妙法蓮華經 妙莊嚴王本事品第二十七
前面〈陀羅尼品〉說眾聖天神以神呪護持說法的人；這一品換一個角度，講一則遠古的故事——一個深著邪見的國王，怎樣被他自己的兩個兒子度進佛法。故事的落點，是佛親口說的一句話：「善知識者是大因緣。」
佛陀說起極遠的過去：有佛名雲雷音宿王華智，國中有王名妙莊嚴，王后名淨德，二子名淨藏、淨眼。二子久修菩薩之道，母子都向佛，唯獨父親信奉外道、深著婆羅門法。那位佛正說《法華經》，二子想帶父親去聽，卻知道邪見不是靠言語勸得動的。於是他們飛身踊立虛空，現種種神變——身上出水身下出火，入地如水，履水如地——把父親那顆執著的心先撬鬆了。父王一見，心大歡喜，問：你們的老師是誰？這一問，門就開了。二子趁勢請求出家，又以兩個譬喻勸父母及時詣佛：佛難值遇，就像三千年一開的優曇華，又像一隻獨眼的盲龜，要在茫茫大海裡正好碰上一塊浮木的孔洞。
於是全家詣佛。佛為妙莊嚴王說法，授記他當來作佛，號娑羅樹王。王把國家交給弟弟，出家勤修《法華》。後來他昇上虛空對佛說：這兩個兒子，是我的善知識，為發起我宿世的善根，才來投生我家。佛印可他，並把這句話推到極處：大王當知，善知識就是那重大的因緣——能教化引導，使人得見佛、發起菩提心。這是全品的心。一個父親迴邪入正，靠的不是自己想通，是善知識；而這善知識，正是他自己的兒子。親如骨肉，也可以是最深的善知識；度你的人，未必在遠方，也許就在你家中。
最後佛點破這則本事：那妙莊嚴王，就是今日的華德菩薩；那二子，就是今日的藥王、藥上菩薩。原來這不是別人的舊事——度父的兒子、被度的父親，都還在今天的法會上。弘經度生的因緣，一世一世地接續著，從未斷過；你今生遇到的那位把你引向法的人，也許正是多生以來，早已與你結下的善知識。說是品時，八萬四千人遠塵離垢，得了清淨的法眼。
且入此品，看兩個兒子怎樣以神變度父、佛怎樣印可『善知識是大因緣』;下一品〈普賢菩薩勸發品〉，普賢乘六牙白象而來，發願守護後世受持《法華經》的人，為全經作結。
The preceding Chapter on Dhāraṇī tells how holy beings and heavenly spirits protect those who teach the Dharma through sacred formulas. This chapter turns to another angle and tells an ancient story: how a king deeply attached to wrong views was led into the Buddha-Dharma by his own two sons. The story comes to rest upon one sentence spoken by the Buddha himself: a good friend is a great cause and condition.
The Buddha tells of an exceedingly distant past. There was then a buddha named Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom. In his land lived King Wonderful-Adornment, his queen Pure Virtue, and their two sons, Pure Treasury and Pure Eye. The two sons had long cultivated the bodhisattva path. Mother and sons all turned toward the Buddha; only the father trusted an outside path and was deeply attached to the teachings of the brahmans. That buddha was teaching the Lotus Sutra. The sons wished to bring their father to hear it, yet they knew that wrong views would not be moved by words alone. They therefore sprang upward and stood in the open sky, displaying many supernormal transformations: water issued from the upper parts of their bodies and fire from the lower; they entered the earth as though entering water and walked upon water as though upon solid ground. In this way they first pried loose their father’s deeply attached mind. The king saw them, rejoiced greatly, and asked: who is your teacher? With that question, the door opened. The sons then asked to renounce the household life and used two similes to urge their parents to visit the Buddha without delay: a buddha is difficult to encounter, like the udumbara flower that blooms only once in three thousand years, or like a one-eyed blind turtle in the vast ocean happening to meet the opening in a piece of floating wood.
The whole family went to the Buddha. The Buddha taught King Wonderful-Adornment and gave him the prediction that he would become the Buddha Sala-Tree-King. The king entrusted his country to his younger brother, renounced the household life, and diligently cultivated the Lotus Sutra. Later he rose into the open sky and told the Buddha: these two sons are my good friends; in order to awaken the wholesome roots of my former lives, they came and were born into my household. The Buddha affirmed him and carried the sentence to its fullest reach: Great King, you should know that a good friend is a great cause and condition—one who teaches and guides, enables a person to see a buddha, and arouses the mind of awakening. This is the heart of the entire chapter. A father turned from wrong views to right view not because he thought everything through by himself, but because of good friends; and those good friends were his own sons. Even those joined to us as closely as flesh and bone may be our deepest good friends. The one who delivers you need not be far away. That person may be within your own home.
At the end, the Buddha discloses the former affair: King Wonderful-Adornment is the Bodhisattva Flower Virtue of the present assembly, and the two sons are the present Bodhisattvas Medicine King and Medicine Superior. This was never merely someone else’s old story. The sons who delivered their father and the father who was delivered are still present in today’s Dharma assembly. The causes and conditions of transmitting the sutra and delivering sentient beings continue from life to life and have never been broken. The person who leads you toward the Dharma in this life may be a good friend with whom you formed a bond many lives ago. When this chapter was taught, eighty-four thousand people became far removed from dust and separated from defilement, attaining purity of the Dharma-eye.
Enter this chapter and see how two sons led their father through supernormal transformation, and how the Buddha affirmed that a good friend is a great cause and condition. In the following chapter, the Bodhisattva Universally Worthy (Samantabhadra) arrives riding a white elephant with six tusks and vows to guard those who will receive and uphold the Lotus Sutra in later ages, bringing the entire sutra to its close.
後秦龜茲國三藏法師鳩摩羅什奉詔譯《妙法蓮華經》卷七〈妙莊嚴王本事品第二十七〉· 大正藏 T09n0262〔起 T09 0059b29〕。段/行首〔T09 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔T09 0059b29〕爾時佛告諸大眾：「乃往古世，過無量無邊不可思議阿僧祇劫，有佛名雲雷音宿王華智多陀阿伽度、阿羅訶、三藐三佛陀，國名光明莊嚴，劫名憙見。彼佛法中有王，名妙莊嚴，其王夫人名曰淨德，有二子，一名淨藏，二名淨眼。是二子有大神力，福德智慧，久修菩薩所行之道，所謂檀波羅蜜、尸羅波羅蜜、羼提波羅蜜、毘梨耶波羅蜜、禪波羅蜜、般若波羅蜜、方便波羅蜜，慈悲喜捨，乃至三十七品助道法皆悉明了通達。又得菩薩淨三昧、日星宿三昧、淨光三昧、淨色三昧、淨照明三昧、長莊嚴三昧、大威德藏三昧，於此三昧亦悉通達。
「爾時彼佛欲引導妙莊嚴王，及愍念眾生故，說是法華經。時淨藏、淨眼二子到其母所，合十指爪掌白言：『願母往詣雲雷音宿王華智佛所，我等亦當侍從，親近、供養、禮拜。所以者何？此佛於一切天人眾中說法華經，宜應聽受。』母告子言：『汝父信受外道，深著婆羅門法，汝等應往白父，與共俱去。』淨藏、淨眼合十指爪掌白母：『我等是法王子，而生此邪見家。』母告子言：『汝等當憂念汝父，為現神變，若得見者，心必清淨，或聽我等，往至佛所。』於是二子念其父故，踊在虛空，高七多羅樹，現種種神變——於虛空中行住坐臥；身上出水、身下出火，身下出水、身上出火；或現大身滿虛空中，而復現小，小復現大；於空中滅，忽然在地；入地如水，履水如地。現如是等種種神變，令其父王心淨信解。時父見子神力如是，心大歡喜，得未曾有，合掌向子言：『汝等，師為是誰，誰之弟子？』二子白言：『大王！彼雲雷音宿王華智佛，今在七寶菩提樹下法座上坐，於一切世間天人眾中廣說法華經，是我等師，我是弟子。』父語子言：『我今亦欲見汝等師，可共俱往。』於是二子從空中下，到其母所，合掌白母：『父王今已信解，堪任發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心。我等為父已作佛事，願母見聽，於彼佛所出家修道。』
〔T09 0060a20〕「爾時二子欲重宣其意，以偈白母：
「『願母放我等，出家作沙門，
諸佛甚難值，我等隨佛學。
如優曇鉢羅，值佛復難是，
脫諸難亦難，願聽我出家。』
「母即告言：『聽汝出家。所以者何？佛難值故。』
「於是二子白父母言：『善哉，父母！願時往詣雲雷音宿王華智佛所，親近供養。所以者何？佛難得值，如優曇鉢羅華，又如一眼之龜，值浮木孔。而我等宿福深厚，生值佛法，是故父母當聽我等，令得出家。所以者何？諸佛難值，時亦難遇。』
「彼時妙莊嚴王後宮八萬四千人，皆悉堪任受持是法華經。淨眼菩薩，於法華三昧，久已通達；淨藏菩薩，已於無量百千萬億劫通達離諸惡趣三昧，欲令一切眾生離諸惡趣故。其王夫人，得諸佛集三昧，能知諸佛祕密之藏。
「二子如是以方便力善化其父，令心信解，好樂佛法。於是妙莊嚴王與群臣眷屬俱，淨德夫人與後宮婇女眷屬俱，其王二子與四萬二千人俱，一時共詣佛所。到已，頭面禮足，繞佛三匝，却住一面。
「爾時彼佛為王說法，示教利喜。王大歡悅。爾時妙莊嚴王及其夫人，解頸真珠瓔珞，價直百千，以散佛上，於虛空中化成四柱寶臺，臺中有大寶床，敷百千萬天衣，其上有佛結加趺坐，放大光明。爾時妙莊嚴王作是念：『佛身希有，端嚴殊特，成就第一微妙之色。』時雲雷音宿王華智佛告四眾言：『汝等見是妙莊嚴王，於我前合掌立不？此王於我法中作比丘，精勤修習，助佛道法，當得作佛，號娑羅樹王，國名大光，劫名大高王。其娑羅樹王佛，有無量菩薩眾及無量聲聞，其國平正，功德如是。』其王即時以國付弟，與夫人、二子并諸眷屬，於佛法中出家修道。
「王出家已，於八萬四千歲，常勤精進修行妙法華經。過是已後，得一切淨功德莊嚴三昧，即昇虛空，高七多羅樹，而白佛言：『世尊！此我二子，已作佛事，以神通變化轉我邪心，令得安住於佛法中，得見世尊。此二子者，是我善知識，為欲發起宿世善根，饒益我故，來生我家。』
「爾時，雲雷音宿王華智佛告妙莊嚴王言：『如是，如是！如汝所言。若善男子、善女人，種善根故，世世得善知識，其善知識，能作佛事，示教利喜，令入阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。大王！當知善知識者是大因緣，所謂化導令得見佛，發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心。大王！汝見此二子不？此二子，已曾供養六十五百千萬億那由他恒河沙諸佛，親近恭敬，於諸佛所受持法華經，愍念邪見眾生，令住正見。』妙莊嚴王即從虛空中下，而白佛言：『世尊！如來甚希有，以功德智慧故，頂上肉髻光明顯照，其眼長廣而紺青色，眉間毫相白如珂月，齒白齊密常有光明，脣色赤好如頻婆菓。』
「爾時妙莊嚴王，讚歎佛如是等無量百千萬億功德已，於如來前，一心合掌，復白佛言：『世尊！未曾有也。如來之法，具足成就不可思議微妙功德，教誡所行，安隱快善。我從今日，不復自隨心行，不生邪見、憍慢、瞋恚諸惡之心。』說是語已，禮佛而出。」
佛告大眾：「於意云何？妙莊嚴王，豈異人乎？今華德菩薩是。其淨德夫人，今佛前光照莊嚴相菩薩是。哀愍妙莊嚴王及諸眷屬故，於彼中生。其二子者，今藥王菩薩、藥上菩薩是。是藥王、藥上菩薩，成就如此諸大功德，已於無量百千萬億諸佛所殖眾德本，成就不可思議諸善功德。若有人識是二菩薩名字者，一切世間諸天人民亦應禮拜。」
〔T09 0061a02〕佛說是妙莊嚴王本事品時，八萬四千人遠塵離垢，於諸法中得法眼淨。
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.
過去雲雷音宿王華智佛·妙莊嚴王與二子
那時候，佛陀告訴在座的大眾說：「在很久很久以前的過去世，經過了無量無邊、不可思議、多得無法計算的阿僧祇劫（極其漫長的時間），有一位佛，名叫『雲雷音宿王華智』多陀阿伽度（如來）、阿羅訶（應供）、三藐三佛陀（正遍知）；那個國家名叫『光明莊嚴』，那個時劫名叫『憙見』。在那位佛的教法之中，有一位國王，名叫『妙莊嚴』，他的王后夫人名叫『淨德』，有兩個兒子，一個名叫『淨藏』，一個名叫『淨眼』。這兩個兒子有著廣大的神通之力，福德與智慧俱足，長久以來修習菩薩所行的道法——也就是檀波羅蜜（布施）、尸羅波羅蜜（持戒）、羼提波羅蜜（忍辱）、毘梨耶波羅蜜（精進）、禪波羅蜜（禪定）、般若波羅蜜（智慧）、方便波羅蜜（善巧方便）這七種到彼岸的行法，還有慈、悲、喜、捨（四無量心），乃至三十七品助道之法（四念處等三十七種趣向覺悟的法門），全都通曉明了、透徹通達。他們又證得了菩薩的淨三昧、日星宿三昧、淨光三昧、淨色三昧、淨照明三昧、長莊嚴三昧、大威德藏三昧，對於這些三昧也全都通達無礙。
二子請母詣佛·母令白父
「那時候，那位佛陀為了引導妙莊嚴王、也為了憐憫眾生的緣故，正在宣說這部《法華經》。這時淨藏、淨眼兩個兒子來到他們母親的處所，合起十根手指、掌心相對地稟白說：『願母親前往雲雷音宿王華智佛的處所，我們也應當隨侍跟從，親近、供養、禮拜。為什麼呢？因為這位佛在一切天、人大眾之中宣說《法華經》，我們理當去聽受。』母親告訴兒子說：『你們的父親信奉外道，深深執著於婆羅門的法，你們應當去稟告父親，和他一同前去。』淨藏、淨眼合起十指掌心稟白母親：『我們是法王之子，卻生在這信邪見的人家。』母親告訴兒子說：『你們應當顧念憂心你們的父親，為他示現神通變化——他若能見到，心必定清淨，或許就會聽許我們，一同到佛的處所去。』
二子踊空現神變·化父信解
「於是兩個兒子為了顧念父親的緣故，飛身踊立在虛空之中，高達七棵多羅樹那麼高，示現種種的神通變化——在虛空之中行走、站立、坐下、躺臥；身體上方出水、身體下方出火，身體下方出水、身體上方出火；或者示現廣大的身形充滿虛空之中，而又重新現為微小，微小之後又再現為廣大；在空中隱沒不見，忽然又出現在地上；進入大地就像進入水中一樣，行走水面就像行走地面一樣。示現了像這樣種種的神通變化，使他們的父王心中清淨、信受悟解。那時父王見到兒子的神力這樣不可思議，心中大為歡喜，得到了從未有過的體驗，合掌向兒子說：『你們的老師是誰，你們是誰的弟子？』兩個兒子稟白說：『大王啊！那位雲雷音宿王華智佛，如今正在七寶菩提樹下的法座上安坐，在一切世間的天、人大眾之中廣說《法華經》，這位就是我們的老師，我便是弟子。』父王對兒子說：『我如今也想去見你們的老師，可以一同前往。』
二子請出家·偈頌重宣
「於是兩個兒子從空中下來，到他們母親的處所，合掌稟白母親：『父王如今已經信受悟解，堪能發起阿耨多羅三藐三菩提（無上正等正覺）的道心。我們為父親已經做完了佛事，願母親聽許，讓我們在那位佛的處所出家修道。』
「那時兩個兒子想要再一次表明他們的心意，就用偈頌稟白母親：
「『願母親放我們出家，去作沙門（出家修行的人），
諸佛極難值遇，我們願隨佛修學。
就像那優曇鉢羅華（三千年一現的靈瑞之花，喻極其難得），
值遇佛比它還更難，脫離種種災難也一樣難，願母親聽許我們出家。』
「母親隨即告訴他們：『聽許你們出家。為什麼呢？因為佛實在難以值遇啊。』於是兩個兒子稟白父母說：『太好了，父親、母親！願您們及時前往雲雷音宿王華智佛的處所，親近供養。為什麼呢？因為佛難以值遇，就像那優曇鉢羅華一樣稀有；又像一隻獨眼的盲龜，要正好遇上大海中一塊浮木的孔洞（極難相值）。而我們宿世的福德深厚，生在世上得以值遇佛法，所以父母應當聽許我們，讓我們能夠出家。為什麼呢？因為諸佛難以值遇，適當的時機也難以遭逢。』
後宮堪任·夫人知諸佛祕密之藏
「那時候妙莊嚴王後宮的八萬四千人，全都堪能受持這部《法華經》。淨眼菩薩，對於法華三昧，久已通達；淨藏菩薩，早已在無量百千萬億劫之中通達了『離諸惡趣』三昧，這是為了要使一切眾生遠離種種惡道的緣故。他們的王后夫人，證得了『諸佛集』三昧，能夠了知諸佛祕密的法藏。
詣佛·瓔珞化寶臺·佛授記娑羅樹王
「兩個兒子就這樣用善巧方便之力善加化導他們的父親，使他心中信受悟解、喜好佛法。於是妙莊嚴王與群臣眷屬一同，淨德夫人與後宮的婇女（宮女）眷屬一同，那位王的兩個兒子與四萬二千人一同，一時之間共同前往佛的處所。到了之後，以頭面頂禮佛足，繞佛三圈，退到一旁站立。
「那時候，那位佛陀為國王說法，開示教導、令他得利歡喜。國王大為歡悅。那時妙莊嚴王和他的夫人，解下頸上的真珠瓔珞（珠玉綴成的頸飾），價值抵得上百千兩金，拿來散撒在佛的上方，在虛空之中化成一座四根柱子的寶臺，寶臺之中有一張大寶床，鋪著百千萬條天衣，床上有佛陀結加趺坐（雙足交盤而坐），放大光明。那時妙莊嚴王心中這樣想：『佛的身相希有難得，端正莊嚴、殊勝奇特，成就了第一等微妙的色相。』這時雲雷音宿王華智佛告訴四眾（比丘、比丘尼、優婆塞、優婆夷）說：『你們見到這位妙莊嚴王，在我面前合掌站立了嗎？這位王在我的教法之中出家作比丘，精進勤勉地修習，助成佛道之法，將來當得作佛，佛號叫作『娑羅樹王』，國名叫『大光』，時劫名叫『大高王』。那位娑羅樹王佛，有無量的菩薩眾以及無量的聲聞，他的國土平坦端正，功德就是這樣。』那位王隨即把國家托付給弟弟，與夫人、兩個兒子連同眾眷屬，在佛的教法之中出家修道。
王昇虛空·善知識為大因緣
「王出家之後，在八萬四千年之間，常常勤勉精進地修行這部微妙的《法華經》。經過這段時間之後，證得了『一切淨功德莊嚴』三昧，隨即上昇虛空，高達七棵多羅樹那麼高，稟白佛陀說：『世尊啊！這兩位是我的兒子，已經做完了佛事，以神通變化轉變了我的邪心，使我得以安住在佛法之中、得見世尊。這兩個兒子，是我的善知識（引人入正道的良師益友），為了要發起我宿世的善根、饒益我的緣故，來投生在我家。』
「那時候，雲雷音宿王華智佛告訴妙莊嚴王說：『正是這樣，正是這樣！就像你所說的。倘若善男子、善女人，由於種下善根的緣故，世世都能得遇善知識，那善知識，能夠作佛事、開示教導令他得利歡喜，使他趣入阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。大王啊！你應當知道，善知識就是那重大的因緣——所謂能夠教化引導，使人得以見佛、發起無上正等正覺的道心。大王啊！你見到這兩個兒子了嗎？這兩個兒子，已經曾經供養過六十五百千萬億那由他恒河沙那麼多的諸佛，親近恭敬，在諸佛的處所受持《法華經》，憐憫那些持邪見的眾生，使他們安住於正見。』妙莊嚴王隨即從虛空之中下來，稟白佛陀說：『世尊啊！如來實在希有，由於功德智慧的緣故，頂上的肉髻放出光明顯耀照徹，祂的雙眼修長寬廣而呈現紺青之色，眉間的白毫之相潔白如珂玉之月，牙齒潔白整齊細密、常放光明，嘴脣的顏色赤紅美好如同頻婆果。』
王發願·本事結·聞品得法眼淨
「那時妙莊嚴王，讚歎佛陀像這樣無量百千萬億的功德之後，在如來面前，一心合掌，又稟白佛陀說：『世尊啊！真是從未有過。如來的法，具足成就了不可思議、微妙的功德，祂教誡所行的一切，安穩美善。我從今日起，不再放縱自己隨順妄心而行，不再生起邪見、憍慢、瞋恚等種種惡心。』說完這些話，禮拜佛陀之後退出。」
佛陀告訴大眾：「在你們的意思怎麼樣？那妙莊嚴王，難道是別人嗎？就是如今的華德菩薩。那淨德夫人，就是如今在佛前的光照莊嚴相菩薩。她是為了哀憐愍念妙莊嚴王及眾眷屬的緣故，投生在他們那家中。那兩個兒子，就是如今的藥王菩薩、藥上菩薩。這藥王、藥上菩薩，成就了像這樣種種廣大的功德，已經在無量百千萬億的諸佛處所種植了眾多的德本，成就了不可思議的種種善巧功德。倘若有人能認識這兩位菩薩的名字，一切世間的諸天、人民也都應當禮拜。」
佛陀宣說這〈妙莊嚴王本事品〉的時候，有八萬四千人遠離塵垢、離諸垢染，對於一切諸法之中得到了清淨的法眼（照見法之真實的智慧眼）。
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 Buddha Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom in the Distant Past · King Wonderful-Adornment and His Two Sons
爾時佛告諸大眾：「乃往古世，過無量無邊不可思議阿僧祇劫，有佛名雲雷音宿王華智多陀阿伽度、阿羅訶、三藐三佛陀，國名光明莊嚴，劫名憙見。彼佛法中有王，名妙莊嚴，其王夫人名曰淨德，有二子，一名淨藏，二名淨眼。是二子有大神力，福德智慧，久修菩薩所行之道，所謂檀波羅蜜、尸羅波羅蜜、羼提波羅蜜、毘梨耶波羅蜜、禪波羅蜜、般若波羅蜜、方便波羅蜜，慈悲喜捨，乃至三十七品助道法皆悉明了通達。又得菩薩淨三昧、日星宿三昧、淨光三昧、淨色三昧、淨照明三昧、長莊嚴三昧、大威德藏三昧，於此三昧亦悉通達。
At that time, the Buddha told the great assembly: “Long ago in the distant past, immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable asaṃkhyeya aeons—spans of time beyond all reckoning—had passed. There was then a buddha named Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom, a Tathāgata, an Arhat (Worthy of Offerings), a Perfectly and Completely Awakened One. His land was named Radiant Adornment, and the aeon was named Joyfully Seen.
“Within that buddha’s Dharma was a king named Wonderful-Adornment (Śubhavyūha). The king’s wife was named Pure Virtue (Vimaladattā), and they had two sons: the first was named Pure Treasury (Vimalagarbha), and the second Pure Eye (Vimalanetra). These two sons possessed great supernormal power, merit, and wisdom. For a long time they had cultivated the path practiced by bodhisattvas: the perfection of giving, the perfection of discipline, the perfection of patience, the perfection of vigor, the perfection of meditation, the perfection of wisdom, and the perfection of skillful means; loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity (the four immeasurables); and even the thirty-seven aids to the path—the thirty-seven practices leading toward awakening, beginning with the four foundations of mindfulness. They understood them all clearly and penetrated them completely. They had also attained the Bodhisattva-Purity Meditative Absorption, the Sun-and-Constellations Meditative Absorption, the Pure-Radiance Meditative Absorption, the Pure-Form Meditative Absorption, the Pure-Illumination Meditative Absorption, the Long-Adornment Meditative Absorption, and the Treasury-of-Great-Majestic-Virtue Meditative Absorption. They had penetrated all these meditative absorptions without obstruction as well.”
The Two Sons Ask Their Mother to Visit the Buddha · Their Mother Tells Them to Address Their Father
「爾時彼佛欲引導妙莊嚴王，及愍念眾生故，說是法華經。時淨藏、淨眼二子到其母所，合十指爪掌白言：『願母往詣雲雷音宿王華智佛所，我等亦當侍從，親近、供養、禮拜。所以者何？此佛於一切天人眾中說法華經，宜應聽受。』母告子言：『汝父信受外道，深著婆羅門法，汝等應往白父，與共俱去。』淨藏、淨眼合十指爪掌白母：『我等是法王子，而生此邪見家。』母告子言：『汝等當憂念汝父，為現神變，若得見者，心必清淨，或聽我等，往至佛所。』
“At that time, because that buddha wished to guide King Wonderful-Adornment and felt compassion for sentient beings, he taught this Lotus Sutra. The two sons, Pure Treasury and Pure Eye, went to their mother, placed the tips of their ten fingers together with palms joined, and said: ‘We pray that Mother will go to the presence of the Buddha Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom. We too will attend and follow you so that we may draw near to him, make offerings, and bow in reverence. Why? This buddha is teaching the Lotus Sutra amid the entire assembly of devas and humans. We ought to go and hear and receive it.’
“Their mother told her sons: ‘Your father trusts and follows an outside path and is deeply attached to the teachings of the brahmans. You should go and address your father so that we may all go together.’ Pure Treasury and Pure Eye again placed their ten fingertips together with palms joined and said to their mother: ‘We are sons of the Dharma-King, yet we have been born into this household of wrong views.’
“Their mother told them: ‘You should be deeply concerned for your father. Display a supernormal transformation for him. If he can see it, his mind will surely become pure, and perhaps he will permit us to go to the Buddha’s presence.’”
The Two Sons Rise into the Open Sky and Display Supernormal Transformations · They Bring Their Father to Trust and Understanding
於是二子念其父故，踊在虛空，高七多羅樹，現種種神變——於虛空中行住坐臥；身上出水、身下出火，身下出水、身上出火；或現大身滿虛空中，而復現小，小復現大；於空中滅，忽然在地；入地如水，履水如地。現如是等種種神變，令其父王心淨信解。時父見子神力如是，心大歡喜，得未曾有，合掌向子言：『汝等，師為是誰，誰之弟子？』二子白言：『大王！彼雲雷音宿王華智佛，今在七寶菩提樹下法座上坐，於一切世間天人眾中廣說法華經，是我等師，我是弟子。』父語子言：『我今亦欲見汝等師，可共俱往。』
“Then, because the two sons were mindful of their father, they sprang upward and stood in the open sky at the height of seven tāla trees. There they displayed many kinds of supernormal transformation. In the open sky they walked, stood, sat, and lay down. Water issued from the upper parts of their bodies while fire issued from the lower parts; then water issued from the lower parts while fire issued from the upper parts. At times they manifested bodies so vast that they filled the open sky, then manifested themselves as small; after becoming small, they again became vast. They vanished in the sky and suddenly appeared upon the ground. They entered the earth as though entering water and walked upon water as though walking upon solid ground.
“By displaying these and other supernormal transformations, they caused their royal father’s mind to become pure and brought him to trust and understanding. When the father saw how inconceivable his sons’ supernormal powers were, he was filled with great joy and experienced something he had never known before. Joining his palms toward them, he said: ‘Who is your teacher? Whose disciples are you?’
“The two sons replied: ‘Great King! The Buddha Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom is now seated upon the Dharma-seat beneath a bodhi tree made of the seven precious things. Amid the entire assembly of devas and humans in all the world, he is broadly teaching the Lotus Sutra. He is our teacher, and we are his disciples.’
“The father told his sons: ‘Now I too wish to see your teacher. Let us all go together.’”
The Two Sons Ask to Renounce the Household Life · They Proclaim Their Intention Again in Verse
於是二子從空中下，到其母所，合掌白母：『父王今已信解，堪任發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心。我等為父已作佛事，願母見聽，於彼佛所出家修道。』 「爾時二子欲重宣其意，以偈白母： 「『願母放我等，出家作沙門，
諸佛甚難值，我等隨佛學。
如優曇鉢羅，值佛復難是，
脫諸難亦難，願聽我出家。』
「母即告言：『聽汝出家。所以者何？佛難值故。』 「於是二子白父母言：『善哉，父母！願時往詣雲雷音宿王華智佛所，親近供養。所以者何？佛難得值，如優曇鉢羅華，又如一眼之龜，值浮木孔。而我等宿福深厚，生值佛法，是故父母當聽我等，令得出家。所以者何？諸佛難值，時亦難遇。』
“The two sons then descended from the open sky, went to their mother, joined their palms, and said: ‘The royal father has now come to trust and understanding. He is able to arouse the mind of unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening. We have now performed the work of a buddha for our father. We pray that Mother will grant us permission to renounce the household life and cultivate the path in the presence of that buddha.’
“At that time, the two sons wished to proclaim their intention again, and addressed their mother in verse:
‘We pray that Mother will release us to renounce the household life and become śramaṇas.
Buddhas are exceedingly difficult to encounter; we wish to follow the Buddha and train.
They are like the udumbara flower (an auspicious flower that appears once every three thousand years, a symbol of extreme rarity), yet encountering a buddha is even harder than this.
Escape from all difficulties is also hard; we pray that you will permit us to renounce the household life.’
“Their mother immediately told them: ‘I permit you to renounce the household life. Why? Because a buddha is difficult to encounter.’
“The two sons then said to their father and mother: ‘Excellent, Father and Mother! We pray that you will go in good time to the presence of the Buddha Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom, draw near to him, and make offerings. Why? A buddha is difficult to encounter, just as the udumbara flower is rare. It is also like a one-eyed turtle encountering the opening in a piece of driftwood upon the sea—an encounter almost impossible to obtain. Yet the merit we cultivated in former lives is deep and abundant, so in this life we have encountered the Buddha-Dharma. Therefore, Father and Mother, you should permit us to renounce the household life. Why? Buddhas are difficult to encounter, and the right time is also difficult to meet.’”
The Eighty-Four Thousand of the Inner Palace Are Able to Uphold the Sutra · The Queen Knows the Secret Treasury of the Buddhas
「彼時妙莊嚴王後宮八萬四千人，皆悉堪任受持是法華經。淨眼菩薩，於法華三昧，久已通達；淨藏菩薩，已於無量百千萬億劫通達離諸惡趣三昧，欲令一切眾生離諸惡趣故。其王夫人，得諸佛集三昧，能知諸佛祕密之藏。
“At that time, all eighty-four thousand people of King Wonderful-Adornment’s inner palace were able to receive and uphold this Lotus Sutra. The Bodhisattva Pure Eye had long since penetrated the Lotus Meditative Absorption. The Bodhisattva Pure Treasury, through immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of aeons, had already penetrated the Meditative Absorption of Deliverance from All Evil Destinations, because he wished to cause all sentient beings to leave every evil destination. The king’s wife had attained the Meditative Absorption of the Gathering of All Buddhas and was able to know the secret treasury of the buddhas.”
They Visit the Buddha · The Jeweled Necklaces Become a Jeweled Terrace · The Buddha Predicts the Future Buddha Sala-Tree-King
「二子如是以方便力善化其父，令心信解，好樂佛法。於是妙莊嚴王與群臣眷屬俱，淨德夫人與後宮婇女眷屬俱，其王二子與四萬二千人俱，一時共詣佛所。到已，頭面禮足，繞佛三匝，却住一面。 「爾時彼佛為王說法，示教利喜。王大歡悅。爾時妙莊嚴王及其夫人，解頸真珠瓔珞，價直百千，以散佛上，於虛空中化成四柱寶臺，臺中有大寶床，敷百千萬天衣，其上有佛結加趺坐，放大光明。爾時妙莊嚴王作是念：『佛身希有，端嚴殊特，成就第一微妙之色。』時雲雷音宿王華智佛告四眾言：『汝等見是妙莊嚴王，於我前合掌立不？此王於我法中作比丘，精勤修習，助佛道法，當得作佛，號娑羅樹王，國名大光，劫名大高王。其娑羅樹王佛，有無量菩薩眾及無量聲聞，其國平正，功德如是。』其王即時以國付弟，與夫人、二子并諸眷屬，於佛法中出家修道。
“In this way, through the power of skillful means, the two sons skillfully transformed their father, bringing his mind to trust and understanding and causing him to delight in the Buddha-Dharma. King Wonderful-Adornment then went together with his ministers and retinue; Queen Pure Virtue went together with the palace ladies and their retinue; and the king’s two sons went together with forty-two thousand people. All went at the same time to the Buddha’s presence. Upon arriving, they bowed with their heads and faces at the Buddha’s feet, circumambulated him three times, then withdrew and stood to one side.
“At that time, the buddha taught the Dharma to the king: he revealed, instructed, benefited, and gladdened him. The king rejoiced greatly. King Wonderful-Adornment and his wife then removed the pearl necklaces from their necks, each worth a hundred thousand, and scattered them above the Buddha. In the open sky, the necklaces transformed into a four-pillared jeweled terrace. Within the terrace stood a great jeweled couch spread with hundreds of thousands of myriads of heavenly robes. Upon it sat a buddha with legs crossed in the full-lotus posture, emitting great radiance.
“King Wonderful-Adornment then thought: ‘The Buddha’s body is exceedingly rare, upright and majestic, extraordinary and distinguished. He has accomplished the foremost, wondrous form.’
“The Buddha Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom then told the fourfold assembly of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen: ‘Do you see this King Wonderful-Adornment standing before me with palms joined? Within my Dharma, this king will become a monk and diligently cultivate the dharmas that assist the buddha-way. He shall become a buddha named Sala-Tree-King (Śālarāja). His land will be named Great Light, and his aeon Great High King. That Buddha Sala-Tree-King will have an immeasurable assembly of bodhisattvas and immeasurable śrāvakas. His land will be level and upright. Such will be its qualities.’
“The king immediately entrusted his kingdom to his younger brother. Together with his wife, his two sons, and all their retinues, he renounced the household life and cultivated the path within the Buddha-Dharma.”
The King Rises into the Open Sky · A Good Friend Is a Great Cause and Condition
「王出家已，於八萬四千歲，常勤精進修行妙法華經。過是已後，得一切淨功德莊嚴三昧，即昇虛空，高七多羅樹，而白佛言：『世尊！此我二子，已作佛事，以神通變化轉我邪心，令得安住於佛法中，得見世尊。此二子者，是我善知識，為欲發起宿世善根，饒益我故，來生我家。』 「爾時，雲雷音宿王華智佛告妙莊嚴王言：『如是，如是！如汝所言。若善男子、善女人，種善根故，世世得善知識，其善知識，能作佛事，示教利喜，令入阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。大王！當知善知識者是大因緣，所謂化導令得見佛，發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心。大王！汝見此二子不？此二子，已曾供養六十五百千萬億那由他恒河沙諸佛，親近恭敬，於諸佛所受持法華經，愍念邪見眾生，令住正見。』妙莊嚴王即從虛空中下，而白佛言：『世尊！如來甚希有，以功德智慧故，頂上肉髻光明顯照，其眼長廣而紺青色，眉間毫相白如珂月，齒白齊密常有光明，脣色赤好如頻婆菓。』
“After the king had renounced the household life, for eighty-four thousand years he constantly cultivated the Lotus Sutra of the Wondrous Dharma with diligence and vigor. When this time had passed, he attained the Meditative Absorption of Adornment by All Pure Qualities. He immediately rose into the open sky to the height of seven tāla trees and addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! These two sons of mine have performed the work of a buddha. Through transformations of supernormal power they turned my mind away from error, enabled me to abide securely within the Buddha-Dharma, and brought me to see the World-Honored One. These two sons are my good friends—beneficial spiritual companions who guide one onto the right path. In order to awaken the wholesome roots of my former lives and bring me benefit, they came and were born into my household.’
“At that time, the Buddha Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom told King Wonderful-Adornment: ‘Just so, just so! It is exactly as you say. Because good men and good women plant wholesome roots, life after life they are able to encounter good friends. Such a good friend can perform the work of a buddha, reveal and instruct, benefit and gladden, and lead a person to enter unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening. Great King! You should know that a good friend is a great cause and condition: a good friend teaches and guides a person, enables that person to see a buddha, and causes that person to arouse the mind of unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening.
“‘Great King! Do you see these two sons? They have already made offerings to sixty-five hundred-thousand myriads of millions of nayutas of buddhas, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. They drew near to those buddhas with reverence, received and upheld the Lotus Sutra in their presence, felt compassion for sentient beings who held wrong views, and caused them to abide in right view.’
“King Wonderful-Adornment immediately descended from the open sky and addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! The Tathāgata is exceedingly rare. Because of his qualities and wisdom, the fleshy crown upon his head shines forth with radiant light; his eyes are long and broad and blue-black in color; the tuft of hair between his brows is white like a moon of precious shell; his teeth are white, even, and close-set, and constantly emit light; and his lips are a beautiful red, like the fruit of the bimba tree.’”
The King Makes His Vow · The Former Affair Is Disclosed · Those Who Hear the Chapter Attain the Pure Dharma-Eye
「爾時妙莊嚴王，讚歎佛如是等無量百千萬億功德已，於如來前，一心合掌，復白佛言：『世尊！未曾有也。如來之法，具足成就不可思議微妙功德，教誡所行，安隱快善。我從今日，不復自隨心行，不生邪見、憍慢、瞋恚諸惡之心。』說是語已，禮佛而出。」 佛告大眾：「於意云何？妙莊嚴王，豈異人乎？今華德菩薩是。其淨德夫人，今佛前光照莊嚴相菩薩是。哀愍妙莊嚴王及諸眷屬故，於彼中生。其二子者，今藥王菩薩、藥上菩薩是。是藥王、藥上菩薩，成就如此諸大功德，已於無量百千萬億諸佛所殖眾德本，成就不可思議諸善功德。若有人識是二菩薩名字者，一切世間諸天人民亦應禮拜。」 佛說是妙莊嚴王本事品時，八萬四千人遠塵離垢，於諸法中得法眼淨。
“At that time, after King Wonderful-Adornment had praised the Buddha’s immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of qualities such as these, he single-mindedly joined his palms before the Tathāgata and again addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Never before has there been anything like this. The Dharma of the Tathāgata fully accomplishes inconceivable, wondrous qualities. The conduct he teaches and admonishes is peaceful, joyful, and good. From this day forward, I will no longer act merely by following my own mind. I will not give rise to wrong views, arrogance, anger, or any other evil state of mind.’ Having spoken these words, he bowed to the Buddha and departed.
“The Buddha told the assembly: ‘What do you think? Was King Wonderful-Adornment some other person? He is now the Bodhisattva Flower Virtue (Padmaśrī). His wife, Queen Pure Virtue, is now the Bodhisattva Radiant-Adornment-Mark before the Buddha. Out of compassion for King Wonderful-Adornment and all his retinue, she was born among them. Their two sons are now the Bodhisattvas Medicine King (Bhaiṣajyarāja) and Medicine Superior (Bhaiṣajyasamudgata). Medicine King and Medicine Superior have accomplished such great qualities. In the presence of immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of buddhas, they planted many roots of virtue and accomplished inconceivable wholesome qualities. If anyone knows the names of these two bodhisattvas, all the devas and people throughout the world should likewise bow to that person.’
“When the Buddha taught this Chapter on the Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment, eighty-four thousand people became far removed from dust and separated from defilement. Amid all dharmas, they attained purity of the Dharma-eye—the eye of wisdom that sees the reality of the Dharma.”
前面〈陀羅尼品〉說眾聖天神以神呪護持說法的人；這一品換一個角度，說一則遠古的故事——一個深著邪見的國王，怎樣被他自己的兩個兒子度進佛法。故事的落點，是佛親口說出的一句話：「善知識者是大因緣。」慈恩窺基把這一品判作弘經六品裡的「功德勝力」:二子持誦《法華》，以這部經的功德之力，迴轉了父親的邪見。以下順經文次第，把這一品每一義講明；末後再以唯識一系的讀法，補一點旁照。
一則遠古的本事：邪見的王與修行的二子
佛陀對大眾說起一段極遠的過去：那時有佛名叫雲雷音宿王華智，國名光明莊嚴，劫名憙見。那位佛的教法之中，有一位國王名叫妙莊嚴，王后名叫淨德，有兩個兒子，一個名叫淨藏，一個名叫淨眼。這兩個兒子有大神力、福德智慧俱足，長久修習菩薩之道——六波羅蜜加上方便波羅蜜、慈悲喜捨、乃至三十七品助道之法，全都通達；又證得了淨三昧、日星宿三昧等七種殊勝的三昧。父親妙莊嚴王卻信奉外道、深深執著婆羅門的法。一家之中，母子向佛，父親向邪；這一品的張力，就從這裡起。
二子踊空現神變·化父信解
那位佛陀正在說《法華經》，二子請母親一同去聽。母親說：你們父親信外道，你們該去稟告父親，和他一同去。二子合掌說：我們是法王之子，卻生在這信邪見的人家。母親於是教他們一個辦法：你們為父親示現神變吧，他若見了，心必清淨，或許就肯聽我們去佛所。於是兩個兒子飛身踊立虛空，高七多羅樹，現種種神變——在空中行走、站立、坐、臥；身上出水身下出火，身下出水身上出火；現大身滿虛空，又現小身；在空中隱沒，忽然又在地上；入地像入水，履水像履地。父王見了，心大歡喜，得未曾有，合掌問：你們的老師是誰？二子答：是那位正在說《法華經》的雲雷音宿王華智佛。父王說：我也想去見你們的老師。——邪見不是靠辯論破的，是二子以神變，把父親那顆執著的心先撬鬆了。父親一問『你們的老師是誰』，這扇門就開了。
佛難值·請出家
二子從空中下來，向母親請求出家。他們用偈頌說：願母親放我們出家作沙門，諸佛極難值遇，就像那優曇鉢羅華（三千年才開一次的靈瑞之花），值佛比它還難；願母親聽許。母親即刻答應：聽你們出家，因為佛實在難遇啊。二子又勸父母及時詣佛，再舉一喻：佛難得值，就像那優曇華，又像一隻獨眼的盲龜，要在茫茫大海裡正好遇上一塊浮木的孔洞——難到這個地步。而我們宿福深厚，生在世上得逢佛法，所以更該把握這難得的時機。這兩個佛難值的譬喻，是全經勸人珍重當下、及時親近佛法最切的一筆。
詣佛·授記娑羅樹王
於是妙莊嚴王與群臣、夫人與後宮、二子與四萬二千人，一同前往佛所，頂禮繞佛。佛為王說法，王大歡悅，和夫人解下價值百千的真珠瓔珞散在佛上，在空中化成一座四柱寶臺，臺中寶床上有佛結加趺坐、放大光明。王心中讚歎：佛身希有，端嚴殊特。那位佛便告訴四眾：這位妙莊嚴王，將在我法中出家、精勤修習，當得作佛，佛號娑羅樹王，國名大光，劫名大高王。王隨即把國家托付給弟弟，與夫人、二子、眷屬一同出家修道。一個深著外道的王，就這樣從邪見的岸，走到了受記成佛的岸。
善知識者是大因緣
王出家後，勤修《法華經》八萬四千年，證得一切淨功德莊嚴三昧，昇上虛空，向佛稟白：世尊！這兩個兒子已作完佛事，以神通變化轉了我的邪心，使我安住佛法、得見世尊；這兩個兒子，是我的善知識，為要發起我宿世的善根、饒益我，才來投生在我家。佛答：正是這樣！倘若有人種善根，世世都能得遇善知識；那善知識能作佛事、開示教導令他歡喜，使他趣入無上正覺。大王你當知道：善知識就是那重大的因緣——能教化引導，使人得見佛、發起菩提心。這是全品的心。父親迴邪入正，不是靠自己想通的，是靠善知識；而這善知識，正是他自己的兩個兒子——親如骨肉，也可以是最深的善知識。佛又告訴他：這兩個兒子，已曾供養過六十五百千萬億那由他恒河沙那麼多的佛，在諸佛處受持《法華經》，憐憫邪見的眾生，令他們住於正見。王從空中下來，一句一句讚歎佛的相好，並發願：我從今日起，不再放縱妄心而行，不再生邪見、憍慢、瞋恚。說完，禮佛而出。
本事：誰是誰
末了，佛把這一則遠古故事的人一一點破：那妙莊嚴王，就是今天的華德菩薩；那淨德夫人，就是今天在佛前的光照莊嚴相菩薩；那兩個兒子，就是今天的藥王菩薩、藥上菩薩。這兩位大士，早已在無量諸佛處種下德本，成就不可思議的功德——若有人能認得這兩位菩薩的名字，一切世間的天、人都應當禮拜。故事講完，八萬四千人遠離塵垢，在諸法之中得了清淨的法眼。原來這不是別人的舊事：那個度父的兒子，那個被度的父親，都還在今日的法會上；弘經度生的因緣，一世一世地接續著，從未斷過。
以唯識之眼：功德勝力與不簡怨親的善知識
上來是妙莊嚴王本事品自身的義。所借的那面唯識鏡（慈恩窺基所傳），在此品照見的並不深——這一品《玄贊》的篇幅雖長，卻幾乎全是分科與訓詁，論到心性玄理處是空的；它的重量，落在「功德勝力」與「善知識」這兩件事上。先說功德勝力：窺基依世親《法華論》，判弘經之力有六，這一品是「功德勝力」——二子持誦《法華》，因行圓、道業著，就以這部經的功德之力，把父親的邪見迴轉過來、令他得佛授記，一切都由《法華》功德而來。這是把「二子化父」這件事，接回到『持經的功德能生大用』上。再說善知識，窺基有一句要緊的話：善知識「不簡怨親」——不揀是仇是親，凡能作佛事、引人見佛發心的，都是善知識。他又順著本事會通，指出這位妙莊嚴王即前〈妙音品〉的華德菩薩、二子即〈藥王品〉的藥王藥上，把弘經諸品的人串成一段父子本事（也因藥王前已說，故不以二子立品名）。
這善知識一義，三家讀法各不相同，值得記下。智顗開為四種善知識——外護、教授、同行、實際實相，各配《雜阿含》的一喻：外護如貞良之妻、教授如商旅之導、同行如宗親之財、實際如子臥父懷。吉藏則立二輪二種——二子以「神通輪」化父令生信，是菩薩為眾生的善知識；佛以「說法輪」化王令得解，是眾生真正的善知識。窺基則只標一句「不簡怨親」。同一句『善知識是大因緣』，一家開四種、一家分二種、一家標不簡怨親——古德於此並未歸一，這裡只據實誌之，不加裁斷。唯識這面鏡，照的是「功德勝力」與「不簡怨親」這一層；它不是這一品的源頭，只是換一副眼，看那度父入道的力量，究竟從哪裡生根。
The preceding Chapter on Dhāraṇī tells how holy beings and heavenly spirits protect those who teach the Dharma through sacred formulas. This chapter turns to another angle and tells an ancient story: how a king deeply attached to wrong views was led into the Buddha-Dharma by his own two sons. The story comes to rest upon one sentence spoken by the Buddha himself: a good friend is a great cause and condition. Kuiji of the Cien tradition places this chapter among the six chapters on transmitting the sutra and calls it the “power of superior qualities”: the two sons upheld the Lotus Sutra and, through the power of its qualities, turned their father away from wrong views. We will follow the sequence of the sutra and make every meaning in the chapter clear; only at the end will we add a brief reflection from the Consciousness-Only tradition.
An Ancient Former Affair: A King of Wrong Views and Two Sons Who Cultivated the Path
The Buddha tells the assembly of an exceedingly distant past. At that time there was a buddha named Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom; his land was named Radiant Adornment, and the aeon Joyfully Seen. Within that buddha’s Dharma was a king named Wonderful-Adornment. His queen was named Pure Virtue, and they had two sons, Pure Treasury and Pure Eye. The two sons possessed great supernormal power and were complete in merit and wisdom. For a long time they had cultivated the bodhisattva path—the six perfections together with the perfection of skillful means, loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, and even the thirty-seven aids to the path, all of which they had fully penetrated. They had also attained seven extraordinary meditative absorptions, beginning with the Meditative Absorption of Purity and the Meditative Absorption of the Sun and Constellations. Yet their father, King Wonderful-Adornment, trusted an outside path and was deeply attached to the teachings of the brahmans. Within one family, mother and sons turned toward the Buddha while the father alone turned toward wrong views. The tension of the chapter begins here.
The Two Sons Rise into the Open Sky and Display Supernormal Transformations · They Bring Their Father to Trust and Understanding
That buddha was teaching the Lotus Sutra, and the two sons asked their mother to go with them to hear it. Their mother said: your father follows an outside path; you should address him and bring him with us. The sons joined their palms and said: we are sons of the Dharma-King, yet we have been born into this household of wrong views. Their mother then gave them a method: display a supernormal transformation for your father. If he sees it, his mind will surely become pure, and perhaps he will permit us to go to the Buddha’s presence.
The two sons sprang upward and stood in the open sky at the height of seven tāla trees. They walked, stood, sat, and lay down in the sky; water issued from above their bodies and fire from below, then water from below and fire from above; they manifested vast bodies filling the sky and then small bodies; they vanished in the air and suddenly appeared upon the ground; they entered the earth as though entering water and walked upon water as though upon solid ground. When their royal father saw these wonders, he was filled with joy and experienced something he had never known before. Joining his palms, he asked: who is your teacher? The sons answered: the Buddha Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom, who is now teaching the Lotus Sutra. The king said: I too wish to see your teacher. Wrong views were not broken by argument. Through supernormal transformation, the sons first pried loose their father’s deeply attached mind. The moment the father asked, “Who is your teacher?” the door opened.
A Buddha Is Difficult to Encounter · The Sons Ask to Renounce the Household Life
The two sons descended from the sky and asked their mother for permission to renounce the household life. In verse they said: may Mother release us so that we may become renunciants; buddhas are exceedingly difficult to encounter, and we wish to follow the Buddha and train. A buddha is harder to encounter even than the udumbara flower, the auspicious flower said to bloom only once in three thousand years. Their mother consented immediately: I permit you to renounce the household life, because a buddha is indeed difficult to encounter.
The sons then urged their parents to visit the Buddha without delay and added another simile. A buddha is difficult to encounter, like the udumbara flower, or like a one-eyed blind turtle in the vast ocean happening to meet the opening in a piece of floating wood—an encounter almost beyond possibility. Yet the merit they had cultivated in former lives was deep, and in this life they had encountered the Buddha-Dharma. For that very reason, they must cherish this rare occasion. These two similes of how difficult a buddha is to encounter are among the chapter’s most urgent strokes, urging the reader to treasure the present and draw near to the Buddha-Dharma while the occasion is here.
They Visit the Buddha · The King Receives the Prediction of Sala-Tree-King
King Wonderful-Adornment and his ministers, the queen and the women of the inner palace, and the two sons with forty-two thousand people went together to the Buddha’s presence, bowed, and circumambulated him. The buddha taught the Dharma to the king, and the king rejoiced greatly. He and his wife removed pearl necklaces worth a hundred thousand and scattered them above the Buddha. In the open sky, the necklaces became a four-pillared jeweled terrace. Upon a jeweled couch within the terrace sat a buddha cross-legged, emitting great radiance. The king praised the Buddha’s body as rare, upright, majestic, and extraordinary.
That buddha then told the fourfold assembly: this King Wonderful-Adornment will renounce the household life within my Dharma and cultivate diligently. He shall become a buddha named Sala-Tree-King; his land will be named Great Light, and his aeon Great High King. The king immediately entrusted the kingdom to his younger brother and, together with his wife, sons, and retinue, renounced the household life and cultivated the path. A king deeply attached to an outside path had crossed from the shore of wrong views to the shore of receiving a prediction of buddhahood.
A Good Friend Is a Great Cause and Condition
After renouncing the household life, the king diligently cultivated the Lotus Sutra for eighty-four thousand years and attained the Meditative Absorption of Adornment by All Pure Qualities. Rising into the open sky, he addressed the Buddha: World-Honored One, these two sons of mine have completed the work of a buddha. Through transformations of supernormal power they turned my mind away from error, enabled me to abide in the Buddha-Dharma, and brought me to see the World-Honored One. These two sons are my good friends. In order to awaken the wholesome roots of my former lives and benefit me, they came and were born into my household.
The Buddha answered: just so, just so. When good men and good women plant wholesome roots, life after life they encounter good friends. Such a good friend performs the work of a buddha, reveals and instructs, benefits and gladdens, and leads people into unsurpassed awakening. Great King, you should know that a good friend is a great cause and condition: one who teaches and guides, enables a person to see a buddha, and arouses the mind of awakening. This is the heart of the entire chapter. The father did not turn from wrong views to right view by thinking everything through on his own. He did so through good friends—and those good friends were his own sons. Even those joined to us as closely as flesh and bone may be our deepest good friends.
The Buddha further tells the king that these two sons had already made offerings to buddhas beyond reckoning, received and upheld the Lotus Sutra in their presence, felt compassion for sentient beings holding wrong views, and caused them to abide in right view. The king descends from the sky, praises each of the Buddha’s marks and signs in turn, and vows: from this day forward, I will no longer indulge and follow my own deluded mind; I will no longer give rise to wrong views, arrogance, anger, or any other evil state of mind. Having spoken, he bows to the Buddha and departs.
The Former Affair Disclosed: Who Was Who?
At the end, the Buddha reveals the identities of all the people in this ancient story. King Wonderful-Adornment is the Bodhisattva Flower Virtue of the present assembly. Queen Pure Virtue is now the Bodhisattva Radiant-Adornment-Mark before the Buddha. Their two sons are now the Bodhisattvas Medicine King and Medicine Superior. These two great beings had long planted roots of virtue in the presence of immeasurable buddhas and accomplished inconceivable qualities. If anyone recognizes the names of these two bodhisattvas, even all the devas and people throughout the world should bow in reverence.
When the story ends, eighty-four thousand people become far removed from dust, separated from defilement, and attain purity of the Dharma-eye amid all dharmas. This was never merely someone else’s old story. The sons who delivered their father and the father who was delivered are still present in today’s Dharma assembly. The causes and conditions of transmitting the sutra and delivering sentient beings continue from life to life and have never been broken.
Seen Through the Eyes of Consciousness-Only: The Power of Superior Qualities and the Good Friend Who Does Not Distinguish Enemy from Kin
Everything above is the meaning of the Chapter on the Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment itself. The Consciousness-Only mirror borrowed here, transmitted by Kuiji of the Cien tradition, does not shine deeply into this chapter. Although Kuiji’s commentary on the chapter is lengthy, it consists almost entirely of divisions and glosses; it contains no development of deep doctrine concerning mind and nature. Its weight falls upon only two matters: the power of superior qualities and the good friend.
First, the power of superior qualities. Following Vasubandhu’s Treatise on the Lotus Sutra, Kuiji identifies six powers in the chapters that transmit the sutra and assigns this chapter to the “power of superior qualities.” The two sons uphold the Lotus Sutra; their causes and practices are complete and their attainment of the path manifest. Through the power of the sutra’s qualities, they turn their father away from wrong views and bring him to receive the Buddha’s prediction. Everything arises through the power of the Lotus. This connects the sons’ transformation of their father back to the great efficacy born from upholding the sutra. Second, Kuiji gives one crucial phrase concerning the good friend: a good friend “does not distinguish enemy from kin.” He does not choose between enemy and relative: anyone who can perform the work of a buddha and lead a person to see a buddha and arouse the mind of awakening is a good friend. Following the disclosure of the former affair, he also identifies King Wonderful-Adornment as Flower Virtue from the preceding Chapter on Wonderful Sound and the two sons as Medicine King and Medicine Superior from the Chapter on Medicine King. In this way, he gathers the figures of the transmission chapters into a single former affair of father and sons. Because Medicine King had already been named in an earlier chapter, the sons’ names were not used again as the title of this one, lest the titles be confused.
The three houses do not read this meaning of the good friend in the same way, and their readings are worth recording. Zhiyi opens it into four kinds of good friend: the external protector, the instructor, the fellow practitioner, and ultimate actuality, the true mark. He pairs each with a simile from the Connected Discourses: the external protector is like a virtuous wife; the instructor like a guide for a traveling caravan; the fellow practitioner like the wealth of one’s kin; and ultimate actuality like a child resting in the father’s embrace. Jizang instead establishes two wheels and two kinds: the sons transform their father through the “wheel of supernormal power” and cause trust to arise, so they are bodhisattva good friends for sentient beings; the Buddha transforms the king through the “wheel of Dharma” and causes understanding to arise, so the Buddha is the true good friend of sentient beings. Kuiji marks only the phrase “does not distinguish enemy from kin.” One house opens four kinds, one distinguishes two, and one marks non-discrimination between enemy and kin. The ancient masters did not reduce these readings to one. They are recorded side by side without adjudication. This Consciousness-Only mirror illumines the power of superior qualities and the good friend who does not distinguish enemy from kin. It is not the source of this chapter, only another set of eyes through which to see where the power that led a father onto the path takes root.
考據Apparatus
本品為迹門流通第五品，明妙莊嚴王宿世因緣——二子淨藏淨眼以神變化其邪見之父，令歸佛法；佛印可「善知識者是大因緣」。佛告大眾：過去無量阿僧祇劫，有佛雲雷音宿王華智，國光明莊嚴，劫憙見。彼佛法中有王妙莊嚴，夫人淨德，二子淨藏、淨眼，久修七波羅蜜、三十七品、七三昧。彼佛說法華經，二子請母詣佛；母言父信受外道、深著婆羅門法，令二子先化父。二子踊虛空高七多羅樹，現種種神變（身上出水身下出火、入地如水履水如地），令父心淨信解。父問師，二子答；請出家，以偈白母（諸佛難值如優曇鉢羅）。二子復以佛難值二喻（優曇鉢羅華、一眼之龜值浮木孔）勸父母。妙莊嚴王與夫人、二子、四萬二千人詣佛，解真珠瓔珞散佛化四柱寶臺；佛授記妙莊嚴王當作佛號娑羅樹王、國大光、劫大高王。王以國付弟，出家修法華八萬四千歲，得一切淨功德莊嚴三昧，昇空白佛『此二子是我善知識』；佛答『善知識者是大因緣，所謂化導令得見佛、發菩提心』。王讚佛相好，發願不復隨心行、不生邪見憍慢瞋恚。佛結本事：妙莊嚴王即今華德菩薩、淨德夫人即今光照莊嚴相菩薩、二子即今藥王菩薩藥上菩薩。說是品時，八萬四千人得法眼淨。慈恩窺基《玄贊》判此品於受命流通六品之「功德勝力」（世親《法華論》·淨藏淨眼持《法華》功德勝力迴邪見父王），釋名「在俗皇貴妙珍綺以飾容·迴邪入正勝法寶而瑩體」，品文分四，善知識「不簡怨親」；並會通『妙莊嚴王即前妙音品之華德、二子即藥王藥上』，全段唯識心性論（三性・賴耶）落點全零。天台智顗判「化他勸流通·人護」（與陀羅尼品「呪護」相對），善知識立四種（外護／教授／同行／實際實相·配《雜阿含》四喻），神變作「十八變」，本事會通『昔王即今華德、昔二子即藥王藥上』（並於四同學緣起別出「婦即妙音」）；三論吉藏「依論」判「第三過去勝功德力」（藥王弘經四處之第四），善知識立二輪（神通輪二子＝菩薩善知識、說法輪佛＝真善知識），釋名『應言藥王本事、從所化立名』，本事唯歸藥王系（不列藥上、不以華德繫王）——善知識之判、本事之會通，三家各異，並錄不判。三譯：羅什／添品「妙莊嚴王本事品」，竺法護義譯作「淨復淨王品」（人名佛名國劫佛號本事今名全義譯·佛難值改如意明珠無龜喻·無「善知識」定式）；添品逐字近同羅什——並錄不判。
一、科判定位
| 科判系統 | 此品之位 |
|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 二十八品 | 第二十七 妙莊嚴王本事品（卷七；〔T09n0262 0059b28〕起）· 迹門流通第五·妙莊嚴王宿世二子化父 |
| 窺基《玄贊》科文（主錨·慈恩） | 品段〔T34n1723 0850b20〕三門分別：一來意、二釋名、三解妨〔0850b21〕。來意有二:(一)「論云『功德勝力者，〈妙莊嚴王品〉示現。此明淨藏、淨眼持《法華經》，因圓道著，功德勝力迴邪見之父王，得當來之佛記，皆由《法華》功德之力』」〔0850b22〕——受命流通六品之「功德勝力」（六品受命流通判位見〈藥王品〉0843b18）;(二)「前〈妙音品〉明華德菩薩請問妙音所得三昧……今妙莊嚴王即是華德……今明二子勸說父王，為善知識不簡怨親」〔0850b26〕· 釋名：「在俗皇貴，妙珍綺以飾容；迴邪入正，勝法寶而瑩體，故名妙莊嚴王；宿世因緣，故名本事」〔0850c01〕· 解妨：問此品正明淨藏淨眼為善知識，何故不以為品名？答「淨藏、淨眼即藥王、藥上，前已明藥王，恐題名濫故不說之」〔0850c07〕· 品文分四（敘本緣·會今古·勸人歸禮·結成眾益）〔0850c09〕 |
| 天台《文句》（旁證） | 〈釋妙莊嚴王本事品〉〔T34n1718 0147a12〕起（品段甚簡·約一頁）· 判化他勸流通·人護：「前品說呪護，今品說人護，人護尚爾，呪護彌良，普勸流通也」〔0147b16〕· 釋名「妙法功德莊嚴諸根」〔0147b11〕· 文為六（明事本·雙標能所·能化方便·所化得益·結會古今·聞品悟道）〔0147b17〕 |
| 三論《義疏》（旁證） | 〈妙莊嚴王本事品第二十七〉〔T34n1721 0630b25〕起 · 依論判「第三過去勝功德力」：「依論是第三過去勝功德力，能迴父邪見使發心得記，即是善知識力弘法華經」〔0630b26〕· 藥王弘經四處之第四「此品嘆藥王是眾生善知識，能令父王迴邪入正，受記成佛」〔0630c04〕 |
二、異譯·三譯對勘
本品三漢譯：羅什 T262〈妙莊嚴王本事品第二十七〉· 竺法護 T263《正法華經》〈淨復淨王品第二十五〉〔T09n0263 0130c29〕· 添品 T264〈妙莊嚴王本事品第二十五〉〔T09n0264 0193b02〕。品名之異：羅什／添品「妙莊嚴王本事品」，竺法護作「淨復淨王品」（義譯·淨復淨＝妙莊嚴王）。品次：羅什㉗・竺法護㉕・添品㉕。全篇體例之異：竺法護全品義譯（人名・佛名・國名・劫名・佛號・本事今名全部漢意化），添品逐字近同羅什（差異僅異體字＋缺「品」字＋近／見一字）。
句一 佛名·國·劫·王·夫人·二子（竺法護全義譯）
| 目 | 羅什 T262 | 竺法護 T263 | 添品 T264 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 過去佛 | 雲雷音宿王華智〔0059b29〕 | 總水雷音宿華慧王〔0131a02〕 | 雲雷音宿王華智〔0193b05·同〕 |
| 國 | 光明莊嚴 | 照明嚴飾〔0131a04〕 | 光明莊嚴〔同〕 |
| 劫 | 憙見 | 愛見〔0131a05〕 | 喜見〔0193b07·憙異體〕 |
| 王 | 妙莊嚴〔0059c01〕 | 淨復淨〔0131a06〕 | 妙莊嚴〔同〕 |
| 夫人 | 淨德 | 離垢施〔0131a06〕 | 淨德〔同〕 |
| 二子 | 淨藏·淨眼〔0059c04〕 | 離垢藏·離垢目〔0131a07〕 | 淨藏·淨眼〔同〕 |
異文所繫：添品名系全同羅什音寫（唯「喜／憙」異體）。竺法護——過去佛、國、劫、王、夫人、二子全部義譯異名（總水雷音宿華慧王＝雲雷音宿王華智·淨復淨＝妙莊嚴·離垢施＝淨德·離垢藏／離垢目＝淨藏／淨眼）；又母言外道作「志存外邪信樂梵志，常懷瞋恨」〔0131a22·多「常懷瞋恨」一句〕。
句二 二子神變化父（竺法護出水火順序倒·開合異）
| 版本 | 逐字（節） | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 踊在虛空，高七多羅樹……行住坐臥；身上出水、身下出火，身下出水、身上出火……於空中滅，忽然在地；入地如水，履水如地 | T09n0262 0060a05 |
| 添品 T264 | 〔逐字同羅什〕高七多羅樹……身上出水身下出火，身下出水身上出火……入地如水履水如地 | T09n0264 0193b26 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 去地七仞……二人俱時坐臥經行，身上出火身下出水，身上出水身下出火……從虛空下入于地中，若人入水從地踊出，處在虛空猶如履地 | T09n0263 0131b03 |
異文所繫：添品逐字同羅什（升空「高七多羅樹」·出水火順序同羅什先出水）。竺法護——升空「去地七仞」（羅什高七多羅樹）·威儀「坐臥經行」（羅什行住坐臥）·出水火順序倒置（先出火：身上出火身下出水）·「入地如水履水如地」八字開展作「入于地中……猶如履地」（詳）。
句三 佛難值二喻（竺法護無龜喻·改如意明珠）
| 版本 | 逐字（節） | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 佛難得值，如優曇鉢羅華；又如一眼之龜，值浮木孔 | T09n0262 0060a29 |
| 添品 T264 | 佛難得值，如優曇波羅華；又如一眼之龜值浮木孔〔優曇波羅·鉢／波異〕 | T09n0264 0193c20 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 佛興難值，猶靈瑞華，亦如如意最上明珠，佛亦復然，不可再遇 | T09n0263 0131c02 |
異文所繫：添品二喻俱全同羅什（唯「鉢／波」異體）。竺法護——第一喻「靈瑞華」（優曇之義譯），第二喻改作「如意最上明珠」·無「一眼之龜值浮木孔」喻（無龜喻·坐實）。
句四 善知識段·授記佛號·本事結（三處竺法護大異）
| 目 | 羅什 T262 | 竺法護 T263 | 添品 T264 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 善知識 | 善知識者是大因緣，所謂化導令得見佛，發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心〔0060c09〕 | 因遇善師，得見如來啟受經法〔0132a20·無「善知識」定式〕 | 逐字同羅什〔0194a28〕 |
| 授記佛號 | 號娑羅樹王，國名大光，劫名大高王〔0060b23〕 | 名曰種帝王，土廣普，劫超王〔0132c01·義譯〕 | 逐字同羅什〔0194a14〕 |
| 本事結 | 華德·光照莊嚴相·藥王/藥上〔0060c24〕 | 蓮華首·光照嚴飾·藥王/超藥〔0132c08·義譯〕 | 逐字同羅什〔0194b13〕 |
異文所繫：添品三處逐字全同羅什。竺法護——善知識通篇無「善知識」一詞（作「聖師／善師／至聖無蓋善師」〔0132a07〕，無「大因緣／發菩提心」定句）；授記佛號義譯「種帝王」（羅什娑羅樹王）；本事結「蓮華首」（羅什華德）、「藥王／超藥」（羅什藥王／藥上·藥上→超藥義譯）、夫人「光照嚴飾」（羅什光照莊嚴相·近同略字）。又竺法護夫人段多「以權方便現于女身」一義〔0131c15〕、二子供養作「六十五億百千兆姟江河沙」（數詞單位系異）〔0132a23〕、瓔珞化「七寶交露之帳」（羅什四柱寶臺）〔0132b22〕、王讚佛相唯演眉間白毫偈頌問答（羅什肉髻／紺青眼／白毫／齒白／脣赤五相枚舉）〔0132b01〕。
句五 結尾得益
| 版本 | 逐字（節） | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 佛說是妙莊嚴王本事品時，八萬四千人遠塵離垢，於諸法中得法眼淨 | T09n0262 0061a03 |
| 添品 T264 | 〔逐字同羅什〕八萬四千人遠塵離垢，於諸法中得法眼淨 | T09n0264 0194b22 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 八萬四千人遠塵離垢，諸法眼淨〔略「於諸法中」〕 | T09n0263 0132c18 |
異文所繫：得益人數三譯全同（八萬四千人·法眼淨）；竺法護略「於諸法中」為「諸法眼淨」，義同。
三、唯識義之經據（眼）
本品玄贊段雖長（約四欄·科文＋名相訓詁富），義理重量落在「功德勝力」（弘經力）與「善知識」（經自身之凱唱）——唯識心性論落點全零。唯識-簽名形上語（三性・遍計・依他・圓成・阿賴耶・藏識・轉依・五性・種姓・二障・變化身・末那・唯識）機掃全段〔T34n1723 0850b20–0852a20〕皆零（善知識×12·功德勝×3·迴邪×3·華德×3·藥王×3）。玄贊於此品之義理落點三端，皆屬弘經力與善知識論，非三性心識：
(一) 功德勝力（受命流通六品·世親《法華論》）〔T34n1723 0850b22〕:
「論云『功德勝力者，〈妙莊嚴王品〉示現。此明淨藏、淨眼持《法華經》，因圓道著，功德勝力迴邪見之父王，得當來之佛記，皆由《法華》功德之力』」〔T34n1723 0850b22〕
→ 窺基依世親《法華論》判此品為受命流通六品之功德勝力〔藥王起六品·0843b18〕：二子持《法華》，功德圓著，以此勝力迴轉父王之邪見、令得佛記，皆由《法華》功德之力。此屬弘經之行力，非心識論。吉藏亦「依論」判「第三過去勝功德力……即是善知識力弘法華經」〔T34n1721 0630b26〕——慈恩、三論同引《法華論》一系。
(二) 善知識為大因緣（經自說·玄贊順經）〔T09n0262 0060c09〕：此品之凱唱＝佛印可「善知識者是大因緣，所謂化導令得見佛，發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心」；窺基順經釋「二子勸說父王，為善知識不簡怨親，以示眾人令弘此經」〔T34n1723 0850b29〕——善知識不揀怨親，皆能作佛事。此是經之自義，玄贊述之，非唯識三性義。
(三) 迴邪入正·會今古（本事會通）〔T34n1723 0850b27〕：窺基釋名「迴邪入正，勝法寶而瑩體」〔0850c01〕，並會通「今妙莊嚴王即是華德〔連〈妙音品㉔〉〕……淨藏、淨眼即藥王、藥上〔連〈藥王品㉓〉〕」〔0850b27·0850c07〕——以本事貫串弘經諸品之人；此屬敘事會通，非心識論。
（按：本品玄贊科文雖富（品文分四·讚二子四德七定·二子化父五科），義理落點在功德勝力・善知識・迴邪入正——唯識心性論〔三性賴耶〕全零，同⑨授學無學・⑬勸持・㉖陀羅尼之義輕況。經文自身之凱唱＝二子神變化父、善知識為大因緣、宿世本事；窺基之科釋與功德勝力判是末節一鏡，不令鏡蓋經。各品軸：㉓純科判/㉔義薄/㉕瑜伽業道論/㉖總持論·念慧四無礙持/㉗功德勝力·善知識論（唯識心性論零）/⑯三佛菩提。）
四、諸家異釋（古德·標宗·誌錄不判）
同一『善知識是大因緣』「二子化父」「本事會通」，慈恩・天台・三論讀法各異。本編義疏鏡＝慈恩窺基《玄贊》；天台、三論並錄，誌其異而不判。
約詞辨:①「善知識者是大因緣」為經文自語〔T09n0262 0060c09〕——三家釋此各異（詳下）。②本事會通：經自結「妙莊嚴王＝華德・夫人＝光照莊嚴相・二子＝藥王藥上」〔0060c24〕；智顗、窺基順經作全會通，吉藏唯歸藥王系（不列藥上·不以華德繫王·藥上／華德繫王 T1721 品段內 0 見）。③智顗於四同學緣起別出『昔婦即妙音菩薩』〔0147b07〕——此係智顗深攝之過去緣起讀（與經本事結「夫人＝光照莊嚴相」異層），吉藏亦引四同學緣起〔0630c11〕。
慈恩·窺基《玄贊》T34n1723（鏡骨幹）
功德勝力（受命流通六品·來意二）〔0850b22〕· 妙莊嚴王即前妙音品之華德·二子即藥王藥上〔0850b26·0850c07〕· 釋名「在俗皇貴妙珍綺以飾容·迴邪入正勝法寶而瑩體」〔0850c01〕· 品文分四〔0850c09〕· 讚二子四德七定〔0850c〕· 善知識「不簡怨親」〔0850b29〕· 二子化父五科（啟母請詣佛/母令子化父/稟教行化/信心歸佛/佛應導利）。純科文·名相訓詁（爪音·玉篇）·唯識心性論零。詳目三。慈恩承衍：慧沼《法華玄贊義決》T34n1724 未及此品（全書妙莊/淨藏/善知識皆 0·唯 0862b19 列正法華品序「淨復淨王品」名·目七）。
天台·智顗《文句》T34n1718（旁證）
品段甚簡〔0147a12 起·約一頁〕· 判化他勸流通·人護「前品說呪護，今品說人護……普勸流通也」〔0147b16〕· 釋名「妙法功德莊嚴諸根……得清淨功德莊嚴三昧」〔0147b11〕· 文為六〔0147b17〕· 二子化父「此王著欲而復邪見，若非愛鈎無由可拔……一人可為端正婦，二作聰明兒」〔0147b04〕· 神變「現化應十八變」〔0147c03〕· 善知識立四種〔0147c18〕：「善知識能作佛事，此則外護善知識。「示教利喜」者，此則教授善知識；「所謂化導令得見佛」者，此則同行善知識；「令入菩提」，此則實際實相善知識」，配《雜阿含》四喻（貞良妻＝外護·宗親財＝同行·商主導＝教授·子臥父懷＝實際）〔0147c21〕· 本事「昔王者今華德菩薩·昔二子者今藥王藥上·婦者妙音菩薩〔四同學緣起〕」〔0147b07〕。
三論·吉藏《法華義疏》T34n1721（旁證）
品段〔0630b25 起·約一欄餘〕· 依論判「第三過去勝功德力……即是善知識力弘法華經」〔0630b26〕·藥王弘經四處之第四〔0630c04〕· 釋名「應言藥王本事品，但立名相避，從所化之人立名」〔0630c08〕· 迴邪入正「能令父王迴邪入正，受記成佛」〔0630c05〕· 四同學緣起（一人作婦、二人作兒·共化王）〔0630c11〕· 善知識立二輪二種〔0630c21〕：「善知識力唯有此二，此二因二輪生：初、明子以神通輪化父令生信；後、佛以說法輪化王令得解」；「化父得信是菩薩為眾生善知識，化王得解明佛是眾生真善知識」〔0630c23〕· 本事唯歸藥王系（判「應言藥王本事」·不列藥上·不以華德繫王）。
三家並錄（誌·不判）
善知識釋（本品核心）：慈恩「不簡怨親」、天台四種（外護／教授／同行／實際實相·配《雜阿含》四喻）、三論二輪二種（神通輪二子＝菩薩善知識・說法輪佛＝真善知識）——三家開判各異（不簡怨親·四種·二種），並錄不判。科判位：慈恩「功德勝力」、天台「化他勸流通·人護（對陀羅尼呪護）」、三論「依論第三過去勝功德力·藥王弘經四處第四」——慈恩、三論同引《法華論》功德勝力一系，天台以「人護／呪護」立位，並錄不判。本事會通：慈恩、天台作全會通（王＝華德·二子＝藥王藥上），三論唯歸藥王系（不列藥上·不繫華德）；智顗別於四同學緣起出「婦＝妙音」——並錄不判。神變：慈恩讚二子四德七定、天台「十八變」、三論「神通輪」（對說法輪）——並錄不判。智顗（538–597)・吉藏（549–623)早於窺基（632–682)，並錄不判。
五、術語
| 漢 | 傳梵（羅馬字·發音輔助) | 古德所徵 | 義 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 妙莊嚴王 | Śubhavyūha（系) | 〔本經 0059c01·品題〕；窺基「在俗皇貴妙珍綺以飾容·迴邪入正勝法寶而瑩體」〔T34n1723 0850c01〕；智顗「妙法功德莊嚴諸根」〔T34n1718 0147b11〕；竺法護義譯作「淨復淨王」〔T09n0263 0131a06〕 | 迴邪入正之王·即今華德菩薩（釋名三家異） |
| 善知識 | kalyāṇa-mitra（系) | 〔本經 0060c09·佛印可〕；窺基「不簡怨親」〔T34n1723 0850b29〕；智顗四種〔外護/教授/同行/實際·T34n1718 0147c18〕；吉藏二輪二種〔菩薩/佛真善知識·T34n1721 0630c21〕；竺法護作「聖師/善師」〔T09n0263 0132a07〕 | 化導令見佛發菩提心之大因緣（三家開判各異） |
| 功德勝力 | — | 〔窺基來意 T34n1723 0850b22〕引世親《法華論》「功德勝力者妙莊嚴王品示現」；吉藏『依論第三過去勝功德力』〔T34n1721 0630b26〕 | 受命流通六品之一·二子持《法華》功德迴父邪見 |
| 娑羅樹王 | Śāla-rāja（系) | 〔本經 0060b23·授記佛號〕；竺法護義譯作「種帝王」〔T09n0263 0132c01〕 | 妙莊嚴王當來成佛之號（國大光·劫大高王） |
| 優曇鉢羅華 | uḍumbara（系) | 〔本經 0060a24·佛難值喻〕；竺法護義譯作「靈瑞華」〔T09n0263 0131c03〕 | 三千年一現之靈瑞花·喻佛難值 |
| 一眼之龜值浮木孔 | — | 〔本經 0060a29·佛難值喻〕；竺法護無此喻·改「如意最上明珠」〔T09n0263 0131c03〕 | 盲龜值浮木孔·喻佛極難值遇（羅什/添品有·竺法護無） |
| 法眼淨 | dharma-cakṣus（系) | 〔本經 0061a03·結益〕；三譯人數同（八萬四千） | 照見諸法真實之清淨慧眼·聞品所得 |
六、譬喻·修辭
本品修辭核在『佛難值二喻』與「二子神變」之感化。（此品無法華七喻；佛難值二喻為本品自有之勸信喻。）
(一) 佛難值二喻（優曇鉢羅華·一眼之龜值浮木孔）——〔T09n0262 0060a24／0060a29〕：二子勸父母及時詣佛，舉二喻明佛難值——「如優曇鉢羅華」（三千年一現之靈瑞花）、「又如一眼之龜，值浮木孔」（盲龜於大海值一浮木之孔，極難相值）。喻依皆世間極希難得之事，喻體＝佛之難值、時之難遇。三譯異：竺法護第一喻作「靈瑞華」（義譯）、第二喻改作「如意最上明珠」·無龜喻（詳目二句三）。
(二) 二子神變（踊空·十八變）——〔T09n0262 0060a05〕：淨藏淨眼踊虛空高七多羅樹，現種種神變（行住坐臥·身上出水身下出火·大小身·入地如水履水如地），令父王心淨信解。智顗判此為「十八變」〔T34n1718 0147c03〕、吉藏判為「神通輪」（對佛之說法輪）〔T34n1721 0630c21〕。喻依＝神變之不可思議，所顯義＝以神通輪拔父之邪見（若非愛鈎無由可拔·智顗 0147b04）。
(三) 頻婆菓（脣色相好喻）——〔T09n0262 0060c17〕：妙莊嚴王讚佛相好，「脣色赤好如頻婆菓」（頻婆果色赤·喻佛脣之赤好），與肉髻光明・紺青眼・白毫珂月・齒白齊密並列，狀如來相好之殊特。竺法護此讚唯演眉間白毫（詳目二句四）。
七、互讀·承衍
(一) 本品所依論（窺基《玄贊》骨幹):
- 世親《法華論》——功德勝力（受命流通六品之一·妙莊嚴王品示現）〔T34n1723 0850b22〕· 六品受命流通判〔藥王起 0843b18〕。吉藏亦「依論」判第三過去勝功德力〔T34n1721 0630b26〕——慈恩、三論同宗《法華論》功德勝力一系。
- 智顗釋善知識引《雜阿含》四喻（貞良妻/宗親財/商主導/子臥父懷）〔T34n1718 0147c21〕；智顗、吉藏俱引「四同學入山」緣起〔T34n1718 0147b07·T34n1721 0630c11〕。
(二) 法華內互讀:
- 弘經六品遞進 → 藥王㉓（自行苦行力）→ 妙音㉔（教化眾生行苦行力）→ 觀音㉕・陀羅尼㉖（護眾生諸難力）→ 妙莊嚴王㉗（功德勝力） → 普賢㉘（囑累護法力）〔T34n1723 0850b22·0843b18〕。
- 本事貫串弘經諸品之人 → 妙莊嚴王即〈妙音品㉔〉之華德菩薩〔0850b26·經 0060c24〕；二子即〈藥王品㉓〉之藥王、藥上菩薩〔0850c07·經 0060c26〕——此品以本事會通串起弘經六品之人。
- 善知識遙接 → 「善知識是大因緣·化導令見佛發菩提心」〔0060c09〕，遙應〈方便品②〉開示悟入佛知見、〈信解品④〉長者誘子之化導脈絡（皆化導令入佛道）。
- 神變踊空遙接 → 二子踊空現神變〔0060a05〕，同〈見寶塔品⑪〉多寶塔踊出・〈從地踊出品⑮〉下方菩薩踊出之踊現母題。
(三) 承衍：慈恩後學慧沼《法華玄贊義決》T34n1724 未及此品（誌·唯列正法華品序名「淨復淨王品」0862b19）；天台後學湛然《法華文句記》T34n1719、三論吉藏別有《法華玄論》T34n1720——各承其宗，誌不判。
八、校本定位
- 羅什 T262（底本):〈妙莊嚴王本事品第二十七〉〔T09n0262 0059b28〕起（卷七)。佛告過去雲雷音宿王華智佛 0059b29／二子淨藏淨眼 0059c04／母告父信受外道 0059c18／二子踊虛空現神變 0060a05／父問師 0060a12／偈願母放我等出家 0060a22／佛難值二喻〔優曇鉢羅·一眼之龜〕0060a29／夫人知諸佛祕密之藏 0060b08 · 詣佛解瓔珞化寶臺 0060b15／佛授記娑羅樹王 0060b23／王昇虛空善知識 0060c03／善知識是大因緣 0060c09／二子供養六十五百千萬億 0060c11／讚佛相好肉髻 0060c15／本事結今華德藥王藥上 0060c24 · 結益「八萬四千人遠塵離垢得法眼淨」迄 0061a03（次品〈普賢菩薩勸發品〉0061a05 起)。源檔：原典層（逐字校訖·全品正文與底本逐字相同·零漂移）。
- 竺法護 T263《正法華經》〈淨復淨王品第二十五〉〔T09n0263 0130c29〕起（全品義譯）：總水雷音宿華慧王/照明嚴飾/愛見/淨復淨/離垢施/離垢藏離垢目 0131a02 · 母言信樂梵志常懷瞋恨 0131a22 · 神變去地七仞 0131b02·身上出火身下出水 0131b03 · 佛難值靈瑞華·如意最上明珠〔無龜喻〕0131c03 · 現女身 0131c15 · 聖師/善師〔無「善知識」定式〕0132a07 · 王昇空去地四丈九尺 0132a05 · 種帝王/廣普/超王 0132c01 · 蓮華首/光照嚴飾/藥王超藥 0132c08 · 迄「八萬四千人遠塵離垢諸法眼淨」0132c17（次品〈樂普賢品第二十六〉0132c19)。
- 添品 T264〈妙莊嚴王本事品第二十五〉〔T09n0264 0193b02〕起（逐字近同羅什·差異僅異體字＋缺「品」＋近/見一字）：雲雷音宿王華智同羅什 0193b05／喜見〔憙異體〕0193b07 · 神變同羅什 0193b26 · 佛難值二喻同羅什〔優曇波羅·鉢/波異〕0193c20 · 善知識同羅什 0194a28 · 娑羅樹王同羅什 0194a14 · 本事結華德藥王藥上同羅什 0194b13 · 迄「八萬四千人遠塵離垢得法眼淨」同羅什 0194b21（次品〈普賢菩薩勸發品第二十六〉0194b24)。
- 窺基《玄贊》T34n1723（義疏鏡):〈妙莊嚴王本事品〉〔0850b20〕—〔0851c〕（前接〈陀羅尼品〉0850a19–0850b19·後接〈普賢品〉）。三門分別 0850b21／來意功德勝力 0850b22／妙莊嚴即華德二子即藥王藥上 0850b26／釋名迴邪入正 0850c01／解妨恐題名濫 0850c07／品文分四 0850c09／二子化父五科·四德七定。唯識心性論零。
- 智顗《文句》T34n1718（旁證):〈釋妙莊嚴王本事品〉0147a12 起（約一頁）· 愛鈎拔邪見 0147b04／婦妙音二子藥王藥上王華德 0147b07／妙法功德莊嚴諸根 0147b11／人護呪護 0147b16／文為六 0147b17／十八變 0147c03／善知識四種配雜阿含四喻 0147c18 迄 0147c27。
- 吉藏《義疏》T34n1721（旁證):〈妙莊嚴王本事品第二十七〉0630b25 起 · 依論第三過去勝功德力 0630b26／藥王弘經四處第四 0630c04／迴邪入正受記 0630c05／應言藥王本事從所化立名 0630c08／四同學緣起 0630c11／善知識二輪二種 0630c21 迄 0631a16。
- 成立史誌（品序·異譯體例）：品題羅什／添品「妙莊嚴王本事品」·竺法護「淨復淨王品」；品次羅什㉗・竺法護㉕・添品㉕。三譯體例正見「音寫／義譯」之傳承史：羅什音寫本、竺法護獨全義譯（人名佛名國劫佛號本事今名全漢意·佛難值改如意明珠·善知識作聖師）、添品逐字近同羅什（音寫本·異體字微差）。慧沼《義決》T34n1724 未及此品（唯列正法華品序名「淨復淨王品」0862b19）。
This chapter is the fifth chapter in the transmission of the Trace Gate. It recounts the former-life causes and conditions of King Wonderful-Adornment: his sons Pure Treasury and Pure Eye transform their father, who holds wrong views, through supernormal displays and lead him to return to the Buddha-Dharma; the Buddha affirms, 「善知識者是大因緣」 tr. “A good friend is a great cause and condition.” The Buddha tells the assembly that immeasurable asaṃkhyeya aeons ago there was a buddha named Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom, whose land was Radiant Adornment and whose aeon was Joyfully Seen. In that buddha’s Dharma lived King Wonderful-Adornment, his wife Pure Virtue, and their sons Pure Treasury and Pure Eye. The sons had long cultivated the seven perfections, the thirty-seven aids to the path, and seven meditative absorptions. When that buddha taught the Lotus Sutra, the sons asked their mother to visit him. She said that their father trusted an outside path and was deeply attached to the teachings of the brahmans, and instructed the sons to transform him first. They rose into the open sky to the height of seven tāla trees and displayed many supernormal transformations—water issuing from above and fire from below, entering the earth as though it were water, walking upon water as though upon land—until their father’s mind became pure and he came to trust and understand. He asked who their teacher was, and the sons answered. They asked to renounce the household life and addressed their mother in verse, comparing the difficulty of encountering a buddha to the rarity of the udumbara flower. They again urged their parents through two similes: the udumbara flower and a one-eyed turtle encountering the opening in a piece of driftwood. King Wonderful-Adornment, his queen, his sons, and forty-two thousand people went to the Buddha. The king and queen scattered pearl necklaces above him, and the necklaces became a four-pillared jeweled terrace. The Buddha predicted that King Wonderful-Adornment would become the Buddha Sala-Tree-King, in the land Great Light during the aeon Great High King. The king entrusted his country to his younger brother, renounced the household life, cultivated the Lotus Sutra for eighty-four thousand years, attained the Meditative Absorption of Adornment by All Pure Qualities, rose into the sky, and told the Buddha, 『此二子是我善知識』 tr. “These two sons are my good friends.” The Buddha answered, 『善知識者是大因緣，所謂化導令得見佛、發菩提心』 tr. “A good friend is a great cause and condition: one who teaches and guides, enables a person to see a buddha, and arouses the mind of awakening.” The king praised the Buddha’s marks and signs and vowed that he would no longer follow his own mind and would not give rise to wrong views, arrogance, or anger. The Buddha discloses the former affair: King Wonderful-Adornment is now the Bodhisattva Flower Virtue, Queen Pure Virtue is now the Bodhisattva Radiant-Adornment-Mark, and the sons are now the Bodhisattvas Medicine King and Medicine Superior. When the chapter is taught, eighty-four thousand people attain purity of the Dharma-eye. In the Cien tradition, Kuiji’s 《玄贊》 Fahua Xuanzan (Profound Praise of the Lotus) classifies this chapter under the 「功德勝力」 tr. “power of superior qualities” among the six chapters that receive the command to transmit: Pure Treasury and Pure Eye uphold the Lotus, and the power of their qualities turns their royal father from wrong views and brings him a future prediction of buddhahood. Kuiji explains the title through 「在俗皇貴妙珍綺以飾容·迴邪入正勝法寶而瑩體」 tr. “in secular life, royal nobility adorns the appearance with wondrous treasures and fine ornaments; turning from wrong to right, the precious jewel of the supreme Dharma illumines the person,” divides the chapter into four parts, states that a good friend 「不簡怨親」 tr. “does not distinguish enemy from kin,” and makes the identification 『妙莊嚴王即前妙音品之華德、二子即藥王藥上』 tr. “King Wonderful-Adornment is Flower Virtue of the preceding Chapter on Wonderful Sound, and the two sons are Medicine King and Medicine Superior.” The whole passage has zero points of application for Consciousness-Only mind-nature doctrine—the three natures and the store consciousness. Zhiyi of Tiantai places the chapter under 「化他勸流通·人護」 tr. “transforming others and exhorting transmission · protection by persons,” in contrast with the preceding chapter’s 「呪護」 tr. “protection through spells”; he establishes four kinds of good friend, explains the display as the 「十八變」 tr. “eighteen transformations,” and identifies 『昔王即今華德、昔二子即藥王藥上』 tr. “the former king as the present Flower Virtue and the former two sons as Medicine King and Medicine Superior,” while separately stating in the causal account of four fellow practitioners, 「婦即妙音」 tr. “the wife is Wonderful Sound.” Jizang of Sanlun, 「依論」 tr. “following the Treatise,” places the chapter under the 「第三過去勝功德力」 tr. “third, the power of superior qualities in the past,” establishes two wheels—the sons’ wheel of supernormal power and the Buddha’s wheel of Dharma—and explains the title as 『應言藥王本事、從所化立名』 tr. “it should be called the Former Affairs of Medicine King, but is named after the one transformed.” His disclosure centers only on the Medicine King line and does not list Medicine Superior or identify the king with Flower Virtue. The three houses differ in their classifications of the good friend and in their disclosures of the former affair; they are recorded side by side without adjudication. The three Chinese translations also differ: Kumārajīva and the supplemented edition have the 「妙莊嚴王本事品」 tr. “Chapter on the Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment,” while Dharmarakṣa translates the title by meaning as the 「淨復淨王品」 tr. “Chapter on King Pure-and-Further-Pure”; his names for the people, buddha, land, aeon, future buddha, and present-life identities are all translated by meaning, he replaces the turtle simile with a wish-fulfilling jewel, and he has no fixed formula 「善知識」 tr. “good friend.” The supplemented edition agrees nearly word for word with Kumārajīva. These readings are likewise recorded side by side without adjudication.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
| Outline system | Placement of this chapter |
|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 二十八品 | 第二十七 妙莊嚴王本事品 — Chapter 27, The Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment（卷七；〔T09n0262 0059b28〕起）· the fifth chapter in the transmission of the Trace Gate · the former affair in which King Wonderful-Adornment’s two sons transform their father |
| 窺基《玄贊》科文（主錨·慈恩） | At the chapter passage 〔T34n1723 0850b20〕, 三門分別：一來意、二釋名、三解妨 tr. “three gateways of analysis: first, the reason for its coming; second, explanation of the name; third, resolution of a difficulty” 〔0850b21〕. 來意有二 tr. “The reason for its coming is twofold”: (1) 「論云『功德勝力者，〈妙莊嚴王品〉示現。此明淨藏、淨眼持《法華經》，因圓道著，功德勝力迴邪見之父王，得當來之佛記，皆由《法華》功德之力』」 tr. “The Treatise says, ‘The power of superior qualities is manifested in the Chapter on King Wonderful-Adornment. This clarifies that Pure Treasury and Pure Eye upheld the Lotus Sutra: their causes were complete and their attainment of the path manifest; through the power of superior qualities they turned their royal father from wrong views and enabled him to receive a future prediction of buddhahood. All of this came through the power of the qualities of the Lotus’” 〔0850b22〕—the 「功德勝力」 tr. “power of superior qualities” among the six chapters that receive the command to transmit (the classification beginning with the Chapter on Medicine King appears at 0843b18). (2) 「前〈妙音品〉明華德菩薩請問妙音所得三昧……今妙莊嚴王即是華德……今明二子勸說父王，為善知識不簡怨親」 tr. “The preceding Chapter on Wonderful Sound clarifies that the Bodhisattva Flower Virtue asked about the meditative absorptions attained by Wonderful Sound … King Wonderful-Adornment here is Flower Virtue … now it is clarified that the two sons exhort and teach their royal father, becoming good friends who do not distinguish enemy from kin” 〔0850b26〕. Explanation of the name: 「在俗皇貴，妙珍綺以飾容；迴邪入正，勝法寶而瑩體，故名妙莊嚴王；宿世因緣，故名本事」 tr. “In secular life, royal nobility adorns the appearance with wondrous treasures and fine ornaments; turning from wrong to right, the precious jewel of the supreme Dharma illumines the person, and therefore he is named King Wonderful-Adornment. Because these are causes and conditions from a former life, it is named a former affair” 〔0850c01〕. Resolution of a difficulty: asked why, when the chapter chiefly clarifies that Pure Treasury and Pure Eye are good friends, they are not used in the title, Kuiji answers: 「淨藏、淨眼即藥王、藥上，前已明藥王，恐題名濫故不說之」 tr. “Pure Treasury and Pure Eye are precisely Medicine King and Medicine Superior. Medicine King has already been clarified earlier; lest the chapter titles become confused, they are not stated here” 〔0850c07〕. 品文分四 tr. “The chapter text is divided into four parts”: narration of the former cause · identification of past and present · exhorting people to take refuge and pay reverence · concluding with the assembly’s benefit 〔0850c09〕. |
| 天台《文句》（旁證） | 〈釋妙莊嚴王本事品〉 Explanation of the Chapter on the Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment begins at 〔T34n1718 0147a12〕 (the chapter passage is very brief, about one page). Zhiyi classifies it under transforming others and exhorting transmission · protection by persons: 「前品說呪護，今品說人護，人護尚爾，呪護彌良，普勸流通也」 tr. “The preceding chapter teaches protection through spells; the present chapter teaches protection through persons. If protection by persons is already so, protection through spells is better still: all are universally exhorted to transmit the sutra” 〔0147b16〕. He explains the name as 「妙法功德莊嚴諸根」 tr. “the qualities of the Wondrous Dharma adorn the faculties” 〔0147b11〕, and divides the text into six: clarifying the basis of the affair · marking both the transformer and the transformed · the transformer’s skillful means · the benefit attained by the transformed · identifying past and present · awakening through hearing the chapter 〔0147b17〕. |
| 三論《義疏》（旁證） | 〈妙莊嚴王本事品第二十七〉 Chapter Twenty-Seven, the Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment begins at 〔T34n1721 0630b25〕. Following the Treatise, Jizang classifies it as 「第三過去勝功德力」 tr. “third, the power of superior qualities in the past”: 「依論是第三過去勝功德力，能迴父邪見使發心得記，即是善知識力弘法華經」 tr. “Following the Treatise, this is third, the power of superior qualities in the past: it can turn the father from wrong views, cause him to arouse the mind, and bring him a prediction. This is precisely the power of a good friend propagating the Lotus Sutra” 〔0630b26〕. It is the fourth of the four places in which Medicine King propagates the sutra: 「此品嘆藥王是眾生善知識，能令父王迴邪入正，受記成佛」 tr. “This chapter praises Medicine King as a good friend of sentient beings, able to turn his royal father from wrong to right and enable him to receive the prediction of buddhahood” 〔0630c04〕. |
II. Alternate Translations · Collation of the Three Translations
This chapter has three Chinese translations: Kumārajīva’s T262, 〈妙莊嚴王本事品第二十七〉 Chapter Twenty-Seven, the Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment; Dharmarakṣa’s T263 《正法華經》, 〈淨復淨王品第二十五〉 Chapter Twenty-Five, King Pure-and-Further-Pure 〔T09n0263 0130c29〕; and the supplemented edition T264, 〈妙莊嚴王本事品第二十五〉 Chapter Twenty-Five, the Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment 〔T09n0264 0193b02〕. Difference in the chapter title: Kumārajīva and the supplemented edition have 「妙莊嚴王本事品」 tr. “The Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment”; Dharmarakṣa has 「淨復淨王品」 tr. “King Pure-and-Further-Pure,” a translation by meaning of King Wonderful-Adornment. The chapter numbers are Kumārajīva 27, Dharmarakṣa 25, and the supplemented edition 25. Difference in the pattern of the whole chapter: Dharmarakṣa translates the entire chapter by meaning—the names of persons, the buddha, the land, the aeon, the future buddha, and the present-life identities all appear in semantic translation. The supplemented edition agrees nearly word for word with Kumārajīva, differing only in graphic variants, omission of the character 「品」 tr. “chapter,” and one difference between 「近／見」 tr. “drawing near / seeing.”
Passage One · The Buddha’s Name, Land, Aeon, King, Queen, and Two Sons (Dharmarakṣa Translates All by Meaning)
| Item | 羅什 T262 | 竺法護 T263 | 添品 T264 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Past buddha | 雲雷音宿王華智〔0059b29〕 | 總水雷音宿華慧王〔0131a02〕 | 雲雷音宿王華智〔0193b05·同〕 |
| Land | 光明莊嚴 | 照明嚴飾〔0131a04〕 | 光明莊嚴〔同〕 |
| Aeon | 憙見 | 愛見〔0131a05〕 | 喜見〔0193b07·憙異體〕 |
| King | 妙莊嚴〔0059c01〕 | 淨復淨〔0131a06〕 | 妙莊嚴〔同〕 |
| Queen | 淨德 | 離垢施〔0131a06〕 | 淨德〔同〕 |
| Two sons | 淨藏·淨眼〔0059c04〕 | 離垢藏·離垢目〔0131a07〕 | 淨藏·淨眼〔同〕 |
What the variants bear upon: the supplemented edition’s system of names agrees completely with Kumārajīva’s transliterated forms, apart from the graphic variant 「喜／憙」 tr. “joyfully seen.” In Dharmarakṣa, the past buddha, land, aeon, king, queen, and two sons all have different names translated by meaning: 總水雷音宿華慧王 tr. “Total-Water Thunder-Sound Constellation-Flower-Wisdom-King” corresponds to Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom; 淨復淨 tr. “Pure-and-Further-Pure” to Wonderful-Adornment; 離垢施 tr. “Stainless-Giving” to Pure Virtue; and 離垢藏／離垢目 tr. “Stainless-Treasury / Stainless-Eye” to Pure Treasury / Pure Eye. In addition, the mother’s statement about the outside path reads 「志存外邪信樂梵志，常懷瞋恨」 tr. “His resolve abides in an outside, wrong path; he trusts and delights in the brahmans and constantly harbors anger” 〔0131a22〕, adding the clause 「常懷瞋恨」 tr. “constantly harbors anger.”
Passage Two · The Two Sons Transform Their Father through Supernormal Displays (Dharmarakṣa Reverses the Order of Water and Fire and Differs in Opening and Closing)
| Version | Verbatim Chinese and translation | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 踊在虛空，高七多羅樹……行住坐臥；身上出水、身下出火，身下出水、身上出火……於空中滅，忽然在地；入地如水，履水如地 tr. “They sprang upward and stood in the open sky at the height of seven tāla trees … walking, standing, sitting, and lying down; water issued from above their bodies and fire from below, then water from below and fire from above … they vanished in the sky and suddenly appeared upon the ground; they entered the earth as though entering water and walked upon water as though upon land.” | T09n0262 0060a05 |
| 添品 T264 | 高七多羅樹……身上出水身下出火，身下出水身上出火……入地如水履水如地 tr. “[Identical word for word with Kumārajīva:] at the height of seven tāla trees … water issued from above and fire from below, then water from below and fire from above … entering the earth as though entering water and walking upon water as though upon land.” | T09n0264 0193b26 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 去地七仞……二人俱時坐臥經行，身上出火身下出水，身上出水身下出火……從虛空下入于地中，若人入水從地踊出，處在虛空猶如履地 tr. “Seven fathoms above the ground … the two together sat, lay down, and practiced walking meditation; fire issued from above their bodies and water from below, then water from above and fire from below … from the open sky they descended and entered the earth as a person enters water, then sprang from the earth and stood in the open sky as though walking upon land.” | T09n0263 0131b03 |
What the variants bear upon: the supplemented edition agrees word for word with Kumārajīva: it rises to 「高七多羅樹」 tr. “the height of seven tāla trees,” and its order of water and fire begins with water. Dharmarakṣa has 「去地七仞」 tr. “seven fathoms above the ground” rather than seven tāla trees; 「坐臥經行」 tr. “sitting, lying down, and walking meditation” rather than walking, standing, sitting, and lying down; and reverses the order of water and fire, beginning with fire above and water below. Kumārajīva’s eight characters 「入地如水履水如地」 tr. “entering earth as water, walking upon water as land” are unfolded in greater detail as 「入于地中……猶如履地」 tr. “entering into the earth … as though walking upon land.”
Passage Three · Two Similes for the Difficulty of Encountering a Buddha (Dharmarakṣa Has No Turtle Simile and Substitutes a Wish-Fulfilling Jewel)
| Version | Verbatim Chinese and translation | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 佛難得值，如優曇鉢羅華；又如一眼之龜，值浮木孔 tr. “A buddha is difficult to encounter, like the udumbara flower; or like a one-eyed turtle encountering the opening in a piece of driftwood.” | T09n0262 0060a29 |
| 添品 T264 | 佛難得值，如優曇波羅華；又如一眼之龜值浮木孔 tr. “A buddha is difficult to encounter, like the udumbara flower; or like a one-eyed turtle encountering the opening in a piece of driftwood.”〔優曇波羅·鉢／波異〕 tr. “[The spelling of udumbara differs by the graphic variant ‘鉢 / 波.’]” | T09n0264 0193c20 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 佛興難值，猶靈瑞華，亦如如意最上明珠，佛亦復然，不可再遇 tr. “The arising of a buddha is difficult to encounter, like an auspicious flower, and also like the supreme wish-fulfilling jewel. A buddha is just the same and cannot be encountered again.” | T09n0263 0131c02 |
What the variants bear upon: the supplemented edition contains both similes and agrees with Kumārajīva apart from 「鉢／波」 tr. “a graphic variation in the transcription” of udumbara. Dharmarakṣa translates the first as 「靈瑞華」 tr. “auspicious flower,” a semantic rendering of udumbara; he replaces the second with 「如意最上明珠」 tr. “the supreme wish-fulfilling jewel” and has no 「一眼之龜值浮木孔」 tr. “one-eyed turtle encountering the opening in a piece of driftwood” simile.
Passage Four · The Good-Friend Passage, the Future Buddha’s Name, and the Disclosure of the Former Affair (Three Major Dharmarakṣa Differences)
| Item | 羅什 T262 | 竺法護 T263 | 添品 T264 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good friend | 善知識者是大因緣，所謂化導令得見佛，發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心〔0060c09〕 tr. “A good friend is a great cause and condition: one who teaches and guides, enables a person to see a buddha, and arouses the mind of unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening.” | 因遇善師，得見如來啟受經法〔0132a20·無「善知識」定式〕 tr. “Through encountering a good teacher, one comes to see the Tathāgata and begins to receive the teaching of the sutra” [without the fixed formula “good friend”]. | 逐字同羅什〔0194a28〕 tr. “Identical word for word with Kumārajīva.” |
| Future buddha’s name | 號娑羅樹王，國名大光，劫名大高王〔0060b23〕 tr. “He shall be named Sala-Tree-King; his land Great Light, and his aeon Great High King.” | 名曰種帝王，土廣普，劫超王〔0132c01·義譯〕 tr. “He shall be named Seed-Sovereign-King; his land Broad and Universal, and his aeon Surpassing King” [translated by meaning]. | 逐字同羅什〔0194a14〕 tr. “Identical word for word with Kumārajīva.” |
| Disclosure of former affair | 華德·光照莊嚴相·藥王/藥上〔0060c24〕 tr. “Flower Virtue · Radiant-Adornment-Mark · Medicine King / Medicine Superior.” | 蓮華首·光照嚴飾·藥王/超藥〔0132c08·義譯〕 tr. “Lotus-Head · Radiant Ornamentation · Medicine King / Surpassing Medicine” [translated by meaning]. | 逐字同羅什〔0194b13〕 tr. “Identical word for word with Kumārajīva.” |
What the variants bear upon: the supplemented edition agrees word for word with Kumārajīva at all three points. Throughout Dharmarakṣa’s chapter, the exact term 「善知識」 tr. “good friend” does not occur. He instead uses 「聖師／善師／至聖無蓋善師」 tr. “holy teacher / good teacher / unsurpassed teacher, the most holy” 〔0132a07〕 and has no fixed 「大因緣／發菩提心」 tr. “great cause and condition / arousing the mind of awakening” sentence. The future buddha’s name is semantically translated as 「種帝王」 tr. “Seed-Sovereign-King,” corresponding to Kumārajīva’s Sala-Tree-King. The disclosure of the former affair has 「蓮華首」 tr. “Lotus-Head” for Flower Virtue, 「藥王／超藥」 tr. “Medicine King / Surpassing Medicine” for Medicine King / Medicine Superior, and 「光照嚴飾」 tr. “Radiant Ornamentation” for Radiant-Adornment-Mark. Dharmarakṣa also adds concerning the queen 「以權方便現于女身」 tr. “through provisional skillful means she manifested a female body” 〔0131c15〕; gives the sons’ offerings as 「六十五億百千兆姟江河沙」 tr. “sixty-five yi, hundreds of thousands of zhao and gai, as many as the sands of the rivers” 〔0132a23〕, using a different system of numerical units; transforms the necklaces into 「七寶交露之帳」 tr. “a canopy of interlaced dew made of the seven precious things” 〔0132b22〕 rather than a four-pillared jeweled terrace; and in the king’s praise of the Buddha’s marks develops only a verse dialogue concerning the tuft of white hair between the brows, rather than Kumārajīva’s fivefold enumeration of the fleshy crown, blue-black eyes, white tuft, white teeth, and red lips 〔0132b01〕.
Passage Five · Benefit at the End of the Chapter
| Version | Verbatim Chinese and translation | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 羅什 T262 | 佛說是妙莊嚴王本事品時，八萬四千人遠塵離垢，於諸法中得法眼淨 tr. “When the Buddha taught this Chapter on the Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment, eighty-four thousand people became far removed from dust and separated from defilement; amid all dharmas, they attained purity of the Dharma-eye.” | T09n0262 0061a03 |
| 添品 T264 | 八萬四千人遠塵離垢，於諸法中得法眼淨 tr. “[Identical word for word with Kumārajīva:] eighty-four thousand people became far removed from dust and separated from defilement; amid all dharmas, they attained purity of the Dharma-eye.” | T09n0264 0194b22 |
| 竺法護 T263 | 八萬四千人遠塵離垢，諸法眼淨 tr. “Eighty-four thousand people became far removed from dust and separated from defilement; their eye for the dharmas became pure.”〔略「於諸法中」〕 tr. “[The words ‘amid all dharmas’ are abbreviated.]” | T09n0263 0132c18 |
What the variants bear upon: all three translations agree in the number receiving the benefit—eighty-four thousand—and in the purity of the Dharma-eye. Dharmarakṣa abbreviates 「於諸法中」 tr. “amid all dharmas,” giving 「諸法眼淨」 tr. “their eye for the dharmas became pure”; the meaning agrees.
III. Scriptural Grounds for the Consciousness-Only Meaning (the Point of the Eye)
Although Kuiji’s 《玄贊》 passage on this chapter is long—about four columns, rich in divisions and lexical glosses—its doctrinal weight falls upon the 「功德勝力」 tr. “power of superior qualities,” the power of transmitting the sutra, and upon the 「善知識」 tr. “good friend,” the chapter’s own proclamation. It has zero points of application for Consciousness-Only mind-nature doctrine. A mechanical scan of the whole chapter passage 〔T34n1723 0850b20–0852a20〕 finds zero occurrences of the signature metaphysical vocabulary of Consciousness-Only: the three natures, wholly-imagined, other-dependent, perfectly-accomplished, store consciousness, transformation of the basis, five lineages, lineage, the two obstructions, emanation body, manas, or consciousness-only. The positive counts are good friend ×12, power of superior qualities ×3, turning from wrong ×3, Flower Virtue ×3, and Medicine King ×3. Kuiji’s doctrinal focus in this chapter has three aspects. All concern the power of transmitting the sutra and the good friend, not a theory of the three natures or consciousness.
(1) The power of superior qualities (the six chapters that receive the command to transmit · Vasubandhu’s 《法華論》) 〔T34n1723 0850b22〕:
「論云『功德勝力者，〈妙莊嚴王品〉示現。此明淨藏、淨眼持《法華經》，因圓道著，功德勝力迴邪見之父王，得當來之佛記，皆由《法華》功德之力』」〔T34n1723 0850b22〕
tr. “The Treatise says, ‘The power of superior qualities is manifested in the Chapter on King Wonderful-Adornment. This clarifies that Pure Treasury and Pure Eye upheld the Lotus Sutra: their causes were complete and their attainment of the path manifest; through the power of superior qualities they turned their royal father from wrong views and enabled him to receive a future prediction of buddhahood. All of this came through the power of the qualities of the Lotus.’”
→ Following Vasubandhu’s 《法華論》, Kuiji classifies this chapter under the power of superior qualities among the six chapters that receive the command to transmit 〔the sixfold transmission begins with Medicine King at 0843b18〕: the two sons uphold the Lotus; their qualities are complete and their attainment of the path manifest; through this superior power they turn their royal father from wrong views and enable him to receive a prediction of buddhahood. This is the practical power of transmitting the sutra, not a doctrine of consciousness. Jizang likewise 「依論」 tr. “follows the Treatise” and classifies it as 「第三過去勝功德力……即是善知識力弘法華經」 tr. “third, the power of superior qualities in the past … precisely the power of a good friend propagating the Lotus Sutra” 〔T34n1721 0630b26〕. Cien and Sanlun thus both draw upon the same line of the Treatise on the Lotus Sutra.
(2) A good friend is a great cause and condition (the sutra’s own statement · Kuiji follows the sutra) 〔T09n0262 0060c09〕: the chapter’s proclamation is the Buddha’s affirmation, 「善知識者是大因緣，所謂化導令得見佛，發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心」 tr. “A good friend is a great cause and condition: one who teaches and guides, enables a person to see a buddha, and arouses the mind of unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening.” Following the sutra, Kuiji explains: 「二子勸說父王，為善知識不簡怨親，以示眾人令弘此經」 tr. “The two sons exhort and teach their royal father, becoming good friends who do not distinguish enemy from kin, thereby showing everyone that they should propagate this sutra” 〔T34n1723 0850b29〕. A good friend does not choose between enemy and kin; all who can perform the work of a buddha may serve in this way. This is the sutra’s own meaning, restated by Kuiji, not a doctrine of the three natures.
(3) Turning from wrong to right · identifying past and present (disclosure of the former affair) 〔T34n1723 0850b27〕: Kuiji explains the name through 「迴邪入正，勝法寶而瑩體」 tr. “turning from wrong to right, the precious jewel of the supreme Dharma illumines the person” 〔0850c01〕. He identifies 「今妙莊嚴王即是華德〔連〈妙音品㉔〉〕……淨藏、淨眼即藥王、藥上〔連〈藥王品㉓〉〕」 tr. “the present King Wonderful-Adornment as Flower Virtue [linking to Chapter Twenty-Four, Wonderful Sound] … and Pure Treasury and Pure Eye as Medicine King and Medicine Superior [linking to Chapter Twenty-Three, Medicine King]” 〔0850b27·0850c07〕. The disclosure of the former affair thus threads the people of the chapters on transmitting the sutra together. This is narrative cross-identification, not a theory of consciousness.
Honest scope: Kuiji’s divisions in this chapter are rich—the text is divided into four; the praise of the sons into four qualities and seven meditative absorptions; and the sons’ transformation of their father into five divisions—but its doctrinal focus is the power of superior qualities · the good friend · turning from wrong to right. The passage contains no Consciousness-Only mind-nature doctrine of the three natures or store consciousness. The chapter’s own proclamation is the sons’ transformation of their father, the good friend as a great cause and condition, and the former-life affair. Kuiji’s divisions and his classification under the power of superior qualities form a mirror at the end; the mirror is not permitted to cover the sutra. In the neighboring chapter sequence, Chapter Twenty-Three is principally a classification of arduous practice; Chapter Twenty-Four is doctrinally light; Chapter Twenty-Five carries a Yogācārabhūmi analysis of karma and the path; Chapter Twenty-Six concerns dhāraṇī, mindfulness and wisdom, and the four unobstructed retentions; Chapter Twenty-Seven concerns the power of superior qualities and the good friend, with zero Consciousness-Only mind-nature doctrine; and Chapter Sixteen concerns the threefold awakening of a buddha.
IV. The Explanations of the Various Masters (the Ancients · Their Traditions Stated · Recorded without Adjudicating)
On the same statements 『善知識是大因緣』 tr. “a good friend is a great cause and condition,” 「二子化父」 tr. “the two sons transform their father,” and 「本事會通」 tr. “the former affair identifies past and present,” the Cien, Tiantai, and Sanlun traditions read differently. The expository mirror of this edition is Kuiji’s Cien 《玄贊》; Tiantai and Sanlun are recorded alongside it. Their differences are stated without adjudication.
Caveat concerning summary expressions: (1) 「善知識者是大因緣」 tr. “A good friend is a great cause and condition” is the sutra’s own wording 〔T09n0262 0060c09〕; the three houses explain it differently, as set out below. (2) Disclosure of the former affair: the sutra itself concludes that 「妙莊嚴王＝華德・夫人＝光照莊嚴相・二子＝藥王藥上」 tr. “King Wonderful-Adornment is Flower Virtue; the queen is Radiant-Adornment-Mark; the two sons are Medicine King and Medicine Superior” 〔0060c24〕. Zhiyi and Kuiji follow the sutra in making the complete identification; Jizang centers only upon the Medicine King line and does not list Medicine Superior or identify the king with Flower Virtue—the names Medicine Superior and Flower Virtue as the king occur zero times in Jizang’s chapter passage. (3) In his separate causal account of four fellow practitioners, Zhiyi additionally states 『昔婦即妙音菩薩』 tr. “the former wife is the Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound” 〔0147b07〕. This is Zhiyi’s deeper reading of the former causal relationship and belongs to a different level from the sutra’s disclosure 「夫人＝光照莊嚴相」 tr. “the queen is Radiant-Adornment-Mark.” Jizang also cites the causal account of the four fellow practitioners 〔0630c11〕.
Cien · Kuiji’s 《玄贊》 T34n1723 (the Principal Mirror)
Kuiji’s chapter passage includes: the power of superior qualities among the six chapters that receive the command to transmit, as the second reason for the chapter’s coming 〔0850b22〕; identification of King Wonderful-Adornment with Flower Virtue of the preceding Chapter on Wonderful Sound and of the two sons with Medicine King and Medicine Superior 〔0850b26·0850c07〕; the explanation of the name, 「在俗皇貴妙珍綺以飾容·迴邪入正勝法寶而瑩體」 tr. “in secular life, royal nobility adorns the appearance with wondrous treasures and fine ornaments; turning from wrong to right, the precious jewel of the supreme Dharma illumines the person” 〔0850c01〕; division of the chapter into four parts 〔0850c09〕; praise of the sons through four qualities and seven meditative absorptions; the good friend who 「不簡怨親」 tr. “does not distinguish enemy from kin” 〔0850b29〕; and five divisions of the sons’ transformation of their father—requesting their mother to visit the Buddha, the mother instructing the sons to transform their father, receiving instruction and carrying out the transformation, trust arising and taking refuge in the Buddha, and the Buddha responding by guiding and benefiting. The discussion is entirely classification and lexical glossing, including the sound of the word for “fingernail” and a citation of the Yupian dictionary; Consciousness-Only mind-nature doctrine is absent. In the Cien line, Huizhao’s 《法華玄贊義決》 T34n1724 does not reach this chapter: throughout the work, King Wonderful-Adornment, Pure Treasury, and good friend each have zero occurrences. It only lists the title 「淨復淨王品」 tr. “Chapter on King Pure-and-Further-Pure” in the chapter sequence of the True Dharma Lotus at 0862b19; see Heading VII.
Tiantai · Zhiyi’s 《文句》 T34n1718 (Parallel Witness)
Zhiyi’s chapter passage is very brief 〔beginning 0147a12, about one page〕. He classifies the chapter under transforming others and exhorting transmission, and under protection by persons: 「前品說呪護，今品說人護……普勸流通也」 tr. “The preceding chapter teaches protection through spells; the present chapter teaches protection through persons … all are universally exhorted to transmit the sutra” 〔0147b16〕. He explains the title through 「妙法功德莊嚴諸根……得清淨功德莊嚴三昧」 tr. “the qualities of the Wondrous Dharma adorn the faculties … attaining the Meditative Absorption of Adornment by Pure Qualities” 〔0147b11〕, and divides the text into six 〔0147b17〕. Of the two sons’ transformation of their father he says: 「此王著欲而復邪見，若非愛鈎無由可拔……一人可為端正婦，二作聰明兒」 tr. “This king was attached to desire and also held wrong views. Without the hook of affection there would be no means to pull him free … one could become a beautiful wife, and two could become intelligent sons” 〔0147b04〕. He classifies the supernormal displays as 「現化應十八變」 tr. “the manifested transformations should be the eighteen transformations” 〔0147c03〕.
Zhiyi establishes four kinds of good friend 〔0147c18〕:
「善知識能作佛事，此則外護善知識。「示教利喜」者，此則教授善知識；「所謂化導令得見佛」者，此則同行善知識；「令入菩提」，此則實際實相善知識」〔T34n1718 0147c18〕
tr. “‘A good friend can perform the work of a buddha’: this is the good friend who gives external protection. ‘Revealing, instructing, benefiting, and gladdening’: this is the good friend who gives instruction. ‘Teaching and guiding so that one sees a buddha’: this is the good friend who travels together. ‘Causing one to enter awakening’: this is the good friend who is ultimate actuality, the true mark.”
He correlates them with four similes in the 《雜阿含》 Connected Discourses: a virtuous wife = external protection; the wealth of one’s kin = traveling together; a caravan leader who guides = instruction; a child resting in the father’s embrace = ultimate actuality 〔0147c21〕. In the disclosure of the former affair he states: 「昔王者今華德菩薩·昔二子者今藥王藥上·婦者妙音菩薩〔四同學緣起〕」 tr. “The former king is now the Bodhisattva Flower Virtue; the former two sons are now Medicine King and Medicine Superior; the wife is the Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound [in the causal account of the four fellow practitioners]” 〔0147b07〕.
Sanlun · Jizang’s 《法華義疏》 T34n1721 (Parallel Witness)
Jizang’s chapter passage begins at 〔0630b25〕 and runs a little more than one column. Following the Treatise, he classifies it as 「第三過去勝功德力……即是善知識力弘法華經」 tr. “third, the power of superior qualities in the past … precisely the power of a good friend propagating the Lotus Sutra” 〔0630b26〕; it is the fourth of the four places in which Medicine King propagates the sutra 〔0630c04〕. He explains the name through 「應言藥王本事品，但立名相避，從所化之人立名」 tr. “It should be called the Chapter on the Former Affairs of Medicine King, but chapter titles avoid mutual duplication, and so it is named after the person transformed” 〔0630c08〕. He explains turning from wrong to right through 「能令父王迴邪入正，受記成佛」 tr. “able to cause the royal father to turn from wrong to right, receive a prediction, and become a buddha” 〔0630c05〕, and also cites the former causal account of four fellow practitioners—one becoming the wife and two becoming the sons, together transforming the king 〔0630c11〕.
Jizang establishes two wheels and two kinds of good friend 〔0630c21〕:
「善知識力唯有此二，此二因二輪生：初、明子以神通輪化父令生信；後、佛以說法輪化王令得解」；「化父得信是菩薩為眾生善知識，化王得解明佛是眾生真善知識」〔T34n1721 0630c21–23〕
tr. “The power of the good friend consists only of these two, and these two arise through two wheels. First, the sons transform their father through the wheel of supernormal power and cause trust to arise. Later, the Buddha transforms the king through the wheel of teaching the Dharma and causes him to attain understanding. … Transforming the father so that he attains trust shows that the bodhisattva is a good friend of sentient beings; transforming the king so that he attains understanding clarifies that the Buddha is the true good friend of sentient beings.”
Jizang’s disclosure of the former affair centers only upon the Medicine King line: he judges that 「應言藥王本事」 tr. “it should be called the Former Affairs of Medicine King,” does not list Medicine Superior, and does not identify the king with Flower Virtue.
The Three Houses Recorded Together (Recorded without Adjudication)
The meaning of the good friend, the core of this chapter: Cien says that the good friend 「不簡怨親」 tr. “does not distinguish enemy from kin”; Tiantai establishes four kinds—external protection, instruction, traveling together, and ultimate actuality, the true mark—correlated with four similes from the Connected Discourses; Sanlun establishes two wheels and two kinds—the sons’ wheel of supernormal power as bodhisattva good friends, and the Buddha’s wheel of Dharma as the true good friend. The three houses make different divisions: no distinction between enemy and kin, four kinds, and two kinds. They are recorded side by side without adjudication.
Doctrinal-outline placement: Cien has the 「功德勝力」 tr. “power of superior qualities”; Tiantai has 「化他勸流通·人護（對陀羅尼呪護）」 tr. “transforming others and exhorting transmission · protection by persons (set against protection through spells in the Chapter on Dhāraṇī)”; Sanlun has 「依論第三過去勝功德力·藥王弘經四處第四」 tr. “following the Treatise, third, the power of superior qualities in the past · the fourth place in which Medicine King propagates the sutra.” Cien and Sanlun both draw upon the same line of the Treatise on the Lotus Sutra concerning the power of superior qualities; Tiantai places it through the pair 「人護／呪護」 tr. “protection by persons / protection through spells.” They are recorded side by side without adjudication.
Disclosure of the former affair: Cien and Tiantai make the complete identification of the king with Flower Virtue and the two sons with Medicine King and Medicine Superior. Sanlun centers only upon the Medicine King line, neither listing Medicine Superior nor identifying the king with Flower Virtue. In the separate causal account of the four fellow practitioners, Zhiyi additionally gives 「婦＝妙音」 tr. “the wife is Wonderful Sound.” These readings are recorded side by side without adjudication.
Supernormal transformation: Cien praises the sons through four qualities and seven meditative absorptions; Tiantai names the 「十八變」 tr. “eighteen transformations”; Sanlun names the 「神通輪」 tr. “wheel of supernormal power,” paired with the wheel of Dharma. These readings are recorded side by side without adjudication. Zhiyi (538–597) and Jizang (549–623) precede Kuiji (632–682); all three are recorded side by side without adjudication.
V. Terminology
| 漢 | Ancient-transmitted Sanskrit (romanization · pronunciation aid) | Attestation by the ancient masters | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 妙莊嚴王 | Śubhavyūha (term family) | 〔本經 0059c01·品題〕; Kuiji: 「在俗皇貴妙珍綺以飾容·迴邪入正勝法寶而瑩體」 tr. “In secular life, royal nobility adorns the appearance with wondrous treasures and fine ornaments; turning from wrong to right, the precious jewel of the supreme Dharma illumines the person” 〔T34n1723 0850c01〕; Zhiyi: 「妙法功德莊嚴諸根」 tr. “The qualities of the Wondrous Dharma adorn the faculties” 〔T34n1718 0147b11〕; Dharmarakṣa translates the name by meaning as 「淨復淨王」 tr. “King Pure-and-Further-Pure” 〔T09n0263 0131a06〕 | The king who turns from wrong to right; the present Bodhisattva Flower Virtue. The three houses explain the name differently |
| 善知識 | kalyāṇa-mitra (term family) | 〔本經 0060c09·佛印可〕; Kuiji: 「不簡怨親」 tr. “does not distinguish enemy from kin” 〔T34n1723 0850b29〕; Zhiyi’s four kinds—external protection, instruction, traveling together, ultimate actuality 〔T34n1718 0147c18〕; Jizang’s two wheels and two kinds—bodhisattva good friend / the Buddha as true good friend 〔T34n1721 0630c21〕; Dharmarakṣa has 「聖師/善師」 tr. “holy teacher / good teacher” 〔T09n0263 0132a07〕 | The great cause and condition that teaches and guides, enables a person to see a buddha, and arouses the mind of awakening; the three houses divide it differently |
| 功德勝力 | — | Kuiji’s reason for the chapter’s coming 〔T34n1723 0850b22〕, citing Vasubandhu’s 《法華論》: 「功德勝力者妙莊嚴王品示現」 tr. “The power of superior qualities is manifested in the Chapter on King Wonderful-Adornment”; Jizang: 『依論第三過去勝功德力』 tr. “Following the Treatise, third, the power of superior qualities in the past” 〔T34n1721 0630b26〕 | One of the powers in the six chapters that receive the command to transmit: through the qualities of upholding the Lotus, the two sons turn their father from wrong views |
| 娑羅樹王 | Śāla-rāja (term family) | 〔本經 0060b23·授記佛號〕; Dharmarakṣa translates it by meaning as 「種帝王」 tr. “Seed-Sovereign-King” 〔T09n0263 0132c01〕 | The future buddha-name of King Wonderful-Adornment; his land is Great Light and his aeon Great High King |
| 優曇鉢羅華 | uḍumbara (term family) | 〔本經 0060a24·佛難值喻〕; Dharmarakṣa translates it by meaning as 「靈瑞華」 tr. “auspicious flower” 〔T09n0263 0131c03〕 | An auspicious flower said to appear only once in three thousand years; a simile for how difficult it is to encounter a buddha |
| 一眼之龜值浮木孔 | — | 〔本經 0060a29·佛難值喻〕; Dharmarakṣa has no such simile and substitutes 「如意最上明珠」 tr. “the supreme wish-fulfilling jewel” 〔T09n0263 0131c03〕 | A blind turtle encountering the opening in a piece of driftwood, a simile for how exceedingly difficult it is to encounter a buddha; present in Kumārajīva and the supplemented edition, absent in Dharmarakṣa |
| 法眼淨 | dharma-cakṣus (term family) | 〔本經 0061a03·結益〕; all three translations agree on the number, eighty-four thousand | The pure eye of wisdom that sees the reality of all dharmas; the attainment gained by hearing this chapter |
VI. Similes · Rhetoric
The rhetorical core of this chapter lies in 『佛難值二喻』 tr. “the two similes for the difficulty of encountering a buddha” and in the affecting power of 「二子神變」 tr. “the two sons’ supernormal transformations.” This chapter contains none of the seven great parables of the Lotus; its two similes concerning the difficulty of encountering a buddha belong to this chapter’s own exhortation to trust.
(1) Two similes for the difficulty of encountering a buddha: the udumbara flower · a one-eyed turtle encountering the opening in driftwood — 〔T09n0262 0060a24／0060a29〕: the sons urge their parents to visit the Buddha without delay and use two similes to show how difficult a buddha is to encounter: 「如優曇鉢羅華」 tr. “like the udumbara flower,” the auspicious flower said to appear once in three thousand years; and 「又如一眼之龜，值浮木孔」 tr. “or like a one-eyed turtle encountering the opening in a piece of driftwood,” the nearly impossible meeting of a blind turtle in the great ocean with the hole in a floating piece of wood. The vehicles of the similes are events of extreme rarity in the world; what they illustrate is how difficult it is to encounter a buddha and how difficult it is to meet the right time. In the three translations, Dharmarakṣa gives the first as 「靈瑞華」 tr. “auspicious flower,” a semantic translation, and replaces the second with 「如意最上明珠」 tr. “the supreme wish-fulfilling jewel,” having no turtle simile; see Passage Three under Heading II.
(2) The two sons’ supernormal transformations: rising into the sky · the eighteen transformations — 〔T09n0262 0060a05〕: Pure Treasury and Pure Eye rise into the open sky to the height of seven tāla trees and display many supernormal transformations—walking, standing, sitting, and lying down; water issuing from above and fire from below; bodies great and small; entering earth as water and walking upon water as land—until their royal father’s mind becomes pure and he comes to trust and understand. Zhiyi classifies this as 「十八變」 tr. “the eighteen transformations” 〔T34n1718 0147c03〕; Jizang as the 「神通輪」 tr. “wheel of supernormal power,” paired with the Buddha’s wheel of Dharma 〔T34n1721 0630c21〕. The astonishing display is the image; what it reveals is the wheel of supernormal power pulling the father free of wrong views: 「若非愛鈎無由可拔」 tr. “without the hook of affection there would be no means to pull him free,” as Zhiyi says at 0147b04.
(3) The bimba fruit, a simile for the marks and signs of the lips — 〔T09n0262 0060c17〕: King Wonderful-Adornment praises the Buddha’s marks and signs, saying 「脣色赤好如頻婆菓」 tr. “his lips are a beautiful red, like the bimba fruit.” The red fruit illustrates the beautiful redness of the Buddha’s lips. It stands beside the radiance of the fleshy crown, the blue-black eyes, the white tuft like a moon of precious shell, and the white, even, close-set teeth, describing the extraordinary marks and signs of the Tathāgata. In Dharmarakṣa, this praise develops only the tuft of white hair between the brows; see Passage Four under Heading II.
VII. Cross-Reading · Carrying Forward
(1) Treatises upon which this chapter relies (the backbone of Kuiji’s 《玄贊》):
- Vasubandhu’s 《法華論》 — the power of superior qualities, one of the powers in the six chapters that receive the command to transmit and manifested by the Chapter on King Wonderful-Adornment 〔T34n1723 0850b22〕; the classification of the six chapters begins with Medicine King at 0843b18. Jizang likewise 「依論」 tr. “follows the Treatise” in classifying this chapter as the third, the power of superior qualities in the past 〔T34n1721 0630b26〕. Cien and Sanlun thus share the same treatise-line concerning the power of superior qualities.
- In explaining the good friend, Zhiyi cites four similes from the 《雜阿含》 Connected Discourses—a virtuous wife, the wealth of one’s kin, a caravan leader, and a child resting in the father’s embrace 〔T34n1718 0147c21〕. Zhiyi and Jizang both cite the causal account 「四同學入山」 tr. “four fellow practitioners entering the mountains” 〔T34n1718 0147b07·T34n1721 0630c11〕.
(2) Cross-reading within the Lotus:
- The progression of the six chapters that transmit the sutra → Medicine King ㉓, the power of arduous practice in one’s own conduct → Wonderful Sound ㉔, the power of arduous practice in teaching and transforming sentient beings → Perceiver of the World’s Sounds ㉕ and Dhāraṇī ㉖, the power of protecting sentient beings from difficulties → King Wonderful-Adornment ㉗, the power of superior qualities → Universally Worthy ㉘, the power of protecting the Dharma under entrustment 〔T34n1723 0850b22·0843b18〕.
- The people of the transmission chapters threaded together through the former affair → King Wonderful-Adornment is the Bodhisattva Flower Virtue of 〈妙音品㉔〉 Chapter Twenty-Four, Wonderful Sound 〔0850b26·經 0060c24〕; the two sons are the Bodhisattvas Medicine King and Medicine Superior of 〈藥王品㉓〉 Chapter Twenty-Three, Medicine King 〔0850c07·經 0060c26〕. Through its former affair, this chapter threads together the people of the six chapters that transmit the sutra.
- The good friend answers at a distance → 「善知識是大因緣·化導令見佛發菩提心」 tr. “The good friend is a great cause and condition, teaching and guiding so that one sees a buddha and arouses the mind of awakening” 〔0060c09〕 answers at a distance the opening, revealing, awakening to, and entering of the Buddha’s knowing-and-seeing in 〈方便品②〉 Chapter Two, Skillful Means, and the rich elder’s guidance of his son in 〈信解品④〉 Chapter Four, Faith and Understanding. All belong to the thread of guiding beings into the buddha-way.
- Rising and appearing through supernormal transformation answers at a distance → the two sons rise into the sky and display supernormal transformations 〔0060a05〕, echoing the appearance of the stūpa of Many Treasures in 〈見寶塔品⑪〉 Chapter Eleven, Beholding the Jeweled Stūpa, and the bodhisattvas’ emergence from below in 〈從地踊出品⑮〉 Chapter Fifteen, Emerging from the Earth.
(3) Carrying forward: Huizhao, a later Cien master, does not reach this chapter in the 《法華玄贊義決》 T34n1724; for the record, he only lists the True Dharma Lotus title 「淨復淨王品」 tr. “Chapter on King Pure-and-Further-Pure” at 0862b19. Tiantai’s later master Zhanran carries Zhiyi’s line forward in the 《法華文句記》 T34n1719; Jizang of Sanlun also has the separate 《法華玄論》 T34n1720. Each carries forward the reading of its own tradition; they are recorded without adjudicating.
VIII. Placement of the Editions
- 羅什 T262 (base text): 〈妙莊嚴王本事品第二十七〉 Chapter Twenty-Seven, the Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment begins at 〔T09n0262 0059b28〕 in fascicle seven. The Buddha recounts the past Buddha Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom at 0059b29 · the two sons Pure Treasury and Pure Eye 0059c04 · the mother says their father trusts an outside path 0059c18 · the two sons rise into the open sky and display supernormal transformations 0060a05 · the father asks who their teacher is 0060a12 · verse asking their mother to release them to renounce the household life 0060a22 · the two similes for the difficulty of encountering a buddha, the udumbara flower and the one-eyed turtle 0060a29 · the queen knows the secret treasury of the buddhas 0060b08 · visiting the Buddha, removing the necklaces, and their transformation into a jeweled terrace 0060b15 · the prediction of the future Buddha Sala-Tree-King 0060b23 · the king rises into the sky and identifies his sons as good friends 0060c03 · the good friend as a great cause and condition 0060c09 · the sons’ offerings to sixty-five hundred-thousand myriads of millions 0060c11 · praise of the Buddha’s marks and signs beginning with the fleshy crown 0060c15 · disclosure of the present Flower Virtue, Medicine King, and Medicine Superior 0060c24 · concluding benefit, 「八萬四千人遠塵離垢得法眼淨」 tr. “eighty-four thousand people attain purity of the Dharma-eye,” through 0061a03. The next chapter, 〈普賢菩薩勸發品〉 The Encouragement of the Bodhisattva Universally Worthy, begins at 0061a05. Source file: the Source-Text layer, verified word for word; the full chapter body is identical to the base text with zero drift.
- 竺法護 T263 《正法華經》, 〈淨復淨王品第二十五〉 Chapter Twenty-Five, King Pure-and-Further-Pure, begins at 〔T09n0263 0130c29〕; the whole chapter is translated by meaning. 總水雷音宿華慧王/照明嚴飾/愛見/淨復淨/離垢施/離垢藏離垢目 tr. “Total-Water Thunder-Sound Constellation-Flower-Wisdom-King / Illuminating Ornamentation / Love-to-See / Pure-and-Further-Pure / Stainless-Giving / Stainless-Treasury and Stainless-Eye” at 0131a02 · the mother says the king trusts the brahmans and constantly harbors anger 0131a22 · the supernormal transformations seven fathoms above the ground 0131b02 and fire above with water below 0131b03 · the difficulty of encountering a buddha illustrated by an auspicious flower and the supreme wish-fulfilling jewel, with no turtle simile, 0131c03 · manifesting a female body 0131c15 · holy teacher / good teacher, with no fixed formula 「善知識」 tr. “good friend,” 0132a07 · the king rising four zhang and nine chi into the sky 0132a05 · Seed-Sovereign-King / Broad and Universal / Surpassing King 0132c01 · Lotus-Head / Radiant Ornamentation / Medicine King and Surpassing Medicine 0132c08 · through 「八萬四千人遠塵離垢諸法眼淨」 tr. “the eyes for the dharmas of eighty-four thousand people became pure” at 0132c17. The next chapter, 〈樂普賢品第二十六〉 Chapter Twenty-Six, Delighting in Universally Worthy, begins at 0132c19.
- 添品 T264, 〈妙莊嚴王本事品第二十五〉 Chapter Twenty-Five, the Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment, begins at 〔T09n0264 0193b02〕; it agrees nearly word for word with Kumārajīva, differing only in graphic variants, omission of 「品」 tr. “chapter,” and one difference between drawing near and seeing. Cloud-Thunder-Sound Constellation-King-Flower-Wisdom agrees with Kumārajīva 0193b05 · 喜見 tr. “Joyfully Seen” as a graphic variant of 憙見 0193b07 · the supernormal transformations agree with Kumārajīva 0193b26 · both similes for the difficulty of encountering a buddha agree, with the udumbara transcription differing graphically, 0193c20 · the good-friend passage agrees 0194a28 · Sala-Tree-King agrees 0194a14 · the disclosure of Flower Virtue, Medicine King, and Medicine Superior agrees 0194b13 · through 「八萬四千人遠塵離垢得法眼淨」 tr. “eighty-four thousand people attain purity of the Dharma-eye,” agreeing with Kumārajīva at 0194b21. The next chapter, 〈普賢菩薩勸發品第二十六〉 Chapter Twenty-Six, the Encouragement of the Bodhisattva Universally Worthy, begins at 0194b24.
- 窺基《玄贊》T34n1723 (the expository mirror): 〈妙莊嚴王本事品〉 The Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment spans 〔0850b20〕—〔0851c〕, preceded by the Chapter on Dhāraṇī at 0850a19–0850b19 and followed by the Chapter on Universally Worthy. Three gateways of analysis 0850b21 · reason for its coming through the power of superior qualities 0850b22 · King Wonderful-Adornment as Flower Virtue and the two sons as Medicine King and Medicine Superior 0850b26 · explanation of the name through turning from wrong to right 0850c01 · resolution of the difficulty through avoiding confused titles 0850c07 · division of the chapter into four 0850c09 · five divisions of the sons’ transformation of their father · four qualities and seven meditative absorptions. Consciousness-Only mind-nature doctrine is absent.
- 智顗《文句》T34n1718 (parallel witness): 〈釋妙莊嚴王本事品〉 Explanation of the Chapter on the Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment begins at 0147a12 and runs about one page. The hook of affection pulling the king free of wrong views 0147b04 · wife as Wonderful Sound, sons as Medicine King and Medicine Superior, king as Flower Virtue, in the causal account 0147b07 · the qualities of the Wondrous Dharma adorning the faculties 0147b11 · protection by persons and protection through spells 0147b16 · division of the text into six 0147b17 · the eighteen transformations 0147c03 · four kinds of good friend correlated with four similes from the Connected Discourses 0147c18 through 0147c27.
- 吉藏《義疏》T34n1721 (parallel witness): 〈妙莊嚴王本事品第二十七〉 Chapter Twenty-Seven, the Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment begins at 0630b25. Following the Treatise, third, the power of superior qualities in the past 0630b26 · fourth of the four places in which Medicine King propagates the sutra 0630c04 · turning from wrong to right and receiving the prediction 0630c05 · the chapter should be called the Former Affairs of Medicine King but is named after the person transformed 0630c08 · the causal account of four fellow practitioners 0630c11 · two wheels and two kinds of good friend 0630c21 through 0631a16.
- Record of formation (chapter order · translation pattern): Kumārajīva and the supplemented edition title the chapter 「妙莊嚴王本事品」 tr. “The Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment”; Dharmarakṣa titles it 「淨復淨王品」 tr. “King Pure-and-Further-Pure.” The chapter numbers are Kumārajīva 27, Dharmarakṣa 25, and the supplemented edition 25. The three translations directly display a history of 「音寫／義譯」 tr. “transliterated / semantic translation”: Kumārajīva’s forms are transliterated; Dharmarakṣa alone translates everything by meaning—the names of persons, the buddha, the land, the aeon, the future buddha, and the present-life identities all appear in Chinese semantic translation; he replaces the turtle simile with a wish-fulfilling jewel and gives holy teacher / good teacher for good friend. The supplemented edition agrees nearly word for word with Kumārajīva, retaining the transliterated forms with only slight graphic variation. Huizhao’s 《義決》 T34n1724 does not reach this chapter; it only lists the True Dharma Lotus title 「淨復淨王品」 tr. “Chapter on King Pure-and-Further-Pure” at 0862b19.