一切眾生」 tr. "does not abandon any being" gives zero hits for all—Junzheng has no named citation of this chapter; the negative result is recorded as it is.
Zhiyi's Great Calming and Contemplation (T46n1911) · Explanation of the Graded Dharma-Gates of Dhyānapāramitā (T46n1916) · Profound Meaning of the Lotus (T33n1716) · Annotations on the Profound Meaning of the Lotus (T33n1717) · Zhanran's Supporting Practice and Broad Resolution of Calming and Contemplation (T46n1912) · none has a citation of this chapter (recorded as it is). Searching the whole of these five files for the same six strings gives zero hits, except for one occurrence of 「仰射空中」 tr. "shoots upward into space" in the Great Calming and Contemplation. That one occurrence is 「又如仰射空中，筈筈相拄，不令墮地。」 tr. "Again, as when one shoots upward into space, notch supporting notch, not letting it fall to the ground."〔T46n1911 0075c08〕—its simile is 「筈筈相拄」 tr. "notch supporting notch" (arrow joined to arrow, not letting it fall to the ground), the opposite of the meaning taken in this chapter's 「箭去無礙」 tr. "the arrow goes without obstruction" and 「勢盡自墮，非為空盡」 tr. "when its force is exhausted it falls of itself, not because space is exhausted"〔T25 0616a06〕; it is not a citation of this chapter; recorded as it is, not made to serve as coverage. Further, the one occurrence of 「大論七十九」 tr. "Great Treatise, seventy-nine" in the Supporting Practice and Broad Resolution of Calming and Contemplation〔T46n1912 0203a14〕 cites the simile 「如執菅草」 tr. "like grasping a blade of coarse grass", whose position in this treatise, checked back, is〔T25 0594a06〕 (Fascicle 76), not the text of this chapter; the one occurrence of 「大論七十八」 tr. "Great Treatise, seventy-eight"〔T46n1912 0333a27〕 cites the account of the ten grounds in the chapter "The Lamp-wick", and is also not this chapter; recorded separately, as it is, not letting a nearby fascicle number serve as a citation of this chapter.
VII. Cross-reading and Further Resonances
Of the thread of meaning of this chapter, there are four points that carry on before and after; all are recorded in this section, without fixing a reading on anyone's behalf.
First, the hard link of star marks pointing back to the preceding chapter (the carrying-on of chapter order in the collation layer). Of the seven stars within the range of this chapter, the notes of two are not in this chapter but in the preceding chapter, "Aspiration and Delight", the Sixty-fourth: the note 「世界」 tr. "world" → 「國土」 tr. "land" at〔T25 0608a19〕, and the note on the presence or absence of the structural marker 【論】 at〔T25 0609c09〕 (see Section VIII). That is, Chapters 64 and 65 share one batch of general collation notes; a note is defined only once, in the chapter where it is first seen, and later chapters hang back to it by star each time—the carrying-on of chapter order in the collation layer; in this chapter two point back across chapters (the correspondences are shown above), and this ledger records them as they are. Its end pointing forward is of the same pattern: the note on the 【論】 marker at〔T25 0614b22〕 of this chapter (entry forty of the ledger below) carries a star mark, and what shares it lies in the next chapter, "Entrustment"〔T25 0618a25〕, hung out forward from this chapter; one received and one sent out, recorded side by side as they are.
Second, this treatise's self-references ‘as said before’ and ‘as the sūtra says at length’ (the treatise-author's own attestation). Four times in this chapter the treatise-author points elsewhere with an abbreviated phrase: 「佛念因緣，如先說。」 tr. "The causes and conditions of the Buddha's keeping in mind are as said before."〔T25 0613b16〕, 「『無守護眾生汝為作守護，無歸與作歸』等義，如先說。」 tr. "The meaning of ‘for beings without protection you become their protection; for those without refuge you become their refuge’ and so on is as said before."〔T25 0614c24〕, 「如恒河沙等魔，不能壞是菩薩，如經廣說。」 tr. "Māras as many as the sands of the Ganges cannot break this bodhisattva, as the sūtra says at length."〔T25 0613b19〕, and 「乃至『無有是處』，如經廣說。」 tr. "And so on up to ‘there is no such place’, as the sūtra says at length."〔T25 0615c14〕. 「如先說」 tr. "as said before" is seen twice within the range of this chapter, and 「如經廣說」 tr. "as the sūtra says at length" twice, obtained by re-scanning string by string. The first two point to what has already been explained earlier in this treatise (the causes and conditions of the Buddha's keeping in mind · the meaning of being without protection, without refuge, and so on), and the latter two to the fuller text of the sūtra explained; by this the treatise-author saves listing them again; the brevity of this chapter mostly comes from this, and this lineage is recorded.
Third, the arising of the next chapter's ‘Entrustment’ from ‘Extolling’. After the final sentence of this chapter, 「是故須菩提說無障無礙法。」 tr. "Therefore Subhūti teaches the dharma without hindrance and without obstruction."〔T25 0616a10〕, there comes the next chapter, "Entrustment", the Sixty-sixth〔T25 0616a11〕. Within this chapter of this treatise there is no explicit wording pointing forward to the next chapter (checking character by character over the range of this chapter for 「囑累」 tr. "entrustment" gives zero hits); only, the three editions Song, Palace, and Yuan have below the continuation title of Fascicle 79 the interlinear note 「訖第六十六品」 tr. "ending at the Sixty-sixth chapter" (see Section IV), letting the passage of 「之餘」 tr. "the remainder" cover as far as the next chapter—that is, one line of the transmission of editions treats this chapter and the next as one passage. The matching of chapter order in Huiying's Commentary also carries on at this place (see Section VI). The connection is recorded, without fixing a reading on anyone's behalf.
Fourth, links to the treasury (stable citation · soft citation). This chapter's two dharmas, 「觀一切法空，不捨一切眾生」 tr. "he contemplates all dharmas as empty, and he does not abandon any being", its simile 「日月相須」 tr. "the sun and moon need one another" with its teaching of practising emptiness and compassion together, its judgement that ‘the one who has not yet obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas and yet can have faith and understanding’ is extolled by the Buddha, and its simile of teaching the Dharma, 「仰射空中」 tr. "shooting upward into space", with its account that the arrow's force is exhausted and it falls of itself, not because space is exhausted—these are the basis for later discussions of practising emptiness and compassion together, and of virtue being worthy of extolling while the stage is not yet complete; they fall to the stable citation〔T25n1509 稱揚品·卷七十八至七十九〕; the places where other texts cite this treatise are not yet finalised, so the citation is soft, awaiting word-for-word verification. This belongs to the carrying-on of the meaning of prajñā down into the gates of practice; recorded without judgement.
VIII. Witnesses and Editions
The base text of this chapter is Fascicles 78 to 79 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa (T25n1509)〔T25 0612a04–0616a10〕 (the main text of the chapter body begins from the chapter title〔T25 0612a04〕 and ends at the sentence 「是故須菩提說無障無礙法。」 tr. "Therefore Subhūti teaches the dharma without hindrance and without obstruction."〔T25 0616a10〕; it lies before the title of the next chapter〔T25 0616a11〕; within the range of this chapter there is one fascicle-end title〔T25 0613b21〕); the collation text for the sūtra explained is "Delivering Space" in the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra (T08n0223)〔T08 0360b09–0362a04〕; the ancient-master commentary texts for collation are Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra (X24n0451, covering the sūtra explained at〔X24n0451 0317a23–0318a10〕) and Huiying's Commentary (X46n0791, covering this treatise at〔X46n0791 0908b03–0909c12〕); Junzheng's Profound Meaning of the Four Mahāyāna Treatises (X46n0784) has zero hits for this chapter, and Zhiyi's Great Calming and Contemplation (T46n1911), Explanation of the Graded Dharma-Gates of Dhyānapāramitā (T46n1916), Profound Meaning of the Lotus (T33n1716), and Annotations on the Profound Meaning of the Lotus (T33n1717), and Zhanran's Supporting Practice and Broad Resolution of Calming and Contemplation (T46n1912), all have no citation of this chapter (see Section VI). The book numbers and titles were checked one by one against the <title level="m"> of the base text of each file. The variant collation notes follow the Taishō collation, covering differences between the Taishō base text and the Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace, and Ishiyama (the Ishiyama-dera manuscript) texts and the CBETA collation—within the ledger of seventy-eight entries of this chapter, no entry of the 【聖】 text is seen anywhere (checked entry by entry over all the collation base text within the range of this chapter for wit5, zero hits), unlike Chapter 62, which has entries of the Shōgozō text in its ledger; recorded as it is.
The chapter-title notes entered in the ledger of seventy-eight entries (a convention different from that of Chapter 62). The variant readings of this chapter's title〔T25 0612a04〕 have one formal collation entry (its proper reading containing an element of a sūtra title), and so it enters this ledger as entry one; the continuation title of Fascicle 79〔T25 0613b24〕 is of the same pattern and enters this ledger as entry twenty-seven. This differs in convention from Chapter 62, whose chapter-title note is of the point-anchor type and does not enter that chapter's ledger of forty entries—the difference between the two chapters arises from the structure of the base text itself, not from a choice made by this ledger; recorded as it is. The list at the end of the working base-text file, seventy-eight entries, agrees mechanically with the seventy-eight collation entries.
Seven stars · two pointing back across chapters · five shared within the chapter (listed separately). Within the range of this chapter there are seven star anchors; the target to which each corresponds among the collation entries was resolved one by one, and the chapter to which it belongs located:
beg_85a〔T25 0612b26〕 「世界」 tr. "world"—corresp→note(0608002)〔T25 0608a19〕, belonging to the range of Chapter 64, "Aspiration and Delight", pointing back across chapters. The full text of that note as it stands in the base text: 「世界【大】＊，國土【石】＊」 tr. "world (Taishō), land (Ishiyama)".beg_85b〔T25 0612b29〕 the structural marker 【論】—corresp→note(0609009)〔T25 0609c09〕, also belonging to the range of Chapter 64, "Aspiration and Delight", pointing back across chapters. The full text of that note as it stands in the base text: 「【論】【大】＊，〔－〕【宋】【宮】＊」 tr. "Treatise (Taishō), [absent] (Song, Palace)".beg_85c〔T25 0614a21〕 the character 「若」 tr. "if"—corresp→note(0614002), that is, the note at〔T25 0614a12〕 of this chapter (entry thirty-five of the ledger below), shared within the chapter itself.beg_85d〔T25 0615a03〕,beg_85e〔T25 0615a26〕,beg_85f〔T25 0615a28〕, andbeg_860〔T25 0615a29〕, four instances of 「世界」 tr. "world"—corresp all→note(0614010), that is, the note at〔T25 0614c29〕 of this chapter (entry forty-four of the ledger below), one note shared four times. The full text of that note as it stands in the base text: 「世界【大】＊，國【石】＊」 tr. "world (Taishō), country (Ishiyama)".
The distribution of the seven is two pointing back across chapters and five shared within the chapter. In addition, the note on the 【論】 marker at〔T25 0614b22〕 of this chapter (entry forty of the ledger below) carries in the base text the star mark, 「【論】【大】＊，〔－〕【宋】【宮】＊」 tr. "Treatise (Taishō), [absent] (Song, Palace)"; the star that shares it (beg_865) lies in the next chapter, "Entrustment"〔T25 0618a25〕; this chapter is the place of definition and the next chapter the place of sharing; recorded together. The note texts of the star targets carry the mark 「＊」 tr. "asterisk" in the base text, and this ledger keeps them as they stand in the base text (entries ten, twelve, thirty-five, thirty-seven, forty, forty-four, forty-five, fifty-two, fifty-five, and fifty-six of the ledger below).
Two entries of the CBETA emendation layer (【CB】 | 【大】 double layer · listed separately). First, 〔T25 0613b29〕「【經】【CB】｜〔－〕【大】｜【經】【元】【明】【石】」 tr. "Sūtra (CBETA) | [absent] (Taishō) | Sūtra (Yuan, Ming, Ishiyama)" (entry twenty-nine of the ledger below)—this chapter's second 【經】 structural marker is originally missing in the 【大】 base text (the base text's <lem resp="#resp3" wit="#wit.cbeta">【經】</lem> paired with <rdg wit="#wit.orig"><space quantity="0"/></rdg>), and CBETA adds it on the basis of the three texts Yuan, Ming, and Ishiyama; the reader-facing text of this edition follows the reading of the current CBETA text. Second, 〔T25 0615a20〕「曰【CB】｜言【大】｜曰【宋】【元】【明】【宮】」 tr. "says (CBETA) | speaks (Taishō) | says (Song, Yuan, Ming, Palace)" (entry fifty-one of the ledger below)—the base text has 「言」 tr. "speaks", and CBETA, on the basis of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Palace, emends it to 「曰」 tr. "says" (that is, in 「答曰：」 tr. "Answer:", the 「曰」 tr. "says"), and this edition follows the CBETA reading. The main text of both entries follows the 【CB】 column rather than the 【大】 column; recorded so that they are not misread as the original characters of the base text.
Three point-anchor notes · without collation entries · not entered in the ledger of seventy-eight entries (listed separately). Within the range of this chapter there are in addition three point-anchor notes with no collation entry below them, and so they are not entered in the seventy-eight entries of this ledger; each is recorded separately: first, the note at〔T25 0613b20〕, as it stands in the base text 「不分卷及品【石】」 tr. "no division of fascicle or chapter (Ishiyama)"—tied to the end of the chapter body in Fascicle 78, before the fascicle-end title. Second, the note at〔T25 0613b29〕 (of the CBETA emendation type), as it stands in the base text 「不分卷及品【石】」 tr. "no division of fascicle or chapter (Ishiyama)"—hung at the same position together with the collation entry of entry twenty-nine, the addition of 【經】. The same words are seen twice in this chapter, both recording the Ishiyama text's convention of not following the division of fascicles and chapters; recorded side by side as it is. Third, the note at〔T25 0616a10〕, as it stands in the base text 「第七十九卷終【石】」 tr. "end of Fascicle Seventy-nine (Ishiyama)"—tied after the final sentence of the chapter, pointing to the Ishiyama text's fascicle number together with the Ishiyama interlinear note of entry seventy-seven of the ledger below (see Section IV). All three are recorded separately here, without setting up separate entries.
One note of the rest type (listed separately). The note on the character 「住」 tr. "abide" at〔T25 0614a18〕 has, besides type="mod", another layer of type="rest", as it stands in the base text 「〔住〕－【宋】，〔如說〕【宮】」 tr. "[abide] − (Song); [as taught] (Palace)"—that is, the Song edition deletes the character 「住」 tr. "abide" and the Palace edition adds here the two characters 「如說」 tr. "as taught", while the <rdg> of the app layer carries only the one reading of the Song edition (entry thirty-six of the ledger below). The difference between the note layer and the app layer is recorded as it is, set side by side without judgement; for its relation to the joining and dividing of the repeated words in the sūtra explained, see Section IV.
One collation annotation (side-note) · kept as it stands (listed separately). 〔T25 0616a10〕「礙【大】｜〔礙釋第六十四品竟，摩訶般若經卷第七十九〕【石】」 tr. "obstruction (Taishō) | [obstruction; the Commentary on the Sixty-fourth Chapter ends; Mahāprajñā Sūtra, Fascicle Seventy-nine] (Ishiyama)" (entry seventy-seven of the ledger below)—what is inside the brackets is the Ishiyama text's closing note at the chapter's end, and is also the second proof of the -1 step and a proof of the Ishiyama text's fascicle number (see Section IV); this ledger keeps it as it stands, not deleted.
Complete ledger of collation notes (all seventy-eight entries reconciled · base text as it stands). Below, all are listed in the order of their appearance in the base text, including ten star entries (the places of definition and of sharing marked with each entry); the readings of the variant texts are preserved side by side, while the main text still follows the reading of the current base text (entries twenty-nine and fifty-one follow the 【CB】 column):
App entries (seventy-eight · in order of appearance in the base text · star-corresp marked with each entry)
- 〔T25 0612a04〕大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五【大】｜大智論釋度空品第六十五上【宋】｜大智論釋度空品第六十五品上【宮】｜大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五上【元】｜釋度空品第六十五之上【明】｜摩訶般若波羅品第六十四稱揚品【石】(note on the chapter title · the basis of the two lines of the chapter name and of the Ishiyama text's -1 step · see Section IV)
- 〔T25 0612a07〕為【大】｜〔－〕【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0612a11〕實【大】｜實法【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0612a16〕作【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】(the four editions delete the character 「作」 tr. "take" · the reading so formed is exactly the reading of the base text of the sūtra explained · see Section IV)
- 〔T25 0612a17〕誓【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】(the four editions delete the character 「誓」 tr. "oath" · as above · see Section IV)
- 〔T25 0612b19〕天【大】｜諸天【石】
- 〔T25 0612b19〕天【大】｜天四【宋】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0612b21〕及【大】｜〔－〕【石】
- 〔T25 0612b21〕薩【大】｜薩摩訶薩【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】
- 〔T25 0612b26〕世界【大】＊｜國土【石】＊(star · corresp→note(0608002) = the note of Chapter 64, "Aspiration and Delight"〔T25 0608a19〕 · pointing back across chapters · the Ishiyama reading is exactly the reading of the base text of the sūtra explained · see Section IV)
- 〔T25 0612b27〕復【大】｜復變【石】
- 〔T25 0612b29〕【論】【大】＊｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】＊(note on the presence or absence of a structural marker · star · corresp→note(0609009) = the note of Chapter 64, "Aspiration and Delight"〔T25 0609c09〕 · pointing back across chapters)
- 〔T25 0612c02〕法【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】
- 〔T25 0612c02〕法【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0612c14〕應【大】｜應作【石】
- 〔T25 0612c20〕亦【大】｜亦空【宋】【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0613a13〕處【大】｜虛【石】
- 〔T25 0613a15〕說【大】｜說法【石】
- 〔T25 0613a23〕漏【大】｜滿【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0613a28〕常【大】｜〔－〕【宮】
- 〔T25 0613a29〕驚、不應【大】｜〔－〕【石】
- 〔T25 0613b05〕空【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0613b06〕帝【大】｜天帝【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0613b13〕天【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【石】
- 〔T25 0613b14〕作【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0613b21〕論【大】｜論釋【宋】【宮】(note on the fascicle-end title)
- 〔T25 0613b24〕大智度論釋稱揚品第六十五之餘〔卷七十九〕【大】｜大智度論卷第七十九釋度空品第六十五品下〔訖第六十六品〕【宋】【宮】｜大智度論卷第七十九釋度空品第六十五下【明】｜大智度論卷第七十九釋度空品第六十五下〔訖第六十六品〕【元】(note on the continuation title of Fascicle 79 · the lem contains the interlinear note 「卷七十九」 tr. "Fascicle Seventy-nine" · the three editions Song, Palace, and Yuan carry in addition the interlinear note 「訖第六十六品」 tr. "ending at the Sixty-sixth chapter" · see Section IV)
- 〔T25 0613b27〕聖者龍樹造【大】｜〔－〕【石】(note on the author's signature · the Ishiyama text has no author's signature)
- 〔T25 0613b29〕【經】【CB】｜〔－〕【大】｜【經】【元】【明】【石】(CBETA emendation layer · this structural marker is originally missing in the base text · the main text follows the 【CB】 column · at the same position there hangs in addition the point-anchor note 「不分卷及品【石】」 tr. "no division of fascicle or chapter (Ishiyama)" · see the separate listing above)
- 〔T25 0613c06〕至【大】｜到【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】(five texts have 「到」 tr. "arrive at" · agreeing with the base text of the sūtra explained · see Section IV)
- 〔T25 0613c17〕復【大】｜復次【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0613c19〕如【大】｜如是【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0613c29〕讚【大】｜讚嘆【石】
- 〔T25 0614a08〕時【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0614a12〕若【大】＊｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】＊(star place of definition · note(0614002) · for what shares it, see entry thirty-seven below)
- 〔T25 0614a18〕住【大】｜〔－〕【宋】(there is in addition a layer of rest-type note, 「〔住〕－【宋】，〔如說〕【宮】」 tr. "[abide] − (Song); [as taught] (Palace)" · the app layer carries only the one reading of the Song edition · see the separate listing above)
- 〔T25 0614a21〕若【大】＊｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】＊(star · corresp→note(0614002) = the note of this chapter〔T25 0614a12〕 · shared within the chapter)
- 〔T25 0614a27〕言【大】｜說【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0614b16〕如【大】｜汝【宋】【元】【明】【宮】(the four editions have 「汝」 tr. "you" · agreeing with the base text of the sūtra explained · see Section IV)
- 〔T25 0614b22〕【論】【大】＊｜〔－〕【宋】【宮】＊(note on the presence or absence of a structural marker · star place of definition · note(0614006) · what shares it lies in the next chapter, "Entrustment"〔T25 0618a25〕 · hung out forward from this chapter)
- 〔T25 0614b22〕菩薩【大】｜〔－〕【石】
- 〔T25 0614c17〕諮【大】｜𧫎【明】
- 〔T25 0614c20〕授【大】｜受【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】
- 〔T25 0614c29〕世界【大】＊｜國【石】＊(star place of definition · note(0614010) · for the four places that share it, see entries forty-five, fifty-two, fifty-five, and fifty-six below)
- 〔T25 0615a03〕世界【大】＊｜國【石】＊(star · corresp→note(0614010) = the note of this chapter〔T25 0614c29〕 · shared within the chapter)
- 〔T25 0615a10〕愛【大】｜無愛【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615a11〕訾【大】｜呰【宮】
- 〔T25 0615a18〕力勢【大】｜勢力【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0615a18〕尸【大】｜師【明】
- 〔T25 0615a19〕故【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615a20〕曰【CB】｜言【大】｜曰【宋】【元】【明】【宮】(CBETA emendation layer · the main text follows the 【CB】 column · see the separate listing above)
- 〔T25 0615a26〕世界【大】＊｜國【石】＊(star · corresp→note(0614010) · shared within the chapter)
- 〔T25 0615a27〕佛【大】｜佛國【石】
- 〔T25 0615a27〕初【大】｜從初【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0615a28〕世界【大】＊｜國【石】＊(star · corresp→note(0614010) · shared within the chapter)
- 〔T25 0615a29〕世界【大】＊｜國【石】＊(star · corresp→note(0614010) · shared within the chapter)
- 〔T25 0615b01〕二【大】｜三【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】
- 〔T25 0615b02〕讚【大】｜說【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0615b02〕歎【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615b09〕揚【大】｜歎【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615b10〕稱【大】｜讚【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0615b12〕讚【大】｜稱【石】
- 〔T25 0615b13〕法忍【大】｜忍法【宋】【元】【明】【宮】(the difference between the two names 「無生法忍」 tr. "the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas" / 「無生忍法」 tr. "the dharma of the acceptance of non-arising" · see Section II)
- 〔T25 0615b17〕苦【大】｜若【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615b19〕觀【大】｜觀門【元】【明】
- 〔T25 0615b24〕譽【大】｜舉【石】
- 〔T25 0615b25〕受【大】｜授【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615c07〕如【大】｜如是【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615c07〕信【大】｜以信【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615c11〕薩婆【大】｜菩薩【明】
- 〔T25 0615c18〕若【大】｜若波羅蜜【石】
- 〔T25 0615c20〕言【大】｜〔－〕【石】
- 〔T25 0615c25〕處【大】｜安處【元】【明】｜安住【石】
- 〔T25 0615c27〕欲【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0615c29〕從何【大】｜何從【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【石】
- 〔T25 0616a10〕能【大】｜〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】【宮】
- 〔T25 0616a10〕礙【大】｜〔礙釋第六十四品竟，摩訶般若經卷第七十九〕【石】(collation annotation [side-note] kept as it stands · the Ishiyama text's closing note at the chapter's end · the second proof of the -1 step · see Section IV)
- 〔T25 0616a10〕法【大】｜〔－〕【宮】【石】
The above seventy-eight entries agree mechanically with the number of anchored collation notes of the working base text (the list at the end of the working base-text file, seventy-eight entries · collation entries, seventy-eight), and the targets of the stars are marked with each entry. The chapter-title note and the continuation-title note have entered this ledger (the difference from the convention of Chapter 62 has been shown above); the seven stars, the two entries of the CBETA emendation layer, the three point-anchor notes, the one rest-type note, and the one collation annotation have been listed separately above.
Witness collation of the sūtra explained (eight places unfolded · the rest not unfolded · the gap recorded, awaiting completion). Within the collation range on the T223 side for this chapter〔T08 0360b09–0362a04〕, the eight variant places at which it and this treatise confirm each other (the great adornment of the oath / the great adornment · does not take realisation / does not realise · hears this dharma / hears this deep dharma · world / land · name and clan / name · avaivartika in its two transliterations · ‘as Kauśika’ / ‘you, Kauśika’ · false and deceptive, not real, not firm / false and deceptive, not real, without anything existent, not firm), together with the mirror-image pair of readings of the chapter title and the interlinear note of the Khitan edition, have been recorded entry by entry in Section IV. The entry-by-entry side-by-side recording of the remaining entries has not been unfolded; that it has not been unfolded is recorded as it is, without making up numbers with estimates.