妙法蓮華經 如來壽量品第十六
你以為佛，早在兩千多年前，就入滅、離開了。
這一品，佛親口說破：不是的。我成佛以來，久遠到把無數世界磨成微塵、一塵算一劫也數之不盡；我壽命無量、常住不滅，這無量劫都在此地說法，從未離開。
那麼那一場入涅槃呢？佛說了個故事：有位良醫，眼看中毒顛倒的孩子當面求救、卻不肯服藥，只好遠走他鄉，遣人回報『你們的父親死了』;孩子聞父客喪，孤露悲痛，心一醒，才肯把藥服下。佛的「入滅」，正是這樣一場為喚你回頭而演的死——你不肯珍惜常在的佛，佛便隱去身影，只等你渴仰回頭的那一念。
且入此品。佛就在這裡，常在靈鷲山，雖近而不見——不見的，從來不是佛遠了，是你還沒抬頭。
You think the Buddha entered extinction and left more than two thousand years ago.
In this chapter, the Buddha says plainly: No. Since I attained buddhahood, a time so distant has passed that even if countless worlds were ground into dust and each particle counted as one aeon, it still could not be measured. My lifespan is immeasurable; I constantly abide and never enter extinction. Throughout all these immeasurable aeons, I have been here teaching the Dharma. I have never left.
What, then, was that entry into nirvāṇa? The Buddha tells a story. A good physician sees his poisoned and delirious children ask him for help to his face, yet refuse to take the medicine. He has no choice but to travel far away and send back the message: “Your father has died.” Hearing that their father has died in another land, the children feel orphaned and exposed. Their grief awakens their minds, and only then will they take the medicine. The Buddha’s “entry into extinction” is just such a death, staged to call you back. When you will not treasure the Buddha who constantly abides, the Buddha conceals his form and waits only for the one thought in which you turn back with thirsting yearning.
Enter this chapter. The Buddha is right here, constantly abiding on Vulture Peak—near, yet unseen. The reason you do not see him has never been that the Buddha is far away. You simply have not yet raised your head.
後秦龜茲國三藏法師鳩摩羅什奉詔譯《妙法蓮華經》卷五〈如來壽量品第十六〉· 大正藏 T09n0262〔起 T09 0042b01〕。段/行首〔T09 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔T09 0042b01〕爾時，佛告諸菩薩及一切大眾：「諸善男子！汝等當信解如來誠諦之語。」復告大眾：「汝等當信解如來誠諦之語。」又復告諸大眾：「汝等當信解如來誠諦之語。」
是時菩薩大眾，彌勒為首，合掌白佛言：「世尊！唯願說之，我等當信受佛語。」如是三白已，復言：「唯願說之，我等當信受佛語。」
爾時世尊知諸菩薩三請不止，而告之言：「汝等諦聽，如來祕密神通之力。一切世間天、人及阿修羅，皆謂：『今釋迦牟尼佛，出釋氏宮，去伽耶城不遠，坐於道場，得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。』然，善男子！我實成佛已來無量無邊百千萬億那由他劫。譬如五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇三千大千世界，假使有人末為微塵，過於東方五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇國乃下一塵，如是東行，盡是微塵。諸善男子！於意云何？是諸世界，可得思惟校計知其數不？」
彌勒菩薩等俱白佛言：「世尊！是諸世界，無量無邊，非算數所知，亦非心力所及；一切聲聞、辟支佛，以無漏智，不能思惟知其限數；我等住阿惟越致地，於是事中亦所不達。世尊！如是諸世界，無量無邊。」
爾時佛告大菩薩眾：「諸善男子！今當分明宣語汝等。是諸世界，若著微塵及不著者盡以為塵，一塵一劫，我成佛已來，復過於此百千萬億那由他阿僧祇劫。自從是來，我常在此娑婆世界說法教化，亦於餘處百千萬億那由他阿僧祇國導利眾生。
「諸善男子！於是中間，我說燃燈佛等，又復言其入於涅槃，如是皆以方便分別。
「諸善男子！若有眾生來至我所，我以佛眼，觀其信等諸根利鈍，隨所應度，處處自說，名字不同、年紀大小，亦復現言當入涅槃，又以種種方便說微妙法，能令眾生發歡喜心。
「諸善男子！如來見諸眾生樂於小法、德薄垢重者，為是人說：『我少出家，得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。』然我實成佛已來久遠若斯，但以方便，教化眾生，令入佛道，作如是說。
「諸善男子！如來所演經典，皆為度脫眾生，或說己身、或說他身，或示己身、或示他身，或示己事、或示他事，諸所言說，皆實不虛。所以者何？如來如實知見三界之相，無有生死、若退若出，亦無在世及滅度者，非實非虛，非如非異，不如三界見於三界，如斯之事，如來明見，無有錯謬。以諸眾生有種種性、種種欲、種種行、種種憶想分別故，欲令生諸善根，以若干因緣、譬喻、言辭種種說法，所作佛事，未曾暫廢。如是，我成佛已來，甚大久遠，壽命無量阿僧祇劫，常住不滅。
「諸善男子！我本行菩薩道所成壽命，今猶未盡，復倍上數。然今非實滅度，而便唱言：『當取滅度。』如來以是方便，教化眾生。所以者何？若佛久住於世，薄德之人，不種善根，貧窮下賤，貪著五欲，入於憶想妄見網中。若見如來常在不滅，便起憍恣而懷厭怠，不能生難遭之想、恭敬之心。是故如來以方便說：『比丘當知！諸佛出世，難可值遇。』所以者何？諸薄德人，過無量百千萬億劫，或有見佛，或不見者，以此事故，我作是言：『諸比丘！如來難可得見。』斯眾生等聞如是語，必當生於難遭之想，心懷戀慕，渴仰於佛，便種善根。是故如來雖不實滅，而言滅度。
〔T09 0043a07〕「又，善男子！諸佛如來，法皆如是，為度眾生，皆實不虛。譬如良醫，智慧聰達，明練方藥，善治眾病。其人多諸子息——若十、二十乃至百數，以有事緣，遠至餘國。諸子於後，飲他毒藥，藥發悶亂，宛轉于地。是時其父還來歸家，諸子飲毒，或失本心、或不失者，遙見其父，皆大歡喜，拜跪問訊：『善安隱歸。我等愚癡，誤服毒藥，願見救療，更賜壽命。』父見子等苦惱如是，依諸經方，求好藥草，色香美味皆悉具足，擣篩和合與子令服，而作是言：『此大良藥，色香美味皆悉具足，汝等可服，速除苦惱，無復眾患。』其諸子中不失心者，見此良藥、色香俱好，即便服之，病盡除愈。餘失心者，見其父來，雖亦歡喜問訊，求索治病，然與其藥而不肯服。所以者何？毒氣深入，失本心故，於此好色香藥而謂不美。父作是念：『此子可愍，為毒所中，心皆顛倒。雖見我喜，求索救療；如是好藥而不肯服。我今當設方便，令服此藥。』即作是言：『汝等當知！我今衰老，死時已至，是好良藥，今留在此，汝可取服，勿憂不差。』作是教已，復至他國，遣使還告：『汝父已死。』是時諸子聞父背喪，心大憂惱而作是念：『若父在者，慈愍我等，能見救護，今者捨我遠喪他國。』自惟孤露，無復恃怙，常懷悲感，心遂醒悟，乃知此藥色味香美，即取服之，毒病皆愈。其父聞子悉已得差，尋便來歸，咸使見之。
「諸善男子！於意云何？頗有人能說此良醫虛妄罪不？」
「不也，世尊！」
佛言：「我亦如是，成佛已來、無量無邊百千萬億那由他阿僧祇劫，為眾生故，以方便力、言當滅度，亦無有能如法說我虛妄過者。」
爾時世尊欲重宣此義，而說偈言：
「自我得佛來，所經諸劫數，
無量百千萬，億載阿僧祇，
常說法教化，無數億眾生，
令入於佛道。爾來無量劫，
為度眾生故，方便現涅槃，
而實不滅度，常住此說法。
我常住於此，以諸神通力，
令顛倒眾生，雖近而不見。
眾見我滅度，廣供養舍利，
咸皆懷戀慕，而生渴仰心。
眾生既信伏，質直意柔軟，
一心欲見佛，不自惜身命。
時我及眾僧，俱出靈鷲山，
我時語眾生：『常在此不滅，
以方便力故，現有滅不滅。』
餘國有眾生，恭敬信樂者，
我復於彼中，為說無上法。
汝等不聞此，但謂我滅度。
我見諸眾生，沒在於苦惱，
故不為現身，令其生渴仰，
因其心戀慕，乃出為說法。
神通力如是，於阿僧祇劫，
常在靈鷲山，及餘諸住處。
眾生見劫盡，大火所燒時，
我此土安隱，天人常充滿。
園林諸堂閣，種種寶莊嚴，
寶樹多花菓，眾生所遊樂。
諸天擊天鼓，常作眾伎樂，
雨曼陀羅花，散佛及大眾。
我淨土不毀，而眾見燒盡，
憂怖諸苦惱，如是悉充滿。
是諸罪眾生，以惡業因緣，
過阿僧祇劫，不聞三寶名。
諸有修功德，柔和質直者，
則皆見我身，在此而說法。
或時為此眾，說佛壽無量，
久乃見佛者，為說佛難值。
我智力如是，慧光照無量，
壽命無數劫，久修業所得。
汝等有智者，勿於此生疑，
當斷令永盡，佛語實不虛。
如醫善方便，為治狂子故，
實在而言死，無能說虛妄。
我亦為世父，救諸苦患者，
為凡夫顛倒，實在而言滅。
以常見我故，而生憍恣心，
放逸著五欲，墮於惡道中。
我常知眾生，行道不行道，
隨所應可度，為說種種法。
每自作是意，以何令眾生，
得入無上慧，速成就佛身。」
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.
三誡三請
那時候，佛陀對在座的眾菩薩以及一切大眾說：「各位善男子啊！你們應當信受、理解如來所說真實不虛的話。」佛陀又再一次告訴大眾：「你們應當信受、理解如來所說真實不虛的話。」佛陀第三次又告訴大眾：「你們應當信受、理解如來所說真實不虛的話。」
這時候，菩薩大眾，以彌勒菩薩為首，一齊合起雙掌，向佛陀稟白說：「世尊！但願您就說吧，我們一定會信受奉行佛所說的話。」像這樣連續稟白了三次以後，又再說：「但願您就說吧，我們一定會信受奉行佛所說的話。」
那時候世尊知道眾菩薩三次啟請、不肯停止，就告訴他們說：「你們要仔細地聽，聽如來祕密難知、神通自在的力量。這一切世間裡的天眾、人眾以及阿修羅（一類福報如天、卻好爭鬥的眾生），全都以為：『如今這位釋迦牟尼佛，是從釋迦族的王宮裡出來的，離開伽耶城不算太遠，坐在成道的道場上，才證得了阿耨多羅三藐三菩提（也就是無上正等正覺，最圓滿的覺悟）。』然而，各位善男子啊！我其實從成佛以來，已經經過了無量無邊、百千萬億那由他（那由他是極大的數目）那麼多的劫（劫是極其漫長的時間單位）。
久遠實成 · 五百塵點劫喻
打個比方：假設有五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇（阿僧祇意思是多到數不清）那麼多的三千大千世界（一個佛所教化的廣大世界範圍），假使有人把這許多世界統統磨碎、研成極細的微塵，然後這人向東方走去，每經過五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇個國土，才放下一粒微塵；就像這樣一路向東行走、一路放塵，直到把所有的微塵全都放盡。各位善男子啊！你們心裡怎麼想呢？這些被走過的世界，有辦法用思量、用計算去推知它們的數目嗎？」
彌勒菩薩等人一齊向佛陀稟白說：「世尊！這些世界，數量無量無邊，不是算數所能夠知道的，也不是心思的力量所能夠推及的；就連一切聲聞（聽聞佛法而悟道的弟子）、辟支佛（靠自己觀察因緣而覺悟的聖者），憑他們斷盡煩惱的無漏智慧，也沒辦法思量、推知它的界限數目；而我們這些安住在阿惟越致地（不退轉的境地）的菩薩，對於這件事情，也同樣無法通達了知。世尊！像這樣多的世界，真是無量無邊啊。」
那時候佛陀告訴這些大菩薩眾說：「各位善男子啊！現在我就明明白白地向你們宣說。這些世界，不論是曾經放下過微塵的、還是不曾放下過微塵的，統統再磨碎成微塵，然後拿一粒微塵算作一個劫；而我從成佛以來所經過的時間，還要超過這麼多的微塵劫，再多出百千萬億那由他阿僧祇個劫。從那麼久遠以來一直到今天，我常在這個娑婆世界（我們所在、堪忍種種苦的這個世界）說法教化眾生，同時也在其他百千萬億那由他阿僧祇那麼多的國土裡，引導、利益眾生。
常在娑婆 · 燃燈方便
「各位善男子啊！在這中間的漫長歲月裡，我曾說起燃燈佛等等古佛的事，又曾說到這些佛進入了涅槃（滅除煩惱、了脫生死的寂滅境界）；像這樣的種種說法，其實都是用善巧方便，隨機分別開示的。
「各位善男子啊！倘若有眾生來到我這裡，我就用佛的眼睛，觀察他信心等等各種善根是猛利還是遲鈍，隨著他各自所適合被度化的情況，我便在各個不同的地方，各自現身說法：所現的名字各不相同，所現的年紀有大有小；有時候也顯現說我將要進入涅槃，還用種種善巧方便來宣說微妙的佛法，能夠使眾生生起歡喜的心。
「各位善男子啊！如來看見那些喜好淺小之法、德行淺薄而煩惱垢染深重的眾生，就對這種人說：『我年輕時才出家不久，就證得了阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。』然而其實我成佛以來已經久遠到那樣的地步了，我只是用善巧方便來教化眾生，讓他們能夠進入成佛的道路，才這樣說的。
非實非虛 · 如實知見
「各位善男子啊！如來所宣講的一切經典，都是為了度脫眾生；有時說自己的身，有時說別人的身，有時顯示自己的身，有時顯示別人的身，有時開示自己的事，有時開示別人的事——凡是所說的一切言語，全都是真實而不虛假的。這是為什麼呢？因為如來如實地知道、如實地見到三界（欲界、色界、無色界，一切眾生流轉的境界）的真實相狀：其中並沒有真正的生、真正的死，沒有所謂的退沒、也沒有所謂的出生，也沒有所謂住在世間的、以及滅度離世的；一切既不是實有、也不是虛無，既不是相同、也不是相異，並不像三界裡的凡夫那樣去看待三界。像這樣的種種事，如來全都清清楚楚地照見，沒有絲毫的錯謬。正因為眾生有種種不同的心性、種種不同的欲求、種種不同的行為、種種不同的憶念與思量分別，所以如來為了讓他們生起種種善根，便用許許多多的因緣、譬喻、言辭，用種種方式來說法，這樣所作的度化佛事，不曾有片刻的停歇。就像這樣，我從成佛以來，已經極其久遠，壽命長達無量無數的阿僧祇劫，恆常安住而不曾滅去。
壽命無量 · 常住不滅
「各位善男子啊！我在往昔修行菩薩道時所成就的壽命，到今天都還沒有用盡，而且還要比上面所說的數目再多出一倍。然而如今我並不是真的滅度（真的入滅離世），卻要對外宣稱說：『我將要取入滅度了。』如來就是用這樣的方便，來教化眾生。這是為什麼呢？倘若佛長久地住在世間，那些德行淺薄的人，不肯栽種善根，處在貧窮下賤的境地，貪戀執著色、聲、香、味、觸這五種欲樂，落入了憶想妄見所結成的羅網當中。這種人若是看見如來恆常住世、不曾滅去，就會生起驕慢放縱的心，而懷著厭倦懈怠，不能夠生起『佛難得遇見』的珍重之想，也生不起恭敬之心。因此如來才用方便說道：『比丘們應當知道！諸佛出現於世間，是很難遇得到的。』這又是為什麼呢？因為那些德薄的人，經過無量百千萬億劫那麼久，有的能夠見到佛、有的卻見不到佛；就為了這個緣故，我才這樣說：『比丘們啊！如來是很難得能見到的。』這些眾生聽到這樣的話，必定會生起『佛難得遇見』的珍重之想，心裡懷著眷戀愛慕，如飢如渴地仰望著佛，於是就栽種下善根。正因為這樣，如來雖然並沒有真的滅度，卻對外說自己將要滅度。
醫子喻
「還有，善男子啊！諸佛如來，所行的法都是像這樣的，都是為了度化眾生，全都真實而不虛假。就打個比方：好比有一位良醫，智慧通達、聰明穎悟，精通熟練各種醫方藥物，善於醫治種種疾病。這位良醫有很多兒女——或許十個、二十個，甚至多達上百個；因為有事情要辦，遠遠地到別的國家去了。這些兒女在父親走後，誤喝了別人的毒藥，藥性一發作，就昏悶迷亂，痛苦地在地上翻來滾去。這時候他們的父親正好回到了家中，這些喝了毒藥的兒女，有的已經迷失了本來的心智、有的還沒有迷失，遠遠望見了父親回來，全都非常歡喜，向父親禮拜跪下、問候請安，說：『父親平安地回來了，真好啊。我們這些兒女愚昧癡傻，錯喝了毒藥，但願父親救治我們，重新賜給我們活命的機會。』
父親看見兒女們這樣痛苦煩惱，就依照各種醫書藥方，找來上好的藥草，色澤、香氣、美味樣樣都齊全具足，搗碎、篩過、調和好了，拿給兒女服用，並且這樣說道：『這是最好的良藥，色澤、香氣、味道樣樣都齊全具足，你們可以服下去，趕快除掉痛苦煩惱，就不會再有種種病患了。』這些兒女當中，那些沒有迷失心智的，看見這服良藥色澤、香氣都很好，就馬上服了下去，病就完全除盡、痊癒了。其餘迷失了心智的兒女，雖然看見父親回來也一樣歡喜、問候，也向父親求討醫病的藥，可是父親把藥給了他們，他們卻不肯服用。這是為什麼呢？因為毒氣已經深深侵入，迷失了本來的心智的緣故，所以對這色好香美的良藥，反倒說它不好吃、不美味。
父親就這樣想：『這些孩子真是可憐哪，中了毒害，心智全都顛倒錯亂了。他們雖然看見我很歡喜、也向我求討救治，可是這麼好的藥卻不肯服用。我如今應當設下善巧方便，讓他們把這藥服下去。』於是就對他們說：『你們應當知道！我如今已經衰弱年老，死亡的時候快要到了，這服上好的良藥，如今就留在這裡，你們可以自己拿去服用，不用擔憂病好不了。』這樣囑咐完了以後，父親又前往別的國家，然後派遣使者回來轉告：『你們的父親已經死了。』這時候兒女們聽說父親客死他鄉、離開了人世，心裡非常憂愁苦惱，就這樣想著：『倘若父親還在世的話，會慈愛憐憫我們，能夠救護我們；如今卻捨下我們，遠遠地死在別的國家了。』他們想到自己成了孤兒、無所依靠，再也沒有可以倚仗的人了，心裡常常懷著悲痛感傷；就這樣，他們的心終於清醒覺悟過來，這才明白這藥色澤、味道、香氣樣樣都好，於是拿起來服了下去，中毒的病痛全都痊癒了。那位父親聽說兒女們病都已經好了，隨即就回到家來，讓大家都見到他。
「各位善男子啊！你們心裡怎麼想呢？可有人能夠說這位良醫犯了說謊欺誑的罪過嗎？」
「不能的，世尊！」
佛陀說：「我也正是這樣。我從成佛以來，已經經過了無量無邊、百千萬億那由他阿僧祇那麼多的劫，我為了眾生的緣故，才用方便的力量，說自己將要滅度；也同樣沒有任何人，能夠如理如實地指說我犯了說謊欺誑的過失。」
重頌
那時候世尊想要把這番義理再宣說一遍，就用偈頌（有韻的偈語）說道：
「從我證得佛果以來，所經歷的種種劫數， 多達無量的百千萬、億載那由他、阿僧祇那麼多； 我一直不斷地說法教化，度化了無數億的眾生， 使他們進入成佛的道路。從那以來已是無量劫，
為了度化眾生的緣故，我才用方便顯現進入涅槃， 其實我並沒有真的滅度，而是恆常安住在這裡說法。 我常常安住在這個世間，憑著種種神通的力量， 使那些顛倒的眾生，雖然近在身旁卻看不見我。
眾生看見我滅度了，就廣為供養我的舍利（佛遺留的靈骨）， 人人都懷著眷戀愛慕，因而生起如飢似渴的仰望之心。 眾生既然已經信服敬伏，心意變得質樸正直、柔和調順， 一心一意想要見到佛，甚至不惜捨棄自己的身家性命。
那時候我和眾多的僧眾，一同出現在靈鷲山上， 我在那時對眾生說：『我恆常安住在這裡不曾滅去， 只是憑著方便的力量，才顯現出有時滅、有時不滅的樣子。』
在別的國土裡若有眾生，是恭敬、信奉、樂於佛法的， 我又在他們那裡，為他們宣說至高無上的佛法。 而你們沒有聽到這些，就只當作我已經滅度了。
我看見這些眾生，沉沒陷溺在種種苦惱當中， 所以才故意不為他們現身，好讓他們生起如渴的仰望， 趁著他們心裡眷戀愛慕的時候，才現身出來為他們說法。
神通的力量就是像這樣，在無數的阿僧祇劫當中， 我常在靈鷲山上，以及其餘的種種安住之處。 眾生看見這個世界劫數將盡、被大火焚燒的時候， 我這片國土卻安穩無恙，天眾人眾常常充滿其間。
園子、樹林、種種殿堂樓閣，用各式各樣的珍寶莊嚴裝飾， 寶樹上開滿花、結滿果，是眾生遊玩娛樂的地方。 諸天神擊打著天上的鼓，常常演奏出種種美妙的音樂， 從空中降下曼陀羅花（一種天上的妙花），散落在佛和大眾的身上。
我這清淨的國土並不曾毀壞，可是眾生卻看見它被燒得精光， 種種憂愁、恐怖與苦惱，就像這樣統統充滿在他們眼前。 這些有罪業的眾生，因為造作惡業的因緣， 經過了阿僧祇劫那麼久，都聽不到佛、法、僧三寶的名號。
至於那些修習功德、性情柔和、心地質樸正直的眾生， 就全都能夠看見我的身，安住在這裡為他們說法。 有時候我為這些眾生，宣說佛的壽命無量無邊， 對於要經過很久才能見到佛的人，就為他們宣說佛難得遇見。
我的智慧力量就是像這樣，智慧的光明照耀著無量的世界， 壽命長達無數的劫，這是我久遠修行、積功累業所得來的。 你們這些有智慧的人，切莫在這件事上生起疑惑， 應當把疑惑斬斷、讓它永遠斷盡，因為佛所說的話真實而不虛假。
就好比那良醫善用方便，為了醫治發狂的兒子的緣故， 明明還活著卻說自己死了，也沒有人能說他是說謊欺誑。 我也同樣是這世間的慈父，是救度種種受苦受難者的人， 為了那些顛倒錯亂的凡夫，明明還在世卻說自己滅度了。
倘若眾生因為常常見到我的緣故，就會生起驕慢放縱的心， 放蕩懈怠、貪著色聲香味觸五種欲樂，因而墮落到惡道之中。 我常常了知眾生，是在依法修道、還是不依法修道， 隨著他們各自所適合被度化的情況，為他們宣說種種不同的法。
我每每自己這樣起念：要用什麼辦法，才能使眾生 得以進入至高無上的智慧，迅速成就佛的身呢。」
Kumārajīva's Chinese root text (T09n0262) is retained as a visual anchor for bilingual readers; the English below renders it in plain, continuous prose.
The Three Admonitions and Three Requests
爾時，佛告諸菩薩及一切大眾：「諸善男子！汝等當信解如來誠諦之語。」復告大眾：「汝等當信解如來誠諦之語。」又復告諸大眾：「汝等當信解如來誠諦之語。」 是時菩薩大眾，彌勒為首，合掌白佛言：「世尊！唯願說之，我等當信受佛語。」如是三白已，復言：「唯願說之，我等當信受佛語。」 爾時世尊知諸菩薩三請不止，而告之言：「汝等諦聽，如來祕密神通之力。一切世間天、人及阿修羅，皆謂：『今釋迦牟尼佛，出釋氏宮，去伽耶城不遠，坐於道場，得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。』然，善男子！我實成佛已來無量無邊百千萬億那由他劫。
At that time, the Buddha addressed the bodhisattvas and the whole great assembly: “Good men! You should trust and understand the sincere words of the Tathāgata, true and not false.” He again told the assembly: “You should trust and understand the sincere words of the Tathāgata, true and not false.” A third time he told the whole great assembly: “You should trust and understand the sincere words of the Tathāgata, true and not false.”
At that time, the great assembly of bodhisattvas, led by Maitreya, joined their palms and addressed the Buddha: “World-Honored One! We pray that you will teach it. We will trust, receive, and put the Buddha’s words into practice.” After making this request three times, they said once more: “We pray that you will teach it. We will trust, receive, and put the Buddha’s words into practice.”
The World-Honored One then knew that the bodhisattvas had requested him three times and would not stop, and he told them: “Listen carefully to the Tathāgata’s hidden, difficult-to-know, sovereign supernormal power. All the devas, humans, and asuras—beings blessed like devas but prone to strife—in the world think: ‘The present Śākyamuni Buddha left the palace of the Śākya clan, went to a place not far from the city of Gayā, sat at the place of awakening, and only then attained unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening—the fullest awakening beyond which there is none.’ Yet, good men, since I actually attained buddhahood, immeasurable and boundless hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of nayutas of aeons have passed. A nayuta is an exceedingly vast number, and an aeon is an unimaginably long span of time.
Actual Attainment in the Distant Past · The Parable of the Five Hundred Dust-Speck Aeons
譬如五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇三千大千世界，假使有人末為微塵，過於東方五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇國乃下一塵，如是東行，盡是微塵。諸善男子！於意云何？是諸世界，可得思惟校計知其數不？」 彌勒菩薩等俱白佛言：「世尊！是諸世界，無量無邊，非算數所知，亦非心力所及；一切聲聞、辟支佛，以無漏智，不能思惟知其限數；我等住阿惟越致地，於是事中亦所不達。世尊！如是諸世界，無量無邊。」 爾時佛告大菩薩眾：「諸善男子！今當分明宣語汝等。是諸世界，若著微塵及不著者盡以為塵，一塵一劫，我成佛已來，復過於此百千萬億那由他阿僧祇劫。自從是來，我常在此娑婆世界說法教化，亦於餘處百千萬億那由他阿僧祇國導利眾生。
“Consider a comparison. Suppose there were five hundred thousand myriads of millions of nayutas and asaṃkhyas—numbers that cannot be counted—of three-thousandfold great-thousand worlds, each one the vast domain taught and transformed by a buddha. Suppose someone ground all these worlds into exceedingly fine particles of dust. He then traveled east, passing through five hundred thousand myriads of millions of nayutas and asaṃkhyas of lands before setting down a single particle. Continuing eastward in this way, he set down one particle only after passing that vast number of lands, until all the dust was exhausted. Good men! What do you think? Could anyone conceive, calculate, and know the number of all those worlds?”
Maitreya Bodhisattva and the others together addressed the Buddha: “World-Honored One! Those worlds are immeasurable and boundless. Their number cannot be known through calculation, nor can the power of thought reach it. Even all the śrāvakas—disciples awakened by hearing the Buddha teach—and pratyekabuddhas—sages awakened on their own by contemplating causes and conditions—could not, even with uncontaminated knowledge free of all affliction, conceive or know its limit. We bodhisattvas who abide on the ground of nonretrogression, the stage from which one no longer falls back, cannot comprehend this matter either. World-Honored One! Those worlds are indeed immeasurable and boundless.”
At that time, the Buddha told the assembly of great bodhisattvas: “Good men! I will now declare this clearly to you. Take every one of those worlds—both those upon which a particle was placed and those upon which no particle was placed—and grind them all into dust. Let each particle represent one aeon. Since I attained buddhahood, the time that has passed exceeds even all these dust-particle aeons by hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of nayutas and asaṃkhyas of aeons. From that distant time until today, I have constantly remained in this Sahā world—the world in which beings must patiently endure many sufferings—teaching the Dharma and transforming sentient beings. At the same time, in hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of nayutas and asaṃkhyas of other lands, I have guided sentient beings and brought them benefit.
Ever Present in the Sahā World · Skillful Means Concerning Dīpaṃkara Buddha
「諸善男子！於是中間，我說燃燈佛等，又復言其入於涅槃，如是皆以方便分別。 「諸善男子！若有眾生來至我所，我以佛眼，觀其信等諸根利鈍，隨所應度，處處自說，名字不同、年紀大小，亦復現言當入涅槃，又以種種方便說微妙法，能令眾生發歡喜心。 「諸善男子！如來見諸眾生樂於小法、德薄垢重者，為是人說：『我少出家，得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。』然我實成佛已來久遠若斯，但以方便，教化眾生，令入佛道，作如是說。
“Good men! During all that time, I spoke of Dīpaṃkara Buddha and other buddhas, and I also said that they had entered nirvāṇa—the quiescent state in which afflictions are extinguished and birth and death transcended. All such statements were distinctions taught through skillful means.
“Good men! Whenever sentient beings come before me, I observe with the Buddha-eye whether their faculties, beginning with trust, are sharp or dull. According to how each can be delivered, I appear and speak in many different places. The names by which I call myself are not the same, nor are the ages, greater or lesser, that I display. At times I also manifest and say that I am about to enter nirvāṇa. Through many kinds of skillful means I teach the wondrous Dharma and cause sentient beings to give rise to joy.
“Good men! When the Tathāgata sees sentient beings who delight in a lesser Dharma, whose qualities are slight and whose defilements are heavy, he tells them: ‘Not long after I left home in youth, I attained unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening.’ Yet in truth I attained buddhahood as long ago as I have described. I say this only as a skillful means, to teach and transform sentient beings and cause them to enter the buddha-way.
Neither Real nor False · Knowing-and-Seeing as It Truly Is
「諸善男子！如來所演經典，皆為度脫眾生，或說己身、或說他身，或示己身、或示他身，或示己事、或示他事，諸所言說，皆實不虛。所以者何？如來如實知見三界之相，無有生死、若退若出，亦無在世及滅度者，非實非虛，非如非異，不如三界見於三界，如斯之事，如來明見，無有錯謬。以諸眾生有種種性、種種欲、種種行、種種憶想分別故，欲令生諸善根，以若干因緣、譬喻、言辭種種說法，所作佛事，未曾暫廢。如是，我成佛已來，甚大久遠，壽命無量阿僧祇劫，常住不滅。
“Good men! Every scripture expounded by the Tathāgata is taught to deliver and liberate sentient beings. At times he speaks of his own body; at times, of another’s body. At times he reveals his own body; at times, another’s body. At times he reveals his own deeds; at times, another’s deeds. Everything he says is true and not false. Why is this? The Tathāgata knows and sees the marks of the three realms—the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm through which sentient beings cycle—just as they truly are. There is no actual birth or death, no actual withdrawal or emergence; there is no one who actually abides in the world and no one who actually enters extinction. They are neither real nor false—neither fixed existence nor sheer nonexistence—and neither thus nor different, neither simply the same nor simply other. The Tathāgata does not see the three realms as ordinary beings within the three realms see them. All such matters the Tathāgata sees clearly, without the slightest error.
“Sentient beings are not the same in their natures, not the same in their desires, not the same in their courses of conduct, and not the same in their memories, thoughts, and discriminations. Wishing to cause them to produce wholesome roots, the Tathāgata teaches the Dharma in many ways, using many causes and conditions, parables, and expressions. The Buddha-work he performs has never ceased, even for a moment. Thus, since I attained buddhahood in the exceedingly distant past, my lifespan has extended through immeasurable asaṃkhyas of aeons. I constantly abide and never enter extinction.
Immeasurable Lifespan · Constantly Abiding, Never Entering Extinction
「諸善男子！我本行菩薩道所成壽命，今猶未盡，復倍上數。然今非實滅度，而便唱言：『當取滅度。』如來以是方便，教化眾生。所以者何？若佛久住於世，薄德之人，不種善根，貧窮下賤，貪著五欲，入於憶想妄見網中。若見如來常在不滅，便起憍恣而懷厭怠，不能生難遭之想、恭敬之心。是故如來以方便說：『比丘當知！諸佛出世，難可值遇。』所以者何？諸薄德人，過無量百千萬億劫，或有見佛，或不見者，以此事故，我作是言：『諸比丘！如來難可得見。』斯眾生等聞如是語，必當生於難遭之想，心懷戀慕，渴仰於佛，便種善根。是故如來雖不實滅，而言滅度。
“Good men! The lifespan I accomplished while formerly practicing the bodhisattva path is not yet exhausted even now; it is twice even the number just described. Yet today I do not actually enter extinction, although I proclaim: ‘I am about to enter extinction.’ The Tathāgata uses this skillful means to teach and transform sentient beings. Why? If the Buddha were to remain in the world for a long time, people of slight quality would not plant wholesome roots. Impoverished and lowly, they would greedily cling to the five desires—visible forms, sounds, scents, flavors, and tangible things—and enter the net woven of imagined thoughts and false views. If they saw the Tathāgata constantly present and never entering extinction, they would become proud and self-indulgent, grow weary and indolent, and be unable to give rise to the thought that a buddha is difficult to encounter or to a mind of reverence.
“Therefore, through skillful means, the Tathāgata says: ‘Monks, you should know! It is difficult to encounter the appearance of the buddhas in the world.’ Why? People of slight quality may pass through immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of aeons: some see a buddha, while others do not. For this reason I say: ‘Monks! The Tathāgata is difficult to see.’ When sentient beings such as these hear these words, they will certainly give rise to the precious thought that the Buddha is difficult to encounter. Their hearts will fill with longing and yearning; thirsting to behold the Buddha, they will plant wholesome roots. Therefore, although the Tathāgata does not actually enter extinction, he says that he does.
The Parable of the Physician and His Sons
「又，善男子！諸佛如來，法皆如是，為度眾生，皆實不虛。譬如良醫，智慧聰達，明練方藥，善治眾病。其人多諸子息——若十、二十乃至百數，以有事緣，遠至餘國。諸子於後，飲他毒藥，藥發悶亂，宛轉于地。是時其父還來歸家，諸子飲毒，或失本心、或不失者，遙見其父，皆大歡喜，拜跪問訊：『善安隱歸。我等愚癡，誤服毒藥，願見救療，更賜壽命。』父見子等苦惱如是，依諸經方，求好藥草，色香美味皆悉具足，擣篩和合與子令服，而作是言：『此大良藥，色香美味皆悉具足，汝等可服，速除苦惱，無復眾患。』其諸子中不失心者，見此良藥、色香俱好，即便服之，病盡除愈。餘失心者，見其父來，雖亦歡喜問訊，求索治病，然與其藥而不肯服。所以者何？毒氣深入，失本心故，於此好色香藥而謂不美。父作是念：『此子可愍，為毒所中，心皆顛倒。雖見我喜，求索救療；如是好藥而不肯服。我今當設方便，令服此藥。』即作是言：『汝等當知！我今衰老，死時已至，是好良藥，今留在此，汝可取服，勿憂不差。』作是教已，復至他國，遣使還告：『汝父已死。』是時諸子聞父背喪，心大憂惱而作是念：『若父在者，慈愍我等，能見救護，今者捨我遠喪他國。』自惟孤露，無復恃怙，常懷悲感，心遂醒悟，乃知此藥色味香美，即取服之，毒病皆愈。其父聞子悉已得差，尋便來歸，咸使見之。 「諸善男子！於意云何？頗有人能說此良醫虛妄罪不？」 「不也，世尊！」 佛言：「我亦如是，成佛已來、無量無邊百千萬億那由他阿僧祇劫，為眾生故，以方便力、言當滅度，亦無有能如法說我虛妄過者。」
“Again, good men! The Dharma of all buddhas, the Tathāgatas, is just the same: everything they do to deliver sentient beings is true and not false. Consider a good physician, wise, intelligent, and discerning, thoroughly skilled in prescriptions and medicines, and able to cure many illnesses. This man has many children—perhaps ten, twenty, or even a hundred. Because of some business, he travels far away to another country. After he has gone, his children drink another person’s poisonous medicine. When the poison takes effect, they become dazed and delirious and roll upon the ground in pain.
“At that time, their father returns home. The children who drank the poison have either lost their original clarity of mind or have not lost it. Seeing their father from afar, they all rejoice greatly. They bow, kneel, and inquire after him: ‘How good that you have returned safely. In our foolishness and delusion, we mistakenly drank poisonous medicine. We pray that you will see us, cure us, and grant us life again.’ Seeing his children in such torment, the father consults his medical texts and prescriptions and seeks excellent medicinal herbs, complete in fine color, fragrance, and flavor. He pounds them, sifts them, mixes them together, and gives the medicine to his children, saying: ‘This is an excellent medicine, complete in fine color, fragrance, and flavor. You should take it. It will quickly remove your suffering, and none of your many illnesses will remain.’
“Among the children, those who have not lost their original clarity of mind see that the excellent medicine has a fine color and fragrance. They take it at once, and their illness is completely removed and cured. The other children, who have lost their clarity of mind, also rejoice and inquire after their father when they see him return, and they too ask him to cure their illness. Yet when he gives them the medicine, they refuse to take it. Why? The poison has entered deeply, causing them to lose their original clarity of mind; therefore they regard this medicine, though fine in color and fragrance, as neither good-tasting nor pleasant.
“The father thinks: ‘These children are truly pitiable. The poison has entered them, and their minds are entirely inverted. Although they rejoice to see me and ask me to cure them, they refuse to take such excellent medicine. I must now devise a skillful means to make them take it.’ He therefore tells them: ‘You should know! I am now weak and old, and the time of my death has arrived. I leave this excellent medicine here. You can take it yourselves. Do not worry that you will fail to recover.’ Having given these instructions, he again goes to another country and sends a messenger back to announce: ‘Your father has died.’
“When the children hear that their father has died far away, they grieve bitterly and think: ‘If our father were still alive, he would love and pity us, and he could see, save, and protect us. Now he has abandoned us and died far away in another country.’ They regard themselves as orphaned and exposed, with no one left upon whom they can rely. Constantly grieving and mourning, their minds at last awaken. Only then do they recognize that the medicine is excellent in color, flavor, and fragrance. They take it, and the illness caused by the poison is completely cured. When the father hears that all his children have recovered, he returns at once and lets them all see him.
“Good men! What do you think? Could anyone say that this good physician was guilty of falsehood?”
“No, World-Honored One!”
The Buddha said: “I too am just the same. Since I attained buddhahood, immeasurable and boundless hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of nayutas and asaṃkhyas of aeons have passed. For the sake of sentient beings, through the power of skillful means I say that I am about to enter extinction. Yet no one can rightly accuse me of the fault of falsehood.”
Proclaiming the Meaning Again · Verse
爾時世尊欲重宣此義，而說偈言： 「自我得佛來，所經諸劫數，
無量百千萬，億載阿僧祇，
常說法教化，無數億眾生，
令入於佛道。爾來無量劫，
為度眾生故，方便現涅槃，
而實不滅度，常住此說法。
我常住於此，以諸神通力，
令顛倒眾生，雖近而不見。
眾見我滅度，廣供養舍利，
咸皆懷戀慕，而生渴仰心。
眾生既信伏，質直意柔軟，
一心欲見佛，不自惜身命。
時我及眾僧，俱出靈鷲山，
我時語眾生：『常在此不滅，
以方便力故，現有滅不滅。』
餘國有眾生，恭敬信樂者，
我復於彼中，為說無上法。
汝等不聞此，但謂我滅度。
我見諸眾生，沒在於苦惱，
故不為現身，令其生渴仰，
因其心戀慕，乃出為說法。
神通力如是，於阿僧祇劫，
常在靈鷲山，及餘諸住處。
眾生見劫盡，大火所燒時，
我此土安隱，天人常充滿。
園林諸堂閣，種種寶莊嚴，
寶樹多花菓，眾生所遊樂。
諸天擊天鼓，常作眾伎樂，
雨曼陀羅花，散佛及大眾。
我淨土不毀，而眾見燒盡，
憂怖諸苦惱，如是悉充滿。
是諸罪眾生，以惡業因緣，
過阿僧祇劫，不聞三寶名。
諸有修功德，柔和質直者，
則皆見我身，在此而說法。
或時為此眾，說佛壽無量，
久乃見佛者，為說佛難值。
我智力如是，慧光照無量，
壽命無數劫，久修業所得。
汝等有智者，勿於此生疑，
當斷令永盡，佛語實不虛。
如醫善方便，為治狂子故，
實在而言死，無能說虛妄。
我亦為世父，救諸苦患者，
為凡夫顛倒，實在而言滅。
以常見我故，而生憍恣心，
放逸著五欲，墮於惡道中。
我常知眾生，行道不行道，
隨所應可度，為說種種法。
每自作是意，以何令眾生，
得入無上慧，速成就佛身。」
At that time, the World-Honored One wished to proclaim this meaning again, and spoke in metrical verse:
“Since I attained buddhahood,
the aeons that have passed
are immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads,
millions of years, nayutas, and asaṃkhyas beyond reckoning.
Without ceasing, I have taught the Dharma and transformed
countless millions of sentient beings,
causing them to enter the buddha-way.
Immeasurable aeons have passed since then.
For the sake of delivering sentient beings,
through skillful means I manifest nirvāṇa;
yet in truth I do not enter extinction,
but constantly abide here and teach the Dharma.
I constantly remain in this world,
and through the power of supernormal abilities
cause inverted sentient beings,
though I am near, not to see me.
When sentient beings see me enter extinction,
they make extensive offerings to my relics, the sacred remains of a buddha.
All cherish longing and affection
and give rise to hearts that thirst to behold me.
Once sentient beings have trusted and submitted,
and their intentions have become straightforward, gentle, and pliant,
they single-mindedly wish to see the Buddha
and do not spare even their own bodies or lives.
At that time, I and the assembly of monks
appear together on Vulture Peak.
Then I tell the sentient beings:
‘I constantly remain here and never enter extinction;
only through the power of skillful means
do I manifest both extinction and non-extinction.’
When, in other lands, there are sentient beings
who are reverent, trusting, and delighted in the Dharma,
I appear among them as well
and teach them the unsurpassed Dharma.
You do not hear of this
and merely suppose that I have entered extinction.
I see sentient beings
submerged in many sufferings;
therefore I do not reveal my body to them,
causing them to give rise to thirsting yearning.
Only when their hearts fill with longing
do I appear and teach the Dharma.
Such is the power of my supernormal abilities.
Through asaṃkhyas of aeons,
I constantly abide on Vulture Peak
and in many other dwelling places.
When sentient beings see the aeon coming to an end
and the world consumed by a great fire,
this land of mine remains peaceful, secure, and unharmed,
constantly filled with devas and humans.
Its gardens, groves, halls, and pavilions
are adorned with many kinds of precious things.
Jeweled trees abound in flowers and fruit,
and sentient beings delight and play among them.
The devas beat heavenly drums
and constantly perform many kinds of music.
They rain down māndārava flowers, wondrous blossoms of the heavens,
scattering them upon the Buddha and the great assembly.
My pure land is not destroyed,
yet sentient beings see it burned to nothing.
Grief, fear, and many sufferings
fill everything before them in this way.
Because of the causes and conditions of their evil karma,
these sinful sentient beings
pass through asaṃkhyas of aeons
without hearing even the names of the Three Jewels—Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha.
But those who cultivate qualities,
who are gentle and straightforward,
all see my body
abiding here and teaching the Dharma.
At times I teach these sentient beings
that the Buddha’s lifespan is immeasurable;
to those who see a buddha only after a long time,
I teach that a buddha is difficult to encounter.
Such is the power of my knowledge;
the radiance of wisdom illumines immeasurable worlds.
My lifespan extends through countless aeons,
accomplished through practice cultivated long ago.
You who possess wisdom
must not give rise to doubt about this.
You should sever doubt and bring it forever to an end,
for the Buddha’s words are true and not false.
Like the physician who skillfully devised a means
in order to cure his delirious children,
though truly alive, he said that he had died,
and no one could call his words false.
I too am the father of the world,
saving all who suffer from pain and illness.
For the sake of inverted ordinary beings,
though truly present, I say that I enter extinction.
If they constantly saw me,
they would give rise to pride and self-indulgence;
heedless and attached to the five desires—
forms, sounds, scents, flavors, and tangible things—
they would fall into evil destinations.
I constantly know which sentient beings
practice the path and which do not.
According to how each can be delivered,
I teach them forms of Dharma that are not all the same.
At every moment I form this thought:
By what means can I cause sentient beings
to enter unsurpassed wisdom
and swiftly accomplish the body of a buddha?”
方便品開權顯實，說破了「唯有一乘」；到這一品，法華轉入後半，要再開一重更深的權——連你以為的「佛」，也只是迹。世人都道釋迦牟尼佛生在王宮、成道在伽耶城、八十歲入滅；這一品，佛把這層近迹掀開，露出底下那個久遠、常住、其實從未離開的本佛來。以下順經文次第，把這一品每一義講明；末後再以唯識三身之說，補一點旁照。
佛三次叮囑「要信」：為何壽量品開場這樣鄭重
這一品一開場，佛連著三次告訴大眾：『你們要信解如來誠諦之語。』彌勒領著菩薩眾，也再三合掌請說：「唯願說之，我等當信受佛語」——三請而猶不止。一件事，何以要三誡、又三請不止，這樣鄭重其事？
因為下面要說的，太出人意表。凡夫、乃至聲聞菩薩，眼見的佛是一期八十年的化迹；佛要說的，卻是這化迹底下無量劫的本壽。這話若無深信，一聞便疑、便謗。所以佛先把「信」立穩——三誡，是要人把耳朵洗淨；三請，是要人把心打開。鄭重，正是因為所說之重。
我成佛已來，無量劫了：久遠實成與五百塵點劫
信心既立，佛說出那句震動三界的話：一切天、人、阿修羅都以為，釋迦如今出於王宮、去伽耶城不遠、坐道場才得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提；然而——「我實成佛已來，無量無邊百千萬億那由他劫」。這一世的成道，只是示現；真正的成佛，久遠到無法計量。
久到什麼地步？佛打了個喻：把五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇個三千大千世界統統磨成微塵，向東每過五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇個國土才落下一粒，直到塵盡；再把這一路所經的世界——著塵的、不著塵的——通通磨成塵，一粒塵算一劫。佛成佛以來的時間，還要比這些塵劫再多出百千萬億那由他阿僧祇劫。連住阿惟越致地的大菩薩，都算不出這數目。這就是「久遠實成」：佛的成道，不在今生，而在不可思議的久遠之前；這一世的伽耶成道，是為度眾生而現的一場近迹。
常在此說法：那些「入涅槃」的佛，與一場慈悲的隱藏
久遠成佛的佛，這無量劫都在做什麼？佛說：自那以來，「我常在此娑婆世界說法教化」，也在其餘無量國土導利眾生——從未停歇。那麼，經上說的燃燈佛等古佛、說他們入了涅槃，又是怎麼回事？佛答得坦白：那些都是「以方便分別」——為著度化不同根機的眾生，佛在各處隨宜現身，名字不同、年紀大小不同，也現說自己將入涅槃，都是方便。
換句話說：眾生見到的一尊尊佛、一次次入滅，是那一個久遠本佛，隨眾生之機，演出的一場又一場方便。對德薄垢重、只樂小法的人，佛便現說『我少出家、今生才成道』——不是欺誑，是因為若直說久遠，他反擔不起、不肯信。
非實非虛：如來所見的三界
這裡，佛透出他所以能如此的底——他看三界的眼，與凡夫全然不同。如來所說一切，或說己身他身、或示己事他事，「皆實不虛」。何以皆實？因為「如來如實知見三界之相」：在佛眼中，三界並無實在的生死、沒有實在的退沒與出生，沒有實在的「住世者」與「滅度者」;一切「非實非虛，非如非異」，不像凡夫那樣執實地去看三界。凡夫見生見滅、見來見去，佛則如實照見這一切本無定相。正因如此，佛的「現生現滅」才都是自在的方便，而非被生死所轉。這一句「非實非虛」，是全品最深的一眼——本佛之常住，正立在這「如實知見」上。
「非實非虛」聽來玄，其實下文的醫子喻，就是它一幅現成的圖：那父親明明活著，卻遣人回報「已死」——這「死」是非實，他並未真死；卻又非虛，那一聲死訊，實實在在救回了中毒顛倒的孩子。佛的現滅也正是這樣：非實滅，本佛常住、未嘗真滅；非虛言，那示現的滅度，真真切切策發了眾生的渴仰。「非實非虛」四個字，到醫子喻裡，就活了過來。
壽命無量、常住不滅——那麼，佛為何又「入滅」？
於是佛總結：「我成佛已來，甚大久遠，壽命無量阿僧祇劫，常住不滅。」他往昔行菩薩道所成的壽命，至今未盡，還要倍過上數。這裡逼出全品最要緊的一問：既然壽命無量、常住不滅，佛為何偏偏又「唱言當取滅度」，示現八十歲入涅槃？
佛自答，答得極慈悲：「今非實滅度，而便唱言當取滅度。」這是方便。為什麼要這方便？因為——若佛長久住世不滅，那些薄德的人便不肯種善根，貪著五欲、起憍恣心，把佛的常在看得理所當然，「不能生難遭之想、恭敬之心」。人性如此：太容易得到的，便不知珍惜。所以佛示現入滅，讓眾生生起「佛難得遇」的渴仰，才肯回頭種下善根。佛的「離開」，不是真離開，是一種不得不然的深慈——以退為進，以隱為顯。
醫子喻：一場為救狂子而演的死
這層慈悲，佛以一個喻說到極動人處。有一位良醫，善治眾病，多有子女；他遠行在外時，諸子誤飲毒藥，悶亂宛轉。父親歸來，配了色香味俱全的良藥令服。未失本心的孩子一服即愈；可那些毒入深、心已顛倒的孩子，明明求救，見了好藥卻嫌不美、不肯服。父親心想：這些孩子中毒顛倒，當面求我卻不肯服藥，我須設個方便。於是留下良藥，遠走他國，遣人回告：『你們的父親死了。』諸子聞父客死，孤露無依、悲感交集，心竟醒了過來，這才取藥服下，毒病皆愈。父親聞子病癒，便又還來相見。
佛問：這位良醫，設方便言死以救狂子，可有虛妄之罪？眾答：「不也，世尊！」——那父親分明活著卻言死，卻無人能說他打妄語，因為那「死」是為救子而設。佛說：我也如此。成佛以來無量劫，為眾生故以方便力言當滅度，也沒有人能如法說我虛妄。這一喻，把「非實滅度」四字，化成了一位父親為喚醒中毒之子而演的一場死——佛的入滅，原是這樣一場慈悲的方便。
佛從沒真正離開：壽量品的心
長行既畢，佛以偈重明，句句都在說這一件事：「為度眾生故，方便現涅槃，而實不滅度，常住此說法。」佛常住靈鷲山及餘住處，只是「令顛倒眾生，雖近而不見」;眾生見劫火燒盡此土，「我此土安隱，天人常充滿……我淨土不毀，而眾見燒盡」——同一片土，佛見安隱清淨，罪業眾生見火燒憂怖，所見隨心而異。柔和質直、修功德者，則「皆見我身，在此而說法」。偈末，佛把這無量壽命的用心，收成一句：「每自作是意，以何令眾生，得入無上慧，速成就佛身。」
原來這一品的心是：佛從沒真正離開。他久遠已成、常住不滅，那一場入涅槃，是為了讓沉迷的眾生生起渴仰、回頭修行而演的一場慈悲的隱藏。佛的壽量無邊，佛的悲心無盡——他隱去身影，只為在你渴仰回頭的那一刻，重新為你現身說法。你以為佛入滅了兩千多年；壽量品說，佛就在這裡，一直未曾離開，只等你質直柔軟的那一念。
以唯識之眼：三佛菩提——誰久遠、誰常住、誰現滅
上來是壽量品自身的義。這一系譯註，另以唯識（慈恩窺基《法華玄贊》）為一面旁照的鏡子——鏡非經，只是換一副眼來看，那『久遠、常住、現滅』三重，各安在什麼身上，看得更分明。
窺基以「三佛菩提」（法、報、化三身）讀這一品。世人所見「出釋氏宮、伽耶成道」的那尊佛，是應化菩提——化身，是隨眾生所應而示現的近迹。「我實成佛已來無量億劫」的久遠成道，是報佛菩提——報身，是十地行滿所成、隨眾生界與本願力而壽命常住的真身；願度眾生無盡，故果上壽命無萎，這才是「壽命無量常住不滅」的所屬。而那『如來如實知見三界之相、非實非虛』的，是法佛菩提——法身，即如來藏性淨涅槃，常恒清淨不變。至於「非實滅度，而便唱言：『當取滅度。』」的現滅，是化身的方便：窺基一句點透——「化身如醫示死，報身如父實體常存」;那場演出的死，是化身；那位實體常存的父，是報身。醫子喻裡，藥即戒定慧，毒即煩惱，病即眾苦。三身一體，久遠者報、常住者法與報、現滅者化，壽量品的三重深意，借三身之說，條分縷析。
同一部壽量品，天台智者也通明三身而別意在報身，更於「壽量」立四句、不執定常或無常，歸於中道；三論吉藏亦以三種壽量、四句，末泯歸乎寂滅。三家皆以三身讀壽量而各有側重，孰為了義，此處並錄不判。這面唯識之鏡照見的，是壽量品裡那一層「三身開合」的紋理：佛之常住與現滅，原不相違——常住者是法報之真，現滅者是應化之權；本佛未嘗離，離的只是那應機而現、應機而隱的化迹而已。
The Chapter on Skillful Means opened the provisional to reveal the real and disclosed that there is only One Vehicle. With the present chapter, the Lotus turns into the latter half and opens an even deeper layer of the provisional: even the Buddha whom you thought you knew is only a trace. The world says that Śākyamuni Buddha was born in a palace, attained the Way at Gayā, and entered extinction at the age of eighty. In this chapter, the Buddha lifts away that layer of near trace and reveals beneath it the Buddha in his Origin—distant, ever-abiding, and in truth never departed. What follows explains every meaning in the chapter in the order of the sutra; only at the end will the Consciousness-Only teaching of the three bodies add a further sidelong illumination.
The Buddha Admonishes Them Three Times to “Trust”: Why Does the Chapter Open with Such Solemnity?
At the opening of the chapter, the Buddha tells the assembly three times in succession: “You should trust and understand the sincere and truthful words of the Tathāgata.” Led by Maitreya, the assembly of bodhisattvas also join their palms and repeatedly request him to speak: “We pray that you will teach it. We will trust and receive the Buddha’s words.” They request him three times and still do not stop. Why should one matter require three admonitions and three unceasing requests? Why such solemnity?
Because what is about to be said is far beyond expectation. Ordinary beings, and even śrāvakas and bodhisattvas, see the Buddha only as an emanation-trace lasting a single lifetime of eighty years. What the Buddha is about to disclose, however, is the original lifespan of immeasurable aeons beneath that trace. Without deep trust, a person who hears such words will immediately doubt and slander them. The Buddha therefore first makes trust firm. The three admonitions wash the listener’s ears clean; the three requests open the listener’s heart. The solemnity answers the weight of what is about to be taught.
“Since I Attained Buddhahood, Immeasurable Aeons Have Passed”: Actual Attainment in the Distant Past and the Five Hundred Dust-Speck Aeons
Once trust has been established, the Buddha speaks the sentence that shakes the three realms. All devas, humans, and asuras think that Śākyamuni left the palace, went to a place not far from the city of Gayā, sat at the place of awakening, and only then attained unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening. Yet the Buddha declares: since I actually attained buddhahood, immeasurable and boundless hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of vast-numbered aeons have passed. The attainment of the Way in this present life is only a manifestation. His true attainment of buddhahood reaches back beyond measure.
How distant is it? The Buddha gives a simile. Grind five hundred thousand myriads of millions of immeasurable three-thousandfold great-thousand worlds entirely into dust. Travel east, setting down a single particle only after passing another five hundred thousand myriads of millions of immeasurable lands, and continue until every particle has been exhausted. Then take every world passed along the way—those where a particle was placed and those where none was placed—and grind them all into dust, counting each particle as one aeon. The time since the Buddha attained buddhahood exceeds even all these dust-particle aeons by hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of vast-numbered immeasurable aeons. Even great bodhisattvas abiding on the ground of nonretrogression cannot calculate that number. This is actual attainment in the distant past: the Buddha did not attain the Way for the first time in this life, but in an inconceivably distant past. His attainment at Gayā in the present life is a near trace manifested in order to deliver sentient beings.
Constantly Here Teaching the Dharma: Those Buddhas Who “Entered Nirvāṇa,” and a Compassionate Concealment
What has the Buddha who attained buddhahood in that distant past been doing throughout these immeasurable aeons? The Buddha says that from that time onward he has constantly remained in this Sahā world, teaching the Dharma and transforming sentient beings, while guiding and benefiting beings throughout immeasurable other lands as well. He has never ceased. What, then, of the scriptures that speak of Dīpaṃkara Buddha and other ancient buddhas, and say that they entered nirvāṇa? The Buddha answers openly: all those accounts were distinctions taught through skillful means. To deliver sentient beings whose capacities are not the same, the Buddha appears in different places in forms suited to each. The names he displays are not the same; the ages he displays are not the same; and at times he manifests and says that he is about to enter nirvāṇa. All are skillful means.
In other words, the many buddhas whom sentient beings see and the many occasions of extinction they witness are one Buddha in his distant Origin, staging one skillful manifestation after another in response to their capacities. For those whose qualities are slight, whose defilements are heavy, and who delight only in a lesser Dharma, the Buddha manifests and says, “I left home when young and attained the Way in this very life.” This is not deception. If he spoke directly of the distant past, such people would be unable to bear it and unwilling to trust.
Neither Real nor False: How the Tathāgata Sees the Three Realms
Here the Buddha reveals the ground that makes all this possible: his way of seeing the three realms is not at all the same as that of ordinary beings. Everything the Tathāgata teaches—whether he speaks of his own body or another’s body, reveals his own deeds or another’s deeds—is true and not false. Why is it all true? Because the Tathāgata knows and sees the marks of the three realms just as they truly are. In the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing, there is no actual birth or death, no actual withdrawal or emergence, no actual being who abides in the world or enters extinction. All is neither real nor false, neither thus nor different. He does not look upon the three realms with the reifying vision of ordinary beings within the three realms. Ordinary beings see birth and extinction, coming and going; the Buddha sees truly that none of these has a fixed mark. For precisely this reason, his manifested birth and manifested extinction are sovereign skillful means, not events by which he is turned within birth and death. The words “neither real nor false” form the chapter’s deepest act of seeing. The constant abiding of the Buddha in his Origin stands upon this knowing-and-seeing as it truly is.
“Neither real nor false” may sound abstruse, but the parable of the physician and his sons below gives us a ready-made picture of it. The father is plainly alive, yet sends someone back to report that he has died. His “death” is not real, for he has not truly died; yet it is not false, for the news of his death genuinely saves the poisoned and delirious children. The Buddha’s manifested extinction is just the same. It is no real extinction, for the Buddha in his Origin constantly abides and has never truly entered extinction; yet it is no empty falsehood, for the manifestation of extinction truly awakens thirsting yearning in sentient beings. In the physician’s parable, the words “neither real nor false” come alive.
Immeasurable Lifespan, Constantly Abiding and Never Entering Extinction—Why, Then, Does the Buddha “Pass Away”?
The Buddha therefore sums up: since he attained buddhahood in the exceedingly distant past, his lifespan has extended through immeasurable aeons; he constantly abides and never enters extinction. The lifespan he accomplished while formerly practicing the bodhisattva path is still not exhausted, and is twice even the number already given. This forces out the chapter’s most urgent question. If the Buddha’s lifespan is immeasurable and he constantly abides without entering extinction, why does he nevertheless proclaim that he will enter extinction and manifest passing into nirvāṇa at the age of eighty?
The Buddha answers with profound compassion: he does not actually enter extinction, yet proclaims that he will. This is a skillful means. Why is it needed? If the Buddha remained in the world for a long time without entering extinction, people of slight quality would refuse to plant wholesome roots. Clinging to the five desires, they would grow proud and self-indulgent, taking the Buddha’s constant presence for granted; they would be unable to give rise to the precious thought that a buddha is difficult to encounter or to a mind of reverence. Human beings are like this: what comes too easily is not treasured. The Buddha therefore manifests entry into extinction so that sentient beings will awaken the thirsting yearning that a buddha is difficult to encounter and turn back to plant wholesome roots. The Buddha’s “departure” is not a true departure, but a deep compassion that could act no other way—receding in order to draw beings forward, concealing himself in order to become manifest.
The Parable of the Physician and His Sons: A Death Staged to Save Delirious Children
The Buddha expresses this compassion through a deeply moving parable. A good physician, skilled in curing many illnesses, has many children. While he is traveling far away, the children mistakenly drink poison and fall dazed and delirious, writhing upon the ground. When their father returns, he prepares an excellent medicine, complete in color, fragrance, and flavor, and tells them to take it. The children who have not lost their original clarity of mind take it and recover at once. But those in whom the poison has entered deeply and whose minds have become inverted beg him for help while refusing the excellent medicine before them, judging it not good. The father thinks: these children are poisoned and inverted. They ask me to save them face to face, yet refuse the medicine. I must establish a skillful means. He leaves the excellent medicine behind, travels again to another country, and sends a messenger back to announce: “Your father has died.” Hearing that their father has died far away, the children feel orphaned, exposed, and without support. Their grief awakens their minds. Only then do they take the medicine, and the poison and illness are completely cured. When the father hears that they have recovered, he returns and lets them see him again.
The Buddha asks whether this good physician, who devised the report of his death to save his delirious children, is guilty of falsehood. The assembly answers, “No, World-Honored One!” The father is plainly alive, yet says that he has died, and still no one can accuse him of falsehood, because the announcement of death was devised to save his children. The Buddha says: I am just the same. Since I attained buddhahood, immeasurable aeons have passed. For the sake of sentient beings, through the power of skillful means I say that I will enter extinction, and no one can rightly accuse me of falsehood. The parable turns the words “not actually entering extinction” into a father’s staged death, performed to awaken his poisoned children. The Buddha’s entry into extinction was a compassionate skillful means such as this.
The Buddha Never Truly Left: The Heart of the Chapter on the Lifespan
When the prose is complete, the Buddha proclaims its meaning again in verse, and every line speaks of this one matter: for the sake of delivering sentient beings, through skillful means he manifests nirvāṇa, yet in truth he does not enter extinction but constantly abides here and teaches the Dharma. The Buddha constantly abides on Vulture Peak and in other dwelling places; through his supernormal power, inverted sentient beings do not see him though he is near. When sentient beings see the aeon ending and the great fire consuming the world, this land of his remains peaceful and secure, constantly filled with devas and humans. His pure land is not destroyed, yet sentient beings see it burned away. The same land is peaceful and pure in the Buddha’s vision, while beings burdened by wrongdoing and karma see fire, fear, and suffering. What is seen differs according to mind. Those who cultivate qualities and are gentle and straightforward all see the Buddha’s body here teaching the Dharma. At the close of the verse, the Buddha gathers the intent of his immeasurable lifespan into one question: at every moment he forms this thought—by what means can I cause sentient beings to enter unsurpassed wisdom and swiftly accomplish the body of a buddha?
This, then, is the heart of the chapter: the Buddha never truly left. He attained buddhahood in the distant past, constantly abides, and never enters extinction. His apparent passing into nirvāṇa is a compassionate concealment staged so that deluded beings will give rise to thirsting yearning and turn back to practice. The Buddha’s lifespan has no boundary, and his compassionate heart has no end. He hides his form only so that, in the very moment you turn back with yearning, he may again appear and teach the Dharma. You may think that the Buddha entered extinction more than two thousand years ago. The Chapter on the Lifespan says that the Buddha is right here, that he has never departed, and that he waits only for the single thought in which you become straightforward and gentle.
Through the Eye of Consciousness-Only: Threefold Buddha-Awakening—Who Attained Long Ago, Who Constantly Abides, and Who Manifests Extinction?
Everything above is the Chapter on the Lifespan in its own meaning. This translation and exposition adds one further mirror, drawn from the Consciousness-Only reading of Kuiji’s Profound Praise of the Lotus. The mirror is not the sutra. Consciousness-Only is not the source of the Lotus, only another set of eyes. It simply brings into sharper focus the bodies to which the three aspects—attainment long ago, constant abiding, and manifested extinction—belong.
Kuiji reads the chapter through the “threefold buddha-awakening”—the dharma-body, reward body, and emanation body. The Buddha whom the world sees leave the Śākya palace and attain the Way at Gayā is the awakening of the response-and-emanation buddha: the emanation body, a near trace manifested according to what sentient beings can receive. The attainment of buddhahood immeasurable aeons ago is the awakening of the reward buddha: the reward body, the true body accomplished when the practices of the ten grounds were fulfilled, whose lifespan constantly abides in accord with the world of sentient beings and the power of its original vows. Because the vow to deliver sentient beings is inexhaustible, the lifespan of the fruit is likewise inexhaustible. This is the body to which immeasurable lifespan and constant abiding without extinction belong. The Tathāgata’s knowing-and-seeing of the marks of the three realms as they truly are—neither real nor false—is the awakening of the dharma buddha: the dharma-body, the naturally pure nirvāṇa of the tathāgata-garbha, constantly pure and unchanging. As for the proclamation of extinction without actual extinction, that manifested extinction is a skillful means of the emanation body. Kuiji makes the point in one stroke: the emanation body is like the physician who manifests death, while the reward body is like the father whose real substance constantly remains. The staged death belongs to the emanation body; the father who truly remains is the reward body. In the physician’s parable, the medicine is ethical discipline, meditative stability, and wisdom; the poison is affliction; and the illness is the many forms of suffering. The three bodies are one in substance: what attained long ago is the reward body; what constantly abides is the dharma-body and reward body; what manifests extinction is the emanation body. Through the teaching of the three bodies, the chapter’s threefold depth is laid out distinctly.
Zhiyi of Tiantai likewise reads the chapter through all three bodies while placing particular emphasis upon the reward body. He further establishes four propositions concerning lifespan, refusing to grasp at either a fixed permanence or a fixed impermanence, and brings them back to the middle way. Jizang of Sanlun also teaches three kinds of lifespan and four propositions, ultimately effacing all three and returning them to quiescence. All three houses read lifespan through the three bodies, yet each gives a different emphasis. As to which is definitive, their readings are recorded side by side here without adjudication. What this Consciousness-Only mirror discloses is the texture of the three bodies as they open and gather within the chapter: the Buddha’s constant abiding does not conflict with manifested extinction. Constant abiding is the reality of dharma and reward; manifested extinction is the provisional work of response and emanation. The Buddha in his Origin has never departed. What departs is only the emanation-trace that appears and disappears in response to the capacities of sentient beings.
考據Apparatus
本品為本門之核：明如來成佛久遠、壽命無量常住不滅，而方便現滅度（醫子喻）以策眾生。慈恩窺基《玄贊》以三佛菩提（三身）讀之——應化菩提即伽耶城成道之迹、報佛菩提即成佛已來無量劫之久遠壽量、法佛菩提即如來藏性淨涅槃之常恒不變（非實非虛）；化身現滅為方便，報身如父實體常存。天台智顗（開近顯遠·三身別意報身·壽量四句歸中道）、三論吉藏（三種壽量四句歸乎寂滅）判位各異，並錄不判。
一、科判定位
| 科判系統 | 此品之位 |
|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 二十八品 | 第十六 如來壽量品（卷五；〔T09 0042a29〕起）· 本門正宗之核（顯久遠實成之本佛） |
| 窺基《玄贊》科文（主錨·慈恩） | 三門分別：來意（有五）· 釋名 · 解妨〔T34 0828b10〕；品文分三：初釋迦三勅、次彌勒四請、後如來正告〔T34 0828c22〕；正說壽量准論為二段（菩提無上／涅槃無上），菩提無上論分三段（示三佛菩提）〔T34 0829b04〕。玄贊卷第九末 |
| 天台《文句》迹本二門（旁證） | 智顗判〈壽量品〉為正開近顯遠、顯法身常住〔T34 0126b08〕；本門之核 |
窺基〈釋名〉即以三身立品名〔T34n1723 0828c04〕：
「『如來』者，法、報、化身之通名。『壽』者所受之命。『量』謂齊限。此品明三種佛身命體齊限，任法性、隨願緣、應群機、受自體……今明此三佛命之齊限，故名如來壽量品。」〔T34n1723 0828c04–0828c07〕
天台《文句》判本品為正說之「開近顯遠」段（旁證·誌不判）〔T34n1718 0126b08〕：「此去盡〈壽量品〉，正開近顯遠。」
二、異譯·三譯對勘
三漢譯：羅什 T262（底本·〈如來壽量品〉卷五）· 竺法護 T263（〈如來現壽品第十五〉卷七·西晉古譯·較詳）· 添品 T264（〈如來壽量品〉卷五）。添品全品逐字近同羅什（僅個別異文）；竺法護意譯、詞彙結構屢異（那術＝那由他、姟＝垓、泥洹＝涅槃、忍界＝娑婆、錠光＝燃燈）。
句一 久遠實成
| 版本 | 逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 我實成佛已來無量無邊百千萬億那由他劫。 | T09n0262 0042b12 |
| 添品 T264 | 我實成佛已來，無量無邊百千萬億那由他劫。〔逐字同羅什〕 | T09n0264 0176c07 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 吾在昔，從無數億百千那術姟劫以來，已成至真等正覺矣。 | T09n0263 0113b04 |
異文所繫：竺法護「那術姟劫」（那術＝那由他，姟＝垓）、無「無邊」二字、「成至真等正覺」（阿耨多羅三藐三菩提之意譯）——構造與羅什／添品異。
句二 五百塵點劫喻
| 版本 | 逐字（節） | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 譬如五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇三千大千世界，假使有人末為微塵……是諸世界，若著微塵及不著者盡以為塵，一塵一劫，我成佛已來，復過於此百千萬億那由他阿僧祇劫。 | T09n0262 0042b13–23 |
| 添品 T264 | 〔近同羅什，唯「如從東行」（羅什作「如是東行」）〕 | T09n0264 0176c08–11 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 譬有無數五百千億佛世界……取無數五百千億佛界所有土地一切之塵……悉令塵盡。吾逮無上正真道成最正覺已來，其劫之限，過於爾所塵數之劫。 | T09n0263 0113b05–26 |
異文所繫：基數詞羅什／添品「五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇」（六重），竺法護「無數五百千億」（略層）；羅什以「一塵一劫」立劫數，竺法護無「一塵一劫」式，作「其劫之限過於爾所塵數之劫」，且重述喻二次（開合異）。
句三 非實非虛·如來如實知見三界之相
| 版本 | 逐字（節） | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 如來如實知見三界之相，無有生死、若退若出，亦無在世及滅度者，非實非虛，非如非異，不如三界見於三界。 | T09n0262 0042c10–15 |
| 添品 T264 | 〔逐字同羅什〕 | T09n0264 0177a04–10 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 如來皆見一切三界，隨其化現亦無所行，亦復不生亦不周旋，亦不滅度不實不有，亦不本無不知不爾，亦無虛實亦不三界。如來所行不見三處。 | T09n0263 0113c13–18 |
異文所繫：羅什「非實非虛，非如非異」（四句整齊），竺法護展為多重否定串（不實不有·不本無·不知不爾·無虛實）；羅什「若退若出」竺作「不周旋」。
句四 壽量常住·非實滅度
| 版本 | 逐字（節） | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 壽命無量阿僧祇劫，常住不滅……今非實滅度，而便唱言：『當取滅度。』如來以是方便，教化眾生。 | T09n0262 0042c19–24 |
| 添品 T264 | 〔逐字同羅什〕 | T09n0264 0177a13–17 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 壽命無量常住不滅度……如來得佛已來，復倍前喻億百千姟，然後乃於泥洹而般泥曰。 | T09n0263 0113c21–26 |
異文所繫：竺法護「常住不滅度」（多一「度」字）、用「泥洹／般泥曰」（nirvāṇa／parinirvāṇa 音譯），語勢平敘，未用羅什「非實滅度，而便唱言：『當取滅度。』」之反詰。
句五 醫子喻
| 版本 | 內容·異點 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 良醫治狂子：多子飲毒→父還求好藥草→不失心者服愈、失心者不服→父設方便言死→遣使告死→諸子醒悟服藥愈。「頗有人能說此良醫虛妄罪不？」「不也，世尊！」 | T09n0262 0043a07–0043b05 |
| 添品 T264 | 近同羅什全喻（唯「擣簁」，羅什作「擣篩」） | T09n0264 0177a27–0177b25 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 較詳（諸子「不解誼理、不別醫藥、不識毒草」前置）· 另有合喻／法說一段：「其父醫者，謂如來也；諸兒子者，謂五道生死人也……服毒藥婉轉者，謂在三界三毒所縛……不肯服者，謂六十二見諸墮邪者」——羅什／添品無此逐一法喻對配；重頌四言全異；品末別立〈御福事品〉承之（品界異） | T09n0263 0114a11–0114c01（合喻 0114b11–） |
異文所繫：竺法護獨有合喻（醫＝如來·子＝五道眾生·毒＝三界三毒·不服藥＝六十二見），為三譯結構最大差異；羅什／添品喻後直接「我亦如是」，無逐一法配。
三、唯識義之經據（眼）
窺基《玄贊》以三佛菩提（三身）貫讀本品；逐句可徵。
(一) 三身通名·三佛菩提——窺基釋名即以法報化三身立「壽量」（目一引），正說壽量「論分三段，示現三佛菩提」〔T34n1723 0829b04〕：
『一應化菩提，隨所應見而為示現故，如經『皆謂如來出釋氏宮，去伽耶城不遠，坐於道場得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提』故。二者報佛菩提，十地行滿足得常涅槃，如經『善男子，我實成佛已來，無量無邊百千萬億那由他劫』故。三者法佛菩提，謂如來藏性淨涅槃，常恒清淨不變故，如經『如來如實知見三界之相，乃至不如三界見於三界』故。』〔T34n1723 0829b04–0829b13〕
二身總收〔0829c28〕：「今以類論莫過二種：一真、二化……報、法二身名為真身。」→ 論本：成唯識論三身（自性／受用／變化）· 佛地論二身四身（穩定徵引）。
(二) 久遠實成＝報佛成道·五百塵點劫二層——窺基「論釋唯說報身成道」〔T34n1723 0830a06〕；五百塵點劫喻分二層〔0830a10〕：「初分明說報佛菩提，成道來久為物說近；後……密說法身，由證此故成道實久、應物權現。初是能證智，後是所證理。」→ 報身有始無終·十地行滿。
(三) 非實非虛五句＝依五處顯法身（如來藏）——「如來如實知見三界之相」下五句，窺基各依論釋，以顯法身〔T34n1723 0830c26–0831a12〕：
「三界相者，說眾生界即涅槃界，不離眾生界有如來藏相之性故……無有生死若退若出者，謂常恒清淨不變故……亦無在世及滅度者，謂如來藏真如之體，不即眾生界、不離眾生界……非實非虛非如非異者，謂離四種相，四種相者是無常故，生相實有、滅相是虛、住相為如、變相為異，法身無彼故四皆非……不如三界見三界者，如來能見能證真如法身，凡夫不見。」〔T34n1723 0830c26–0831a12〕
（窺基本品讀佛智作「如來正智」證真如法身，不作大圓鏡智等名相。）『種種性、欲、行、憶想』配唯識名相〔0831a17〕：「『種種性』者界也，『欲』者勝解，『行』謂心行，『憶想』謂遍趣行。」→ 如來藏·真如法身·成唯識轉依。
(四) 壽命常住（報身願力無盡）·現滅（化身方便）——〔T34n1723 0831a29〕：「初明報身隨眾生界及本願力皆無盡故壽命常住，後明化身隨眾生身及意樂故現有起滅。」現滅為化相方便〔0831b07〕：「然今報身非實滅度，便虛唱言當取滅度，此乃化相方便示現化眾生爾。」→ 三身常／無常·化相入滅異二乘滅。
(五) 報佛真實淨土——偈「我淨土不毀而眾見燒盡」，窺基〔T34n1723 0833b01〕：「報佛如來真實淨土，第一義諦攝故，非如化土世俗諦收。」→ 佛地論淨土·第一義／世俗二諦。
四、諸家異釋（古德·標宗·誌錄不判）
同一〈壽量品〉，慈恩・天台・三論皆以三身讀之而各有側重。本編義疏鏡＝慈恩窺基《玄贊》；智顗、吉藏並錄為旁證，判位各異，誌其異而不判。
慈恩·窺基《玄贊》T34n1723（鏡骨幹）
以三佛菩提讀壽量：報身久遠壽量常住、法身如來藏性淨涅槃非實非虛、化身方便現滅（詳目三）。所引論：世親《法華論》（對治七慢·三佛菩提·示現無上，全品結構所本，品內未著論名，據義為世親釋）· 《佛地論》二身四身〔0829b16／b29〕· 《般若論》二佛〔0829b18〕· 《楞伽經》四佛·三身說法〔0829b20／0829c18〕· 《金光明經》四身〔0829b22〕· 《華嚴經》十佛〔0829c02〕· 《涅槃經》大醫王等三偈。
天台·智顗（旁證）
《文句》判本品為「開近顯遠」·顯法身常住〔T34n1718 0126b08〕；通明三身而別意在報身〔0129a19〕：「此品詮量通明三身，若從別意正在報身。」祕密＝一身即三身〔0129c14〕：「一身即三身名為祕，三身即一身名為密……『神』即法性身、『通』即報身、『力』即應身。」於「壽量」立四句不定（天台中道·不執一常一無常）〔0127b12〕：『應具四解：實有量而言無量、實無量而言量、實無量而言無量、實有量而言量。』非實非虛＝中道〔0132a26〕。《玄義》約本明十妙〔T33n1716 0764b10〕、本門發迹顯本「廢方便之近壽，明長遠之實果」〔0795a22〕、開迹顯本為五顯本門之一〔0798b06〕。
三論·吉藏《法華義疏》T34n1721（旁證·卷十）
三種如來·三種壽量·四句〔0602c29〕：「一實而非權，謂法身壽也；二權而非實，謂化身壽也；三亦權亦實，謂報身壽也；第四非權非實……泯上三門歸乎寂滅。」「然今非實滅度」＝標實不滅、方便示滅〔0607a14〕。
三家判位並錄（誌·不判）
同一「如來壽量·非實滅度」：窺基以三佛菩提（三身命體齊限）讀，報身久遠壽量、法身如來藏常住、化身方便現滅；智顗以開近顯遠·通明三身而別意報身、壽量四句歸中道；吉藏以三種壽量四句、泯三歸乎寂滅。三家皆三身讀壽量而側重各異，並錄不判。
名相誌：「久遠實成」四字連文，經本文與四疏（玄贊·文句·玄義·義疏）皆無；「本門十妙」四疏亦無（《玄義》作「約本明十妙」）——二者皆後世約詞，本考據不作某典逐字引。
五、術語
| 漢 | 傳梵（羅馬字·發音輔助） | 古德所徵 | 義 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 如來壽量 | — | 窺基「如來者法報化身之通名，壽者所受之命，量謂齊限」〔T34n1723 0828c04〕 | 三種佛身命體之齊限；本品品名所立 |
| 三佛菩提／三身 | — | 窺基 論分三段〔T34n1723 0829b04〕 | 應化菩提（伽耶成道之迹）· 報佛菩提（久遠壽量）· 法佛菩提（如來藏性淨涅槃） |
| 久遠實成 | — | 經作「我成佛已來甚大久遠」〔本經 0042c19〕；「久遠實成」四字＝後世約詞（目四誌） | 如來成佛久遠·非始於今生伽耶成道 |
| 阿僧祇 | asaṃkhya | 〔本經 0042c19〕；竺法護意譯「無數」 | 無數·無央數 |
| 那由他 | nayuta | 〔本經 0042b12〕；竺法護異譯「那術」 | 極大數目 |
| 娑婆 | sahā | 〔本經 0042b28〕；竺法護異譯「忍界」 | 堪忍世界·此土 |
| 非實非虛·非如非異 | — | 經自語〔本經 0042c14〕；窺基離四相讀〔0831a04〕；智顗中道讀〔T34n1718 0132a26〕；吉藏雙非讀 | 法身離生滅住變四相之相 |
| 舍利 | śarīra | 〔本經 偈「廣供養舍利」〕 | 佛滅後所遺靈骨 |
六、譬喻·修辭
(一) 五百塵點劫喻——〔T09n0262 0042b13〕「譬如五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇三千大千世界，末為微塵……一塵一劫」：
- 喻依：如來成佛之久遠。
- 喻體：五百塵點世界磨塵、東行下塵、盡塵為劫。
- 所顯義：久遠實成之時量，非算數心力所及。
(二) 醫子喻（法華七喻⑦）——〔T09n0262 0043a07〕「譬如良醫……諸子飲他毒藥……父設方便言死……乃取服之，毒病皆愈」：
- 喻依：如來非實滅度而唱言滅度，以策眾生。
- 喻體：良醫遠行、遣使告死，令失心狂子服藥病愈。
- 所顯義：方便現滅之慈。窺基分十二喻〔T34n1723 0831c11〕、良醫四德〔0832a07〕；「化身如醫示死，報身如父實體常存」〔0832c21〕；戒定慧配藥色香味〔0832b12〕、毒喻煩惱·病喻眾苦〔0832c14〕。竺法護合喻：醫＝如來·子＝五道眾生·毒＝三界三毒·不服藥＝六十二見〔T09n0263 0114b16〕。
(三) 淨土不毀而眾見燒盡——〔T09n0262 偈「我淨土不毀，而眾見燒盡」〕：
- 對比：劫盡大火燒時，眾生見土燒盡憂怖，而佛土安隱、天人常滿。
- 所顯義：報佛真實淨土常存，眾生以業見異（窺基：第一義諦攝·非化土世俗諦〔T34n1723 0833b01〕）。
七、互讀·承衍
(一) 本品所依論（窺基《玄贊》所引·穩定徵引·本藏諸論相涉）：
- 世親《法華論》——三佛菩提、對治七慢、示現無上之論本（品內結構所依）。
- 《佛地論》——二身／四身／三身之論本〔T34n1723 0829b16〕。
- 《成唯識論》——三身、轉依、真如法身之論本。
- 《楞伽經》——四佛·三身說法·如來藏〔T34n1723 0829c18〕；窺基引楞伽讀三身，與本藏楞伽譯註相涉。
- 《金光明經》《華嚴經》——佛身數（四身／十佛）之對讀。
(二) 法華內互讀：〈壽量品〉（本門顯久遠實成之本佛）承〈從地踊出品〉（本門序·下方菩薩踊出啟久遠之疑）；醫子喻為法華七喻之末（火宅·窮子·藥草·化城·衣珠·髻珠·醫子）；窺基釋「三界相」引〈方便品〉「世間相常住」〔T34n1723 0830c26〕，本門本迹相貫。
(三) 承衍：慈恩後學慧沼《法華玄贊義決》；天台後學湛然《法華文句記》——各承其宗讀法，誌不判。
八、校本定位
- 羅什 T262（底本）：〈如來壽量品第十六〉〔T09n0262 0042a29〕起（卷五）。久遠實成 0042b12 · 五百塵點劫 0042b13–23 · 非實非虛 0042c10–15 · 壽量常住 0042c19 · 非實滅度 0042c22 · 醫子喻 0043a07–b05。源檔：原典層（逐字校訖）。
- 竺法護 T263〈如來現壽品第十五〉〔T09n0263 0113a22〕起（卷七）：久遠 0113b04 · 塵點劫 0113b05 · 非實非虛 0113c13 · 壽量 0113c21 · 醫子喻 0114a11 · 合喻 0114b11。
- 添品 T264〈如來壽量品〉〔T09n0264 0176b25〕起（卷五）：近同羅什（如從東行 0176c11 · 擣簁 0177b07）。
- 窺基《玄贊》T34n1723（義疏鏡·卷九末）：〈壽量品〉〔0828b09〕—〔0833b23〕。三門 0828b10 · 釋名三身 0828c04 · 品分三 0828c22 · 三佛菩提 0829b04 · 真化二身 0829c28 · 久遠報身 0830a06 · 非實非虛五句 0830c26–0831a12 · 種種性配名相 0831a17 · 報身常住化身現滅 0831a29 · 現滅化相方便 0831b07 · 醫子十二喻 0831c11 · 良醫四德 0832a07 · 化身如醫報身如父 0832c21 · 報佛淨土 0833b01。
- 智顗《文句》T34n1718（旁證·卷九下）：開近顯遠 0126b08 · 顯法身常住 0127b25 · 通明三身別意報身 0129a19 · 祕密三身 0129c14 · 應具四解 0127b12 · 非實非虛中道 0132a26。
- 智顗《玄義》T33n1716（旁證）：約本明十妙 0764b10 · 本門發迹顯本 0795a22 · 開迹顯本（五顯本門）0798b06。
- 吉藏《法華義疏》T34n1721（旁證·卷十）：三種壽量四句 0602c29–0603b11 · 非實滅度標實不滅 0607a14。
- 成立史誌：本品無合本成立史事。
- 名相誌：久遠實成·本門十妙＝經與四疏皆無此連文（後世約詞）。
This chapter is the core of the Origin Gate. It reveals that the Tathāgata attained buddhahood in the distant past, that his lifespan is immeasurable and he constantly abides without entering extinction, and that he manifests extinction through skillful means—the parable of the physician and his sons—in order to spur sentient beings. Kuiji of the Cien tradition reads the chapter through the threefold buddha-awakening, the three bodies. The awakening of the response-and-emanation buddha is the trace of attaining the Way at Gayā; the awakening of the reward buddha is the immeasurable lifespan reaching back through the aeons since buddhahood; and the awakening of the dharma buddha is the constant, pure, and unchanging naturally pure nirvāṇa of the tathāgata-garbha, neither real nor false. The emanation body manifests extinction as a skillful means, while the reward body remains in reality like the father who is still alive. Zhiyi of Tiantai—opening the near to reveal the distant, placing particular emphasis upon the reward body within the three bodies, and bringing the four propositions concerning lifespan back to the middle way—and Jizang of Sanlun—bringing the four propositions concerning the three kinds of lifespan back to quiescence—assign these passages differently. Their readings are recorded side by side without adjudication.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
| Outline system | Placement of this chapter |
|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 二十八品 | 第十六 如來壽量品 — Chapter 16, The Lifespan of the Tathāgata（卷五；〔T09 0042a29〕起）· the core of the principal teaching of the Origin Gate, revealing the Buddha in his Origin who actually attained buddhahood in the distant past |
| 窺基《玄贊》科文（主錨·慈恩） | 三門分別 tr. “three gateways of analysis”: the reason for its coming, with five reasons; explanation of the name; and resolution of difficulties 〔T34 0828b10〕. The chapter text has three parts: first, Śākyamuni’s three admonitions; next, Maitreya’s four requests; and last, the Tathāgata’s direct declaration 〔T34 0828c22〕. The direct teaching on lifespan is, according to the Treatise, divided into two sections—unsurpassed awakening and unsurpassed nirvāṇa—and the section on unsurpassed awakening is divided by the Treatise into three sections, revealing the threefold buddha-awakening 〔T34 0829b04〕. Profound Praise, end of fascicle nine |
| 天台《文句》迹本二門（旁證） | Zhiyi judges the Chapter on the Lifespan to be the direct opening of the near to reveal the distant, revealing the constant abiding of the dharma-body 〔T34 0126b08〕; the core of the Origin Gate |
Kuiji explains the chapter title by establishing the three bodies 〔T34n1723 0828c04〕:
「『如來』者，法、報、化身之通名。『壽』者所受之命。『量』謂齊限。此品明三種佛身命體齊限，任法性、隨願緣、應群機、受自體……今明此三佛命之齊限，故名如來壽量品。」〔T34n1723 0828c04–0828c07〕
tr. “‘Tathāgata’ is a name common to the dharma-body, reward body, and emanation body. ‘Lifespan’ is the life that is received. ‘Measure’ means its limit. This chapter clarifies the limits of the life-bases of the three kinds of buddha-body: in accord with dharma-nature, following the conditions of vows, responding to the capacities of the many, and receiving their own bodies. … It now clarifies the limits of the lives of these three buddhas, and is therefore named the Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata.”
Zhiyi’s 《文句》 Words and Phrases of the Lotus judges this chapter to be the direct section of “opening the near to reveal the distant” within the principal teaching of the Origin Gate (parallel witness; recorded without adjudicating) 〔T34n1718 0126b08〕: 「此去盡〈壽量品〉，正開近顯遠。」 tr. “From this point through the end of the Chapter on the Lifespan is the direct opening of the near to reveal the distant.”
II. Alternate Translations · Collation of the Three Translations
This chapter has three Chinese translations: Kumārajīva’s T262, the base text, 〈如來壽量品〉 in fascicle five; Dharmarakṣa’s T263, 〈如來現壽品第十五〉 “Chapter 15, the Tathāgata Manifests His Lifespan,” in fascicle seven, an earlier Western Jin translation that is more expansive; and the supplemented edition T264, 〈如來壽量品〉 in fascicle five. Throughout the chapter, the supplemented edition agrees with Kumārajīva almost word for word, apart from individual variants. Dharmarakṣa translates more freely, and its vocabulary and structure repeatedly differ: 那術 for 那由他, 姟 for 垓, 泥洹 for 涅槃, 忍界 for 娑婆, and 錠光 for 燃燈.
Passage One · Actual Attainment in the Distant Past
| Version | Verbatim Chinese and translation | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 我實成佛已來無量無邊百千萬億那由他劫。 tr. “Since I actually attained buddhahood, immeasurable and boundless hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of nayutas of aeons have passed.” | T09n0262 0042b12 |
| 添品 T264 | 我實成佛已來，無量無邊百千萬億那由他劫。 tr. “Since I actually attained buddhahood, immeasurable and boundless hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of nayutas of aeons have passed.” 〔Identical word for word with Kumārajīva〕 | T09n0264 0176c07 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 吾在昔，從無數億百千那術姟劫以來，已成至真等正覺矣。 tr. “Long ago, since countless hundreds of thousands of millions of nayutas and gais of aeons, I had already accomplished true, equal, and perfect awakening.” | T09n0263 0113b04 |
What the variants bear upon: Dharmarakṣa has 「那術姟劫」 tr. “nayuta-gai aeons” (那術 = 那由他; 姟 = 垓), lacks the two characters 「無邊」 tr. “boundless,” and has 「成至真等正覺」 tr. “accomplished true, equal, and perfect awakening,” an interpretive translation of unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening. Its construction differs from Kumārajīva and the supplemented edition.
Passage Two · The Parable of the Five Hundred Dust-Speck Aeons
| Version | Verbatim Chinese and translation | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 譬如五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇三千大千世界，假使有人末為微塵……是諸世界，若著微塵及不著者盡以為塵，一塵一劫，我成佛已來，復過於此百千萬億那由他阿僧祇劫。 tr. “Suppose five hundred thousand myriads of millions of nayutas and asaṃkhyas of three-thousandfold great-thousand worlds were ground into dust. … Take all these worlds—those upon which a particle was placed and those upon which none was placed—and grind them into dust. Let each particle represent one aeon. Since I attained buddhahood, the time that has passed exceeds even this by hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of nayutas and asaṃkhyas of aeons.” | T09n0262 0042b13–23 |
| 添品 T264 | 〔近同羅什，唯「如從東行」（羅什作「如是東行」）〕 tr. “Near-identical with Kumārajīva; this alone reads ‘traveling east in this way,’ where Kumārajīva has the same meaning with a one-graph difference.” | T09n0264 0176c08–11 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 譬有無數五百千億佛世界……取無數五百千億佛界所有土地一切之塵……悉令塵盡。吾逮無上正真道成最正覺已來，其劫之限，過於爾所塵數之劫。 tr. “Suppose there were countless five hundred thousand million buddha-worlds. … Take all the dust from the lands in those countless five hundred thousand million buddha-realms … until all the dust is exhausted. Since I reached the unsurpassed true Way and accomplished perfect awakening, the extent of the aeons has exceeded the number of those dust particles.” | T09n0263 0113b05–26 |
What the variants bear upon: Kumārajīva and the supplemented edition use the sixfold numerical expression 「五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇」 tr. “five hundred thousand myriads of millions of nayutas and asaṃkhyas”; Dharmarakṣa abbreviates it to 「無數五百千億」 tr. “countless five hundred thousand millions.” Kumārajīva establishes the number of aeons through 「一塵一劫」 tr. “one particle, one aeon.” Dharmarakṣa has no formulation corresponding to “one particle, one aeon,” but instead says 「其劫之限過於爾所塵數之劫」 tr. “the extent of the aeons exceeds the number of those dust-particle aeons.” It also states the simile twice, with a different opening and close.
Passage Three · Neither Real nor False · The Tathāgata’s Knowing-and-Seeing of the Marks of the Three Realms as They Truly Are
| Version | Verbatim Chinese and translation | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 如來如實知見三界之相，無有生死、若退若出，亦無在世及滅度者，非實非虛，非如非異，不如三界見於三界。 tr. “The Tathāgata knows and sees the marks of the three realms just as they truly are: there is no birth or death, no withdrawal or emergence; there is no one who abides in the world or enters extinction. They are neither real nor false, neither thus nor different. He does not see the three realms as beings in the three realms see them.” | T09n0262 0042c10–15 |
| 添品 T264 | 如來如實知見三界之相，無有生死、若退若出，亦無在世及滅度者，非實非虛，非如非異，不如三界見於三界。 tr. “The Tathāgata knows and sees the marks of the three realms just as they truly are: there is no birth or death, no withdrawal or emergence; there is no one who abides in the world or enters extinction. They are neither real nor false, neither thus nor different. He does not see the three realms as beings in the three realms see them.” 〔Identical word for word with Kumārajīva〕 | T09n0264 0177a04–10 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 如來皆見一切三界，隨其化現亦無所行，亦復不生亦不周旋，亦不滅度不實不有，亦不本無不知不爾，亦無虛實亦不三界。如來所行不見三處。 tr. “The Tathāgata sees all the three realms. In accordance with his transforming manifestations, there is likewise no course of action; there is no arising and no revolving; there is no entering extinction, no reality and no existence; neither is there original nonexistence, not-knowing, or being otherwise; neither is there falsehood or reality, nor even the three realms. In the Tathāgata’s course, the three places are not seen.” | T09n0263 0113c13–18 |
What the variants bear upon: Kumārajīva has the balanced fourfold expression 「非實非虛，非如非異」 tr. “neither real nor false, neither thus nor different.” Dharmarakṣa unfolds this into an extended sequence of negations: 「不實不有·不本無·不知不爾·無虛實」 tr. “not real and not existent; not originally nonexistent; neither not-known nor otherwise; without falsehood or reality.” Kumārajīva’s 「若退若出」 tr. “withdrawal or emergence” corresponds to Dharmarakṣa’s 「不周旋」 tr. “not revolving.”
Passage Four · Immeasurable Lifespan, Constant Abiding · No Actual Entry into Extinction
| Version | Verbatim Chinese and translation | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 壽命無量阿僧祇劫，常住不滅……今非實滅度，而便唱言：『當取滅度。』如來以是方便，教化眾生。 tr. “His lifespan extends through immeasurable asaṃkhyas of aeons; he constantly abides and does not enter extinction. … Today he does not actually enter extinction, yet proclaims, ‘I will enter extinction.’ The Tathāgata uses this skillful means to teach and transform sentient beings.” | T09n0262 0042c19–24 |
| 添品 T264 | 壽命無量阿僧祇劫，常住不滅……今非實滅度，而便唱言：『當取滅度。』如來以是方便，教化眾生。 tr. “His lifespan extends through immeasurable asaṃkhyas of aeons; he constantly abides and does not enter extinction. … Today he does not actually enter extinction, yet proclaims, ‘I will enter extinction.’ The Tathāgata uses this skillful means to teach and transform sentient beings.” 〔Identical word for word with Kumārajīva〕 | T09n0264 0177a13–17 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 壽命無量常住不滅度……如來得佛已來，復倍前喻億百千姟，然後乃於泥洹而般泥曰。 tr. “His lifespan is immeasurable; he constantly abides and does not pass into extinction. … Since the Tathāgata attained buddhahood, it exceeds the preceding simile by twice hundreds of thousands of millions of gais; only afterward does he pass into final nirvāṇa within nirvāṇa.” | T09n0263 0113c21–26 |
What the variants bear upon: Dharmarakṣa has 「常住不滅度」 tr. “constantly abiding and not passing into extinction,” with the additional character 「度」 tr. “passing beyond,” and uses the transliterations 「泥洹／般泥曰」 tr. “nirvāṇa / parinirvāṇa.” Its tone is declarative and does not use Kumārajīva’s contrast 「非實滅度，而便唱言：『當取滅度。』」 tr. “not actually entering extinction, yet proclaiming that he will enter extinction.”
Passage Five · The Parable of the Physician and His Sons
| Version | Content and variant points | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 良醫治狂子：多子飲毒→父還求好藥草→不失心者服愈、失心者不服→父設方便言死→遣使告死→諸子醒悟服藥愈。「頗有人能說此良醫虛妄罪不？」「不也，世尊！」 tr. “The good physician cures his delirious children: many children drink poison → the returning father seeks fine medicinal herbs → those who have not lost their clarity of mind take the medicine and recover, while those who have lost it refuse → the father devises the skillful means of saying that he has died → he sends a messenger to announce his death → the children awaken, take the medicine, and recover. ‘Could anyone say that this good physician was guilty of falsehood?’ ‘No, World-Honored One!’” | T09n0262 0043a07–0043b05 |
| 添品 T264 | 近同羅什全喻（唯「擣簁」，羅什作「擣篩」） tr. “The whole parable is nearly identical with Kumārajīva; only the supplemented edition’s graph for ‘pound and sift’ differs from Kumārajīva’s.” | T09n0264 0177a27–0177b25 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 諸子「不解誼理、不別醫藥、不識毒草」；另有合喻／法說一段：「其父醫者，謂如來也；諸兒子者，謂五道生死人也……服毒藥婉轉者，謂在三界三毒所縛……不肯服者，謂六十二見諸墮邪者」。 tr. “The children ‘do not understand proper principles, cannot distinguish medicines, and do not recognize poisonous herbs.’ The version is more expansive and contains an additional section explicitly joining simile and Dharma: ‘The father and physician means the Tathāgata; the children mean those born and dying in the five destinations. … Writhing after taking poison means being bound by the three poisons in the three realms. … Refusing to take the medicine means those who fall into error through the sixty-two views.’ Kumārajīva and the supplemented edition contain no such point-by-point alignment of simile and Dharma. Its four-character repeated verse differs throughout, and the separate Chapter on Meritorious Deeds follows at the end, so its chapter boundary also differs.” | T09n0263 0114a11–0114c01（合喻 0114b11–） |
What the variants bear upon: Dharmarakṣa alone contains an explicit joining of simile and Dharma: 「醫＝如來·子＝五道眾生·毒＝三界三毒·不服藥＝六十二見」 tr. “the physician is the Tathāgata; the children are sentient beings of the five destinations; the poison is the three poisons of the three realms; refusing the medicine is the sixty-two views.” This is the greatest structural difference among the three translations. Kumārajīva and the supplemented edition proceed directly to 「我亦如是」 tr. “I too am just the same” after the parable, without a point-by-point alignment.
III. Scriptural Grounds for the Consciousness-Only Meaning (the Point of the Eye)
Kuiji’s 《玄贊》 Fahua Xuanzan (Profound Praise of the Lotus) reads this chapter throughout by means of the threefold buddha-awakening, the three bodies. Every part of the reading is textually attested.
(1) The common name of the three bodies · the threefold buddha-awakening — In his explanation of the chapter title (Heading I), Kuiji establishes 「壽量」 tr. “lifespan” through the dharma-body, reward body, and emanation body. In the direct teaching on lifespan, 「論分三段，示現三佛菩提」 tr. “the Treatise divides it into three sections, revealing the threefold buddha-awakening” 〔T34n1723 0829b04〕:
『一應化菩提，隨所應見而為示現故，如經『皆謂如來出釋氏宮，去伽耶城不遠，坐於道場得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提』故。二者報佛菩提，十地行滿足得常涅槃，如經『善男子，我實成佛已來，無量無邊百千萬億那由他劫』故。三者法佛菩提，謂如來藏性淨涅槃，常恒清淨不變故，如經『如來如實知見三界之相，乃至不如三界見於三界』故。』〔T34n1723 0829b04–0829b13〕
tr. “First is the awakening of the response-and-emanation buddha: it manifests according to what should be seen, as the sutra says, ‘All suppose that the Tathāgata left the palace of the Śākya clan, went not far from the city of Gayā, sat at the place of awakening, and attained unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening.’ Second is the awakening of the reward buddha: when the practices of the ten grounds are fulfilled, constant nirvāṇa is attained, as the sutra says, ‘Good men, since I actually attained buddhahood, immeasurable and boundless hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of nayutas of aeons have passed.’ Third is the awakening of the dharma buddha: this is the naturally pure nirvāṇa of the tathāgata-garbha, constantly pure and unchanging, as the sutra says, ‘The Tathāgata knows and sees the marks of the three realms just as they truly are,’ through ‘he does not see the three realms as beings in the three realms see them.’”
The two bodies are gathered overall at 〔0829c28〕: 「今以類論莫過二種：一真、二化……報、法二身名為真身。」 tr. “Classifying them now, there are no more than two kinds: first, the real; second, the emanation. … The reward body and dharma-body are named real bodies.”
→ 論本 / Treatise source: 成唯識論, the three bodies (self-nature / enjoyment / emanation) · 佛地論, the systems of two and four bodies (stable citations).
(2) Actual attainment in the distant past = attainment of the Way by the reward buddha · two levels in the parable of the five hundred dust-speck aeons — Kuiji says, 「論釋唯說報身成道」 tr. “The Treatise’s explanation speaks only of the reward body attaining the Way” 〔T34n1723 0830a06〕. He divides the dust-speck-aeons passage into two levels 〔0830a10〕: 「初分明說報佛菩提，成道來久為物說近；後……密說法身，由證此故成道實久、應物權現。初是能證智，後是所證理。」 tr. “The first clearly teaches the awakening of the reward buddha: though a long time has passed since the attainment of the Way, it is taught to beings as near. The latter … implicitly teaches the dharma-body: because this is realized, attainment of the Way is in truth distant, while in response to beings it is provisionally manifested. The first is the knowledge that realizes; the latter is the principle that is realized.”
→ The reward body has a beginning but no end; its attainment follows the fulfillment of the practices of the ten grounds.
(3) The five statements beginning ‘neither real nor false’ reveal the dharma-body, the tathāgata-garbha, through five sites — Under the passage beginning 「如來如實知見三界之相」 tr. “the Tathāgata knows and sees the marks of the three realms just as they truly are,” Kuiji explains each of five statements according to the Treatise in order to reveal the dharma-body 〔T34n1723 0830c26–0831a12〕:
「三界相者，說眾生界即涅槃界，不離眾生界有如來藏相之性故……無有生死若退若出者，謂常恒清淨不變故……亦無在世及滅度者，謂如來藏真如之體，不即眾生界、不離眾生界……非實非虛非如非異者，謂離四種相，四種相者是無常故，生相實有、滅相是虛、住相為如、變相為異，法身無彼故四皆非……不如三界見三界者，如來能見能證真如法身，凡夫不見。」〔T34n1723 0830c26–0831a12〕
tr. “‘The marks of the three realms’ teaches that the realm of sentient beings is precisely the realm of nirvāṇa, because the nature bearing the mark of the tathāgata-garbha exists without being separate from the realm of sentient beings. … ‘There is no birth or death, no withdrawal or emergence’ means that it is constant, pure, and unchanging. … ‘There is no one who abides in the world or enters extinction’ means that the substance of the tathāgata-garbha as suchness is neither identical with the realm of sentient beings nor separate from the realm of sentient beings. … ‘Neither real nor false, neither thus nor different’ means that it is apart from the four marks. The four marks are impermanent: the mark of arising is real; the mark of extinction is false; the mark of abiding is ‘thus’; and the mark of change is ‘different.’ Because the dharma-body has none of them, it is none of the four. … ‘He does not see the three realms as beings in the three realms see them’ means that the Tathāgata can see and realize the dharma-body of suchness, while ordinary beings do not see it.”
In this chapter, Kuiji reads the Buddha’s knowledge as 「如來正智」 tr. “the Tathāgata’s correct knowledge,” which realizes the dharma-body of suchness; he does not name it great perfect mirror wisdom or by any of the other four wisdoms. He aligns 『種種性、欲、行、憶想』 tr. “many natures, desires, courses of conduct, and memories and thoughts” with Consciousness-Only terminology 〔0831a17〕: 「『種種性』者界也，『欲』者勝解，『行』謂心行，『憶想』謂遍趣行。」 tr. “‘Many natures’ means the elements; ‘desires’ means resolve; ‘conduct’ means mental conduct; and ‘memories and thoughts’ means all-pervasive conduct.”
→ The tathāgata-garbha · the dharma-body of suchness · the transformation of the basis in 成唯識論.
(4) Constant lifespan through the vow-power of the reward body · manifested extinction as a skillful means of the emanation body — Kuiji says 〔T34n1723 0831a29〕: 「初明報身隨眾生界及本願力皆無盡故壽命常住，後明化身隨眾生身及意樂故現有起滅。」 tr. “First it clarifies that the lifespan of the reward body constantly abides because both the realm of sentient beings and the power of its original vows are inexhaustible. Later it clarifies that the emanation body manifests arising and extinction in accord with the bodies and aspirations of sentient beings.” Manifested extinction is a skillful manifestation of the emanation body 〔0831b07〕: 「然今報身非實滅度，便虛唱言當取滅度，此乃化相方便示現化眾生爾。」 tr. “Yet now the reward body does not actually enter extinction, while it provisionally proclaims that it will enter extinction. This is only a skillful manifestation of the emanation-mark for teaching and transforming sentient beings.”
→ The constancy and impermanence of the three bodies · the emanation-mark’s entry into extinction is distinct from the extinction of the two vehicles.
(5) The real pure land of the reward buddha — On the verse 「我淨土不毀而眾見燒盡」 tr. “My pure land is not destroyed, yet sentient beings see it burned away,” Kuiji says 〔T34n1723 0833b01〕: 「報佛如來真實淨土，第一義諦攝故，非如化土世俗諦收。」 tr. “The Tathāgata’s real pure land of the reward buddha is subsumed under the ultimate truth; it is not like the emanation land, which is subsumed under conventional truth.”
→ 佛地論, pure land · the two truths of the ultimate and the conventional.
IV. The Explanations of the Various Masters (the Ancients · Their Traditions Stated · Recorded without Adjudicating)
On this same Chapter on the Lifespan, Cien, Tiantai, and Sanlun all read through the three bodies, yet each places the emphasis differently. The expository mirror of this edition is Kuiji’s Cien 《玄贊》 Profound Praise of the Lotus; Zhiyi and Jizang are recorded as parallel witnesses. Their placements differ; the differences are recorded without adjudicating.
Cien · Kuiji’s 《玄贊》 T34n1723 (the Principal Mirror)
Kuiji reads lifespan through the threefold buddha-awakening: the reward body’s attainment in the distant past and constant lifespan, the dharma-body’s naturally pure nirvāṇa of the tathāgata-garbha that is neither real nor false, and the emanation body’s manifested extinction through skillful means (Heading III). The treatises and sutras he cites include Vasubandhu’s 《法華論》 Treatise on the Lotus Sutra—the source for counteracting seven forms of pride, the threefold buddha-awakening, and manifesting the unsurpassed, on which the chapter’s internal structure is based, though the text does not name the treatise in the passage itself—the 《佛地論》 Treatise on the Buddha Ground on two and four bodies 〔0829b16／b29〕; the 《般若論》 Treatise on Prajñā on two buddhas 〔0829b18〕; the 《楞伽經》 Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra on four buddhas and the three bodies teaching Dharma 〔0829b20／0829c18〕; the 《金光明經》 Golden Light Sutra on four bodies 〔0829b22〕; the 《華嚴經》 Avataṃsaka-sūtra on ten buddhas 〔0829c02〕; and three verses from the 《涅槃經》 Nirvāṇa Sutra concerning the great king of physicians.
Tiantai · Zhiyi (Parallel Witness)
The 《文句》 Words and Phrases of the Lotus judges the chapter to be the direct section of 「開近顯遠」 tr. “opening the near to reveal the distant,” revealing the constant abiding of the dharma-body 〔T34n1718 0126b08〕. It treats all three bodies while placing particular emphasis upon the reward body 〔0129a19〕: 「此品詮量通明三身，若從別意正在報身。」 tr. “In explaining and measuring, this chapter clarifies all three bodies; according to its particular intent, it lies precisely in the reward body.” It reads “secret” as one body being precisely three bodies 〔0129c14〕: 「一身即三身名為祕，三身即一身名為密……『神』即法性身、『通』即報身、『力』即應身。」 tr. “One body being precisely three bodies is named ‘hidden’; three bodies being precisely one body is named ‘secret.’ … ‘Supernormal’ is the body of dharma-nature; ‘penetration’ is the reward body; and ‘power’ is the response body.” Concerning 「壽量」 tr. “lifespan,” it establishes four indeterminate propositions, not clinging to a single permanence or impermanence, and returns them to the Tiantai middle way 〔0127b12〕: 『應具四解：實有量而言無量、實無量而言量、實無量而言無量、實有量而言量。』 tr. “Four explanations should be complete: really measurable yet spoken of as immeasurable; really immeasurable yet spoken of as measurable; really immeasurable and spoken of as immeasurable; really measurable and spoken of as measurable.” It reads “neither real nor false” as the middle way 〔0132a26〕. The 《玄義》 Profound Meaning of the Lotus says 「約本明十妙」 tr. “clarifying the ten subtleties in terms of the Origin” 〔T33n1716 0764b10〕; describes the Origin Gate’s revealing of the Origin through the trace as 「廢方便之近壽，明長遠之實果」 tr. “discarding the near lifespan of skillful means and clarifying the real fruit of the distant past” 〔0795a22〕; and makes opening the trace to reveal the Origin one of five gateways for revealing the Origin 〔0798b06〕.
Sanlun · Jizang’s 《法華義疏》 T34n1721 (Parallel Witness · Fascicle Ten)
Jizang establishes three kinds of Tathāgata, three kinds of lifespan, and four propositions 〔0602c29〕: 「一實而非權，謂法身壽也；二權而非實，謂化身壽也；三亦權亦實，謂報身壽也；第四非權非實……泯上三門歸乎寂滅。」 tr. “First, real and not provisional: this is the lifespan of the dharma-body. Second, provisional and not real: this is the lifespan of the emanation body. Third, both provisional and real: this is the lifespan of the reward body. Fourth, neither provisional nor real. … It effaces the preceding three gateways and returns them to quiescence.” He reads 「然今非實滅度」 tr. “yet now there is no actual entry into extinction” as marking real non-extinction while manifesting extinction through skillful means 〔0607a14〕.
The Placements of the Three Houses Recorded Together (Recorded without Adjudication)
On the same teaching 「如來壽量·非實滅度」 tr. “the Tathāgata’s lifespan and no actual entry into extinction”: Kuiji reads through the threefold buddha-awakening and the limits of the life-bases of the three bodies—the reward body’s attainment and lifespan in the distant past, the constant abiding of the dharma-body as tathāgata-garbha, and the emanation body’s manifested extinction through skillful means; Zhiyi opens the near to reveal the distant, clarifies all three bodies while placing particular emphasis upon the reward body, and returns the four propositions concerning lifespan to the middle way; Jizang establishes four propositions concerning three kinds of lifespan and ultimately effaces the three, returning them to quiescence. All three houses read lifespan through the three bodies, yet their emphases differ. Their readings are recorded side by side without adjudication.
A Note on Later Summary Terms / 約詞辨: the exact four-character expression 「久遠實成」 tr. “actual attainment in the distant past” occurs neither in the sutra itself nor in the four commentaries—the 《玄贊》, 《文句》, 《玄義》, and 《法華義疏》. The expression 「本門十妙」 tr. “the ten subtleties of the Origin Gate” likewise occurs in none of the four commentaries; the 《玄義》 instead has 「約本明十妙」 tr. “clarifying the ten subtleties in terms of the Origin.” Both are later summary expressions, not wording found verbatim in the texts to which they refer.
V. Terminology
| 漢 | Ancient-transmitted Sanskrit (romanization · pronunciation aid) | Attestation by the ancient masters | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 如來壽量 | — | Kuiji: 「如來者法報化身之通名，壽者所受之命，量謂齊限」 tr. “‘Tathāgata’ is a name common to the dharma-body, reward body, and emanation body; ‘lifespan’ is the life that is received; ‘measure’ means its limit” 〔T34n1723 0828c04〕 | The limits of the life-bases of the three kinds of buddha-body; the meaning established by the chapter title |
| 三佛菩提／三身 | — | Kuiji: 「論分三段，示現三佛菩提」 tr. “the Treatise divides it into three sections, revealing the threefold buddha-awakening” 〔T34n1723 0829b04〕 | The awakening of the response-and-emanation buddha—the trace of attaining at Gayā · the awakening of the reward buddha—the lifespan in the distant past · the awakening of the dharma buddha—the naturally pure nirvāṇa of the tathāgata-garbha |
| 久遠實成 | — | The sutra says 「我成佛已來甚大久遠」 tr. “since I attained buddhahood, an exceedingly distant time has passed” 〔本經 0042c19〕. The exact four-character expression 「久遠實成」 tr. “actual attainment in the distant past” is a later summary term (Heading IV) | The Tathāgata attained buddhahood in the distant past, not for the first time at Gayā in the present life |
| 阿僧祇 | asaṃkhya | 〔本經 0042c19〕; Dharmarakṣa translates it by meaning as 「無數」 tr. “countless” | Countless · immeasurable |
| 那由他 | nayuta | 〔本經 0042b12〕; Dharmarakṣa’s alternate transliteration is 「那術」 tr. “nashu” | An exceedingly large number |
| 娑婆 | sahā | 〔本經 0042b28〕; Dharmarakṣa’s alternate rendering is 「忍界」 tr. “world of endurance” | The world of endurance · this land |
| 非實非虛·非如非異 | — | The sutra’s own words 〔本經 0042c14〕; Kuiji reads them as freedom from the four marks 〔0831a04〕; Zhiyi reads them as the middle way 〔T34n1718 0132a26〕; Jizang reads them as the double negation | The dharma-body is apart from the four marks of arising, extinction, abiding, and change |
| 舍利 | śarīra | The verse in the present sutra says 「廣供養舍利」 tr. “make extensive offerings to the relics” | The bodily relics left after a buddha’s extinction |
VI. Similes · Rhetoric
(1) The parable of the five hundred dust-speck aeons — 〔T09n0262 0042b13〕「譬如五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇三千大千世界，末為微塵……一塵一劫」 tr. “Suppose five hundred thousand myriads of millions of nayutas and asaṃkhyas of three-thousandfold great-thousand worlds were ground into dust … one particle representing one aeon”:
- What is being illustrated: the distance of the Tathāgata’s attainment of buddhahood.
- The image: grinding the worlds into dust, traveling east and setting down particles, then turning every world passed into dust and counting each particle as one aeon.
- Meaning disclosed: the measure of the time since actual attainment in the distant past lies beyond the reach of calculation and the power of thought.
(2) The parable of the physician and his sons (the seventh of the Lotus’s seven parables) — 〔T09n0262 0043a07〕「譬如良醫……諸子飲他毒藥……父設方便言死……乃取服之，毒病皆愈」 tr. “Consider a good physician … his children drink another person’s poisonous medicine … the father devises the skillful means of saying that he has died … then they take the medicine, and the poison and illness are completely cured”:
- What is being illustrated: the Tathāgata does not actually enter extinction, yet proclaims that he will, thereby spurring sentient beings.
- The image: the good physician travels far away and sends a messenger to announce his death, causing his delirious children to take the medicine and recover.
- Meaning disclosed: the compassion of manifesting extinction through skillful means. Kuiji divides the story into twelve similes 〔T34n1723 0831c11〕 and gives the good physician four qualities 〔0832a07〕. He says, 「化身如醫示死，報身如父實體常存」 tr. “the emanation body is like the physician who manifests death; the reward body is like the father whose real substance constantly remains” 〔0832c21〕. He aligns ethical discipline, meditative stability, and wisdom with the medicine’s color, fragrance, and flavor 〔0832b12〕; the poison with afflictions; and the illness with the many sufferings 〔0832c14〕. Dharmarakṣa’s explicit joining of simile and Dharma aligns the physician with the Tathāgata, the children with beings of the five destinations, the poison with the three poisons of the three realms, and refusal of the medicine with the sixty-two views 〔T09n0263 0114b16〕.
(3) The pure land is not destroyed, yet sentient beings see it burned away — 〔T09n0262 偈「我淨土不毀，而眾見燒盡」〕 tr. “T09n0262, verse: ‘My pure land is not destroyed, yet sentient beings see it burned away’”:
- The contrast: when the aeon ends in a great fire, sentient beings see the land consumed and are filled with grief and fear, while the Buddha-land remains peaceful, constantly filled with devas and humans.
- Meaning disclosed: the real pure land of the reward buddha constantly remains, while sentient beings see differently through their karma. Kuiji says that it is subsumed under the ultimate truth and is not the emanation land subsumed under conventional truth 〔T34n1723 0833b01〕.
VII. Cross-Reading · Carrying Forward
(1) Treatises upon which this chapter relies (cited by Kuiji’s 《玄贊》 · stable citations · works in this collection that bear upon one another):
- Vasubandhu’s 《法華論》 Treatise on the Lotus Sutra — the treatise-source for the threefold buddha-awakening, counteracting the seven forms of pride, and manifesting the unsurpassed; the source for the chapter’s internal structure.
- The 《佛地論》 Treatise on the Buddha Ground — the treatise-source for two bodies, four bodies, and three bodies 〔T34n1723 0829b16〕.
- The 《成唯識論》 Cheng Weishi Lun — the treatise-source for the three bodies, the transformation of the basis, and the dharma-body of suchness.
- The 《楞伽經》 Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra — four buddhas, the three bodies teaching Dharma, and the tathāgata-garbha 〔T34n1723 0829c18〕. Kuiji draws on the Laṅkāvatāra in reading the three bodies; it thus bears upon the translation and exposition of that sutra in the present collection.
- The 《金光明經》 Golden Light Sutra and the 《華嚴經》 Avataṃsaka-sūtra — cross-readings concerning the number of buddha-bodies, four bodies and ten buddhas respectively.
(2) Cross-reading within the Lotus: the Chapter on the Lifespan—revealing within the Origin Gate the Buddha in his Origin who actually attained buddhahood in the distant past—carries forward the Chapter on Emerging from the Earth, the introduction to the Origin Gate, in which the bodhisattvas emerging from below open the doubt concerning the distant past. The parable of the physician and his sons is the last of the Lotus’s seven parables: the burning house, the poor son, the medicinal herbs, the conjured city, the jewel in the robe, the bright jewel in the topknot, and the physician and his sons. Kuiji explains 「三界相」 tr. “the marks of the three realms” by citing 「世間相常住」 tr. “the marks of the world constantly abide” from the Chapter on Skillful Means 〔T34n1723 0830c26〕, joining Trace and Origin within the sutra.
(3) Carrying forward: Huizhao’s 《法華玄贊義決》 carries forward the Cien reading; Zhanran’s 《法華文句記》 carries forward the Tiantai reading. Each carries forward the reading of its own tradition; the lines are recorded without adjudicating.
VIII. Placement of the Editions
- 羅什 T262 (base text): 〈如來壽量品第十六〉 begins at 〔T09n0262 0042a29〕（卷五）. Actual attainment in the distant past 0042b12 · the five hundred dust-speck aeons 0042b13–23 · neither real nor false 0042c10–15 · constant lifespan 0042c19 · no actual entry into extinction 0042c22 · the parable of the physician and his sons 0043a07–b05. Source file: the Source-Text layer (verified word for word).
- 竺法護 T263 〈如來現壽品第十五〉 begins at 〔T09n0263 0113a22〕（卷七）: the distant past 0113b04 · dust-speck aeons 0113b05 · neither real nor false 0113c13 · lifespan 0113c21 · the physician’s parable 0114a11 · explicit joining of simile and Dharma 0114b11.
- 添品 T264 〈如來壽量品〉 begins at 〔T09n0264 0176b25〕（卷五）: near-identical with Kumārajīva; 「如從東行」 tr. “traveling east in this way” at 0176c11 · 「擣簁」 tr. “pound and sift” at 0177b07.
- 窺基《玄贊》T34n1723 (the expository mirror; end of fascicle nine): 〈壽量品〉 spans 〔0828b09〕–〔0833b23〕. Three gateways 0828b10 · explanation of the title through the three bodies 0828c04 · the chapter divided into three 0828c22 · the threefold buddha-awakening 0829b04 · the two bodies of real and emanation 0829c28 · the distant reward body 0830a06 · the five statements beginning “neither real nor false” 0830c26–0831a12 · alignment of “many natures” and the other terms 0831a17 · the reward body constantly abiding and the emanation body manifesting extinction 0831a29 · manifested extinction as a skillful emanation-mark 0831b07 · twelve divisions of the physician’s parable 0831c11 · four qualities of the good physician 0832a07 · the emanation body like the physician and the reward body like the father 0832c21 · the pure land of the reward buddha 0833b01.
- 智顗《文句》T34n1718 (parallel witness; latter part of fascicle nine): opening the near to reveal the distant 0126b08 · revealing the constant abiding of the dharma-body 0127b25 · clarifying all three bodies with particular emphasis upon the reward body 0129a19 · the secret of the three bodies 0129c14 · the four explanations that should be complete 0127b12 · neither real nor false as the middle way 0132a26.
- 智顗《玄義》T33n1716 (parallel witness): clarifying the ten subtleties in terms of the Origin 0764b10 · revealing the Origin through the trace in the Origin Gate 0795a22 · opening the trace to reveal the Origin as one of the five gateways for revealing the Origin 0798b06.
- 吉藏《法華義疏》T34n1721 (parallel witness; fascicle ten): three kinds of lifespan and four propositions 0602c29–0603b11 · no actual entry into extinction marking real non-extinction 0607a14.
- Record of formation: this chapter has no composite-text formation issue.
- A note on terms: 「久遠實成」 tr. “actual attainment in the distant past” and 「本門十妙」 tr. “the ten subtleties of the Origin Gate” are later summary expressions; neither exact sequence occurs in the sutra or the four commentaries.