妙法蓮華經文句 序品釋·同聞眾（類數位德）
一群人可以同時走進佛堂，坐在同一排，聽同一場法。時間相同，地點相同，看起來已經共同。
《法華文句》卻從一個『與』字開出七個『一』：不只同時、同處，還要同戒、同心、同見、同道、同解脫。
共同於是有深淺。身體在場，只是開始；願意受同一規範，心與見仍可能不同；心與見逐漸相應，還要在所行的道上接受考驗。
這也解開修行團體常見的誤會。和合不是人人性格相同、說話相同，也不是用表面的整齊掩蓋內在分歧。真正的和合，是差異仍在，方向卻不背離解脫。
比丘的乞士、破惡、怖魔三義，也不是到終點才突然取得的稱號。初受戒時已經開始破惡，初修定慧時已經使生死之魔不安，日日求法資養慧命，也已走在乞士之路。
所以，判斷自己是否真正與大眾同行，不妨少看座位，多看七件事：我們共同守護什麼？心向哪裡？如何看見？走哪一條路？最後要從什麼束縛中解脫？
同處容易，同道很深。經首短短一個『與』字，問的正是：我們只是聚在一起，還是真的一起走？
A group can enter the Buddha hall at the same time, sit in the same row, and listen to the same teaching. Time and place are shared; everything appears to be in common.
Yet the Fahua Wenju unfolds seven unities from the single phrase “together with”: not only one time and one place, but also one discipline, one mind, one view, one path, and one liberation.
Commonality therefore has depths. Bodily presence is only the beginning. People may willingly keep the same discipline while their minds and views still differ. As mind and view gradually come into accord, the path they walk must still test that accord.
This also resolves a familiar misunderstanding about communities of practice. Harmony does not mean that everyone has the same personality or speaks in the same way, nor does it cover inward division with outward neatness. True harmony means that differences remain while the direction does not turn away from liberation.
The bhikṣu's three meanings—alms-seeker, breaker of evil, and one who frightens Māra—are likewise not titles suddenly acquired at the end. Receiving the precepts already begins to break evil. Beginning concentration and wisdom already unsettles the Māra of saṃsāra. Daily seeking the Dharma to nourish wisdom-life is already walking the path of the alms-seeker.
To know whether we truly travel with the assembly, then, we might look less at seating and more at seven matters: what do we protect together? Where do our minds incline? How do we see? What path do we walk? From what bonds do we finally seek release?
Sharing a place is easy; sharing a path is profound. The brief phrase “together with” at the beginning of the scripture asks precisely this: have we merely gathered, or are we truly walking together?
隋天台智者大師說《妙法蓮華經文句》〔灌頂法師私記・唐天寶戊子朗和尚條倫治定本・卷端序＝鏡中沙門神逈述〕· 大正藏 T34n1718〔起 T34 0005c29〕。段/行首〔T34 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨（換頁一枚）。
〔T34 0005c29〕釋同聞眾為三：初聲聞、次菩薩、後雜眾，諸經多爾。舊云有事、有義。事者，逐形迹親疎，聲聞形出俗網，迹近如來，證經為親，故前列也；天人形乖服異，迹非侍奉，證經為疎，故後列也；菩薩形不檢節、迹無定處，既不同俗，復異於僧，處季孟之間，故居中仲也。有義者，聲聞欣涅槃，天人著生死，各有所偏，菩薩不欣、不著，居中求宗，故在兩間。《釋論》意亦爾，此一解似兩釋，事解似因緣，義解似約教〔云云〕。 〔T34 0006a10〕本迹解者，聲聞內祕外現，何甞保證涅槃；天人皆大薩埵，豈復耽染生死？皆是迹引二邊，而本常中道也。 觀心釋者，從假入空觀，即偏破生死；從空入假觀，即偏破涅槃，中道正觀無復前後〔云云〕。 列聲聞為二：先比丘、次比丘尼。比丘又二：先列多知識，次列少知識；舊呼為大名聞、小名聞。雖然無據，今依文判如此。就多知識眾為六：一類、二數、三位、四歎、五列名、六結。 一、類者，皆是大比丘氣類也。譬群方貴賤，各有班輩。今諸比丘，皆眾所知識、高譽大德也。 《釋論》明「與」者，共義，舉七一解共，謂一時、一處、一戒、一心、一見、一道、一解脫也。若歷教，應各明七一：三藏一七一，通教二七一，別教無量七一，圓教一七一。若未發迹，正是三藏、通教中七一，直明兩意幾異，時、處、戒、解脫是同，心、見、道三種則異；若至開三顯一，即得入圓教七一也。 《法華》論四種聲聞，今開住果者為兩：析法住果是三藏聲聞，體法住果是通教聲聞。開應化者為兩：登地應化別教聲聞，登住應化圓教聲聞。開佛道聲聞亦為兩：令他次第聞佛道是別教聲聞，令他不次第聞佛道即圓聲聞。聲聞義浩然，云何以證涅槃者判之〔云云〕。 「大」者，《釋論》明「大」者，亦言多，亦言勝，器量尊重為天王等大人所敬故言大，升出九十五種道外故言勝，遍知內外經書故言多，又數至一萬二千故言多。今明有大道故、有大用故、有大知故，故言大。勝者，道勝、用勝、知勝，故言勝。多者，道多、用多、知多，故言多。道即性念處，大於一切智外道；用即共念處，勝神通外道；知即緣念處，多四韋陀外道也。約教釋大、多、勝者，大人所敬等，是三藏中釋耳。大者，大力羅漢所敬也；多者，遍知生滅即無生滅法也；勝者，勝三藏四門也，此通教釋也。又大者，體法大力羅漢所敬也；多者，恒沙佛法皆知也；勝者，勝二乘人，此別教釋也。又大者，諸大菩薩所敬也；多者，法界不可量法悉知也；勝者，勝諸菩薩也，此圓教釋也。 本迹者，此諸大德久為諸佛之所咨嗟，本得勝幢三昧超諸外道，先已成就種智遍知，迹來輔佛行化，示作愛見中大、多、勝，欲引乳入酪；又作三藏中大、多、勝，欲引酪入生蘇；示方等中大、多、勝，欲引生蘇入熟蘇；示轉教作《般若》中大、多、勝；欲引熟蘇入醍醐故作《法華》中大、多、勝也，然其本地大、多、勝又矣〔云云〕。 觀心者，空觀為大，假觀為多，中觀為勝。又直就中觀心性廣博猶若虛空，故名大；雙遮二邊入寂滅海，故名勝；雙照二諦多所含容，一心一切心，故名多也。 「比丘」者，肇師云：「秦言淨命，乞食、破煩惱、能持戒、怖魔等，天竺一名含此四義，秦無以翻，故存本稱。」什師云：「始出妻子家，應以乞食自資，清淨活命；終出三界家，必須破煩惱，持戒自守。具此二義，天魔怖其出境也。」《釋論》云：「怖魔、破惡、乞士，魔樂生死，其既出家復化餘人，俱離三界乖於魔意，魔用力制翻被五繫，但愁懼而已，故名怖魔。出家人必破身、口七惡，故言破惡。夫在家三種如法，一田、二商、三仕，用養身命；出家人佛不許此，唯乞自濟，身安道存，福利檀越，三義相成即比丘義也。」《涅槃》、《寶梁》皆舉破惡名比丘者，不具說也。今明此三義，應通初、後，如初出家時白四羯磨，無作戒力遍一切境，翻無作惡；初修禪定發定共戒，防伏意地貪、瞋不起；初修觀慧發相似道共戒，能伏煩惱。初心亦稱破惡，何獨後心耶？怖魔者，初剃髮、稟戒，已令魔愁，修定欲伏惱煩，修慧欲破煩惱，初心亦令魔怖，何獨後心耶？乞士者，初離邪命以乞自活、修禪歷境、求定修慧緣理求無漏，皆是乞士，何況相應而非乞士？具此義故通名比丘。依經家皆歎後心比丘耳，此皆三藏意。若歷緣求真名乞士，破障理之惑名破惡，修此行怖四魔，即通教義。若歷三諦求理名乞士，除通、別惑名破惡，怖八魔十魔者，即別義。若即生死求實相味名乞士，達煩惱即菩提名破惡，魔界即佛界者，是圓教義。若未發迹但明前二義，若已顯本，具後意也。 〔T34 0007a01〕本迹者，本登涅槃山頂，與無明癡愛父母、結業妻子別，出分段、變易家，久除五住，何惡不破？獲真法喜，如食乳糜更無所須。持中道道共尸波羅蜜攝眾生戒度，魔界降伏，即佛界如。堪任乘御，本地功德久已成就，為調眾生，迹示五味比丘傳引眾生，例如前釋。 觀心者，觀一念心淨若虛空，不為二邊桎梏所礙，平等大慧無住、無著，即名出家；以中觀自資、活法身慧命，名為乞士；觀五住煩惱即是菩提，是名破惡；一切諸邊顛倒無非中道，即是怖魔〔云云〕。 「眾」者，天竺云僧伽，此翻和合眾，一人不名和合，四人已上乃名和合，事和無別眾，法和無別理。佛常與千二百五十人俱，三迦葉千人，身子、目連二百五十。又云，耶舍五十。《雜阿含》四十五云：「五百比丘中，九十人三明，九十人俱解脫，餘但慧解脫。」《釋論》明四種僧：不依淨命名破戒僧，不解法律名愚癡僧，五方便名慚愧僧，苦法忍去名真實僧。此中非三種，但是真實僧。若依四教者，此僧歷偏、圓五味座，作同聞人，今正是圓教中證信也。 本迹釋者，本與實相理和，又與法界眾生機緣和，而迹為半字事理之僧，歷五味中引諸眾生〔云云〕。 觀解者，初學中觀入相似觀，既未發真，慚第一義天、愧諸聖人，即是有羞僧；觀慧若發即真實僧。若異此者，即前兩僧：不依觀行名破戒僧，不解觀相名愚癡僧。舉類義竟。 二、明數者，即是一萬二千人也。本迹者，本是一萬二千菩薩，迹為萬二千聲聞也。觀者，觀十二入，一入具十法界，一界又十界，界界各十如是，即是一千，一入既一千，十二入即是萬二千法門也。 三、明位者，皆是阿羅漢也。《阿颰經》云應真；《瑞應》云真人，悉是無生釋羅漢也。依舊翻云無著、不生、應供。或言無翻，名含三義。無明糠脫，後世田中不受生死果報，故云不生；九十八使煩惱盡，故名殺賊；具智斷功德，堪為人天福田，故言應供。含此三義釋阿羅漢也。或言初始學無生，生未無生，初雖怖魔，魔未大怖，初雖乞士，未是灼然應供；今獲無生忍，破煩惱賊盡，是好良田，以果對因釋羅漢三義。若論成就應取果三義，若通於初，亦取因三義，如此釋者，皆三藏通中意耳。若別、圓者義則不然，非但殺賊，亦殺不賊，不賊者涅槃是，是亦須破故，是殺賊義。不生於生，亦不生不生，無漏是不生，非但應供亦是供應，一切眾生是供應，皆歎初地、初住德也。 本迹者，本得不受三昧，於二邊無所著，故名不生；斷五住惑，故名殺賊；能福九道饒益眾生，故有應供。本義也。方便度眾生，歷五味傳傳作不生，迹也。又本是法身，迹示己利；本是般若，迹示不生；本是解脫，迹示殺賊〔云云〕。 觀心者，空觀是般若，假觀是解脫，中觀是法身。又觀心者，從假入空，觀亦有三義，乃至中道觀，殺無明賊，不生二乘心，供養此人如供養世尊。《方等》云：「供佛及文殊，不如施行方等者一食充軀。」下文云：「毀讚佛罪福輕，毀讚持經者罪福重。」何者？佛無食想，久離八風不為損益；施持經者，全肉身、續報命、生法身、增慧命，故有益；毀之，憂惱退悔，若失好時則不可救，故大損〔云云〕。 四、歎德，文有五句歎上三德。《法華論》云：「初句總，後句別。」當知諸句皆歎羅漢句耳。 「諸漏已盡，無復煩惱」，此兩句歎上殺賊。漏者三漏也，《成論》云：「失道故名漏。」律云：「癡人造業，開諸漏門。」毘曇云：「漏落生死。」論、律語異而同明漏義。良由賊誑失於理寶，貧窮孤露造諸惡業、致生死苦，亡法身、失慧命、喪重寶，皆是賊義。不應謂是不生義歎德也。煩惱者，即九十八使，流扼纏蓋等逼惱行人。煩惱是能潤，漏業是所潤，能所既盡，正是殺賊義，那得作不生歎耶？ 「逮得己利」一句，是歎應供，三界因果皆名為他，智斷功德皆名己利，己利具足故成應供。 「盡諸有結，心得自在」兩句，是歎不生。諸有即二十五有，生處也；結即二十五有，生因也。因盡果亡，歎不生明矣！不應作殺賊歎也。羅漢但應結盡，未應有盡；有盡者，因中說果，又盡在不久也。 「心得自在」者，定具足名心自在，慧具足名慧自在，慧自在未必心自在，心自在必慧自在。今言心自在，即是定、慧具足俱解脫人，俱解脫人生決定盡，驗知歎不生德也。若依《法華論》者，呼為上上起門，則是以後釋前也。論云：「以諸漏盡故名羅漢，以心得自在故名有結盡。」如是傳傳釋上也。 本迹者，不生不生名大涅槃，煩惱漏流其源久竭，不復墮落二乘及凡夫地，即本不生。法身智斷實相功德，名本己利；得王三昧破二十五有，顯出我性具八自在我，名本殺賊。迹示二乘功德耳。 〔T34 0008a04〕觀心者，中道正觀不漏落空、假二邊，二邊煩惱滅也，能觀心性名為上定，衣珠祕藏是己之物即己利也，正觀中道結賊則斷，無結故有亦斷，二邊不能縛心故名自在，雖有煩惱如無煩惱，不斷煩惱而入涅槃即其義也。
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.
一、同聞大眾為什麼依這個次序列出
解釋與阿難共同聽聞佛法的大眾，可以分為三類：第一是聲聞，第二是菩薩，第三是其他各類會眾，多數經典都是如此排列。
舊來有從事相解釋、從義理解釋兩種說法。從事相說，是依外在身形、示現行迹與佛的親疏而排次序。聲聞現出家形，已經離開世俗羅網，行迹又親近如來，能為經典作證，所以列在前面。天、人身形和服飾與僧眾不同，行迹上又不是隨侍奉事佛的人，為經作證的關係較疏，所以列在後面。菩薩外形不受一種儀節限制，示現行迹也沒有固定所在；既不同於世俗人，又不同於僧眾，處在孟、季之間，所以居於中間的仲位。
從義理說，聲聞欣求涅槃，天、人貪著生死，兩邊各有所偏；菩薩既不欣求偏空涅槃，也不貪著生死，以中道為宗，所以列在兩者之間。《大智度論》的意思也與此相近。這原是一種舊解，卻像含有兩種解法：事相解似因緣釋，義理解似約教釋。〔云云〕
從本與示現來解，聲聞內在祕藏菩薩行，外表才示現聲聞，怎會固守已證的涅槃？天、人本來也都是大菩薩，怎會真實耽著生死？他們都在外迹上分別示現，引導執著生死、執著涅槃的兩邊之人，本地則常住中道。
從觀心來解，從假有進入空觀，偏重破除對生死的執著；從空觀進入假觀，偏重破除對涅槃的執著；中道正觀超越這兩種偏向，便不再有誰先誰後。〔云云〕
二、先列哪一類聲聞
列聲聞眾又分兩類：先列比丘，後列比丘尼。比丘又分兩類：先列廣為眾人所知的，後列聲名較少為人所知的。舊來把這兩類稱為大名聞、小名聞；雖然這兩個名稱沒有根據，現在仍可依經文字面作出這樣的分判。
在廣為眾人所知的聲聞眾中，又分六科：第一是類，第二是數，第三是位，第四是歎，第五是列名，第六是結。
先說類。他們都屬於大比丘這一類。譬如各方人士雖有尊卑差別，各自仍有相應的等第行列；現在這些比丘，都是眾人所熟知、名望高而德行重的人。
三、『與』字所含的共同關係
《大智度論》解釋經文中的『與』字，取共同之義，並用七個『一』說明共同：同一時間、同一地點、同一戒律、同一心、同一見解、同一道、同一解脫。
若遍歷不同教法來說，每一教都應各自說明七一：三藏教有一組七一，通教依兩類人而有兩組七一，別教有無量組七一，圓教則有一組七一。
在本地身份尚未開顯以前，眼前主要是三藏教、通教中的七一。若只比較這兩種七一有多少差別，那麼時間、地點、戒、解脫四項相同，心、見、道三項則不同。到了開三乘權宜、顯一佛乘真實時，便得以進入圓教的七一。
《法華論》說四種聲聞。現在把其中安住果位的再開為兩種：以分析諸法而住果的是三藏教聲聞，體達諸法即空而住果的是通教聲聞。又把應化聲聞開為兩種：登初地而應化的是別教聲聞，登初住而應化的是圓教聲聞。再把使人聞佛道的聲聞開為兩種：使他人依次第聞佛道的是別教聲聞，使他人不依次第而聞佛道的就是圓教聲聞。
由此看來，聲聞的含義廣大開展，怎能只用已證涅槃的人這一條來判定？〔云云〕
四、『大』為什麼又含多與勝
再解釋『大』字。《大智度論》說大也可以說多、說勝。器量宏大而可尊重，受到天王等大人敬重，所以稱大；超出九十五種外道，所以稱勝；遍知佛法內典與世間外典，又有一萬二千人的數量，所以稱多。
現在再從大道、大用、大知三面解釋大。道勝、用勝、知勝，所以稱勝；道多、用多、知多，所以稱多。道是性念處，廣大而勝過一切智外道；用是共念處，勝過外道神通；知是緣念處，所知多於外道四部韋陀。
若依不同教法解釋大、多、勝，前面所說受到大人敬重等義，屬於三藏教中的解釋。
通教中，大是受到修體法空而有大力的阿羅漢所敬；多是遍知生滅法當體就是無生滅法；勝是勝過三藏教的四種入道門。
別教中，大是受到體法而有大力的阿羅漢所敬；多是恆河沙數佛法都能了知；勝是勝過二乘人。
圓教中，大是受到諸大菩薩所敬；多是法界不可計量的一切法都能了知；勝是勝過其他菩薩。
從本與示現來說，這些大德久已受到諸佛稱歎。本地已得勝幢三昧，超越各種外道；又早已成就一切種智，能夠遍知。如今外迹上前來輔助佛陀教化，示現在貪愛、邪見之中具有大、多、勝，想引導如乳的眾生進入酪味；又示現三藏教中的大、多、勝，想從酪味引入生酥味；示現方等教中的大、多、勝，想從生酥味引入熟酥味；再示現轉教時《般若》中的大、多、勝，想從熟酥味引入醍醐味，所以又示現《法華》中的大、多、勝。他們本地原有的大、多、勝，更是如此。〔云云〕
從觀心來說，空觀稱大，假觀稱多，中觀稱勝。再直接就中觀說，心性廣博如同虛空，所以稱大；同時遮止空、有兩邊而進入寂滅海，所以稱勝；同時照見真、俗二諦而含容眾多，一心含攝一切心，所以稱多。
五、比丘三義如何貫通修行初後
再解釋『比丘』。
僧肇說：『漢語可以分作清淨活命而乞食、破除煩惱、能持戒、使魔怖畏等義；印度的一個名稱含有這四義，漢語沒有一個名稱可以完整翻出，所以保存原來稱呼。』
鳩摩羅什說：『最初離開妻子之家，應當靠乞食維持自己，以清淨方式生活；最後離開三界之家，必須破除煩惱，持戒自守。具備這兩面的意義，天魔便害怕此人離開自己的境界。』
《大智度論》說：『怖魔、破惡、乞士。魔喜歡眾生留在生死中；出家人自己出家，又教化其他人，使大家都離開三界，違背魔的意願。魔用力想加以制止，自己反而受到五處繫縛，只能憂愁恐懼，所以稱作怖魔。出家人必須破除身、口所造的七種惡，所以稱作破惡。在家人有三種合乎正法的生計：第一耕田，第二經商，第三任職，以此維持身命。佛不許出家人從事這些事，只許乞食自濟；身體安穩，道業才能存在，也能使施主得福。三義互相成就，便是比丘之義。』
《大般涅槃經》《寶梁經》都只舉破惡來說明比丘，是沒有把各義說全。
現在說怖魔、破惡、乞士三義，應當貫通修行的初位與後位。最初出家受戒時，依白四羯磨成就戒法，無作戒的力量遍及一切所緣境，能翻轉無作惡。初修禪定而發起定共戒，可以防止、伏住意地的貪與瞋，不讓它們生起；初修觀慧而發起相似的道共戒，能夠伏住煩惱。初心已經可以稱為破惡，為什麼只有後心才可以稱作破惡？
說怖魔也是如此。初剃除鬚髮、領受戒法時，已使魔憂愁；修定是要伏住煩惱，修慧是要破除煩惱，初心已使魔怖畏，為什麼只有後心才可以稱作怖魔？
說乞士也一樣。最初遠離邪命，以乞食維持生活；修禪時遍歷各種境緣而求得禪定；修慧時緣於真理而求無漏智。這些都是乞士，何況已與所修相應，怎會反而不是乞士？因為具足這些意義，所以從初到後都通稱比丘。經典的結集者則只稱歎修行後位的比丘；以上是三藏教的意思。
若遍歷各種緣境求真諦，稱為乞士；破除障礙真理的迷惑，稱為破惡；修這種行而使四魔怖畏，就是通教之義。
若遍歷三諦求理，稱為乞士；除去通惑、別惑，稱為破惡；能使八魔、十魔怖畏，就是別教之義。
若不離生死而求實相法味，稱為乞士；通達煩惱當體就是菩提，稱為破惡；通達魔界當體就是佛界，就是圓教之義。
本地身份尚未開顯時，只明前兩種教義；本地已經顯出，便具備後兩種深義。
從本與示現來說，他們本來早已登上涅槃山頂，離開名為無明、癡愛的父母，也離開名為煩惱結與業的妻子，走出分段生死、變易生死之家；久已除去五住煩惱，還有什麼惡不能破？他們已獲得真實法喜，如同吃過乳糜，別無所求；又持中道的道共戒，以戒波羅蜜中的攝眾生戒度化眾生。魔界已被降伏，當體就是佛界的真如。他們本地功德久已成就，足以承擔運載、調御眾生；為了調伏眾生，外迹才示現為歷經五味的比丘，依次引導眾生，如同前文所解。
從觀心來說，觀察一念心清淨如虛空，不被空、有兩邊的桎梏阻礙；平等大慧無住、無著，便稱出家。以中觀資養自己，使法身與慧命存活，稱為乞士。觀察五住煩惱當體就是菩提，稱為破惡；一切邊見顛倒沒有不是中道，稱為怖魔。〔云云〕
六、『眾』是怎樣的和合
再解釋『眾』。印度語稱僧伽，漢語譯作和合眾。一個人不能稱為和合，四人以上才稱和合；在共同事相上沒有另一個分裂的眾，在共同法理上也沒有另一個相異的理。
佛陀經常與一千二百五十人同在，其中三迦葉的弟子合有一千人，舍利弗、目犍連的弟子合有二百五十人。又有一說列耶舍及其同伴五十人。
《文句》引《雜阿含》第四十五卷說：『五百位比丘中，九十人具足三明，九十人得俱解脫，其餘只得慧解脫。』
《大智度論》說四種僧：不依清淨正命生活的，稱破戒僧；不了解戒律的，稱愚癡僧；在五方便位修行的，稱慚愧僧；從苦法忍以後，稱真實僧。眼前會眾不是前三種，只是真實僧。
若依四教來說，這群僧人曾歷經偏、圓各種五味教席，作為共同聽聞者；眼前正是圓教中為經作證的會眾。
從本與示現來說，他們本來與實相之理和合，又與法界一切眾生的機緣和合；外迹上才示現為半字教中事、理和合的僧眾，歷經五味而引導眾生。〔云云〕
從觀心來解，初學中觀、進入相似觀，尚未發起真實證悟，便對第一義天生慚，對諸聖人生愧，這就是有羞僧；觀慧若真實發起，就是實僧。若離開這種觀行，便落入前兩種僧：不依觀行的，稱破戒僧；不了解所觀之相的，稱愚癡僧。以上說完類義。
七、一萬二千如何成為觀門
第二，說明數目，就是一萬二千人。
從本與示現來說，本來是一萬二千位菩薩，外迹上示現為一萬二千位聲聞。
從觀心來說，觀察十二入；每一入具足十法界，每一法界又具足十法界，每一界各有十如是，因此一入便具一千。一入已有一千，十二入合起來，便是一萬二千法門。
八、阿羅漢三義如何由因到果
第三，說明位階，經中說這些人都是阿羅漢。《阿颰經》把阿羅漢稱為應真，《太子瑞應本起經》稱為真人，都是從無生來解釋阿羅漢。
依舊譯，阿羅漢含有無著、不生、應供三義；也有人說這個名稱無法用一個漢語詞翻全，因為其中含有三義。
如穀物脫離無明之糠，便不再於後世田中承受生死果報，所以稱不生。九十八使煩惱全部斷盡，所以稱殺賊。具備智慧與斷德功德，足以成為人、天福田，所以稱應供。這三義合起來解釋阿羅漢。
另一種說法從修行初位與果位相對來解。最初才開始學無生時，生死還沒有完全不生；最初雖已使魔恐懼，魔還沒有大為恐懼；最初雖已是乞士，還不是明確可受供養的福田。現在已經獲得無生法忍，破盡煩惱賊，成為良好福田。這是以果位回對比丘因位的三義。
若只論成就，應取果位的三義；若要通於初位，也可取因位的三義。這些解釋都屬三藏教、通教的意思。
若依別教、圓教，意思便不相同。不只要殺煩惱賊，也要破除原本不被二乘視為賊的涅槃執著，所以稱作殺不賊。不只不生於生死，也不住在二乘的不生；無漏的不生也不再生起。不只接受供養，也反過來供養一切應受供養的眾生。這些都在稱歎初地、初住的功德。
九、阿羅漢位的本迹與觀心
從本與示現來說，本來已得不受三昧，在生死、涅槃兩邊都不染著，所以稱不生；已斷五住煩惱，所以稱殺賊；能使九法界眾生得到福益，饒益眾生，所以應受供養。這些是本地之義。為方便度化眾生，才歷經五味，層層示現為不生，這是外迹。
再換一組說法：本來是法身，外迹示現已得自己的利益；本來是般若，外迹示現不生；本來是解脫，外迹示現殺賊。〔云云〕
從觀心來說，空觀就是般若，假觀就是解脫，中觀就是法身。再從觀心說，從假有進入空觀，也具備阿羅漢三義；乃至中道觀中，能殺無明之賊，不再生起二乘之心。供養這樣的行者，就如供養世尊。
《方等》說：『供養佛與文殊，還不如供給修行方等者一餐，使他維持身體。』本經後文又說：『毀謗或讚歎佛陀，所得罪福較輕；毀謗或讚歎受持經典的人，所得罪福較重。』
為什麼？佛陀沒有求食的念想，早已遠離利、衰等八風，毀讚都不能使祂受損或得益。布施給受持經典的人，卻能保全他的血肉之身，延續他的果報身命，使法身生長，使慧命增加，所以確有利益；若毀謗他，使他憂惱、退失、後悔，一旦錯失適合修道的時機，便可能無法挽救，所以損害很大。〔云云〕
十、五句如何稱歎阿羅漢三德
第四，稱歎功德。經文有五句，稱歎前面所說的三德。《法華論》說：『第一句是總說，後面的句子是分別說。』由此可知，後面各句都在稱歎阿羅漢這一句所含的功德。
『諸漏已盡，無復煩惱』兩句，稱歎前面所說的殺賊。漏就是欲漏、有漏、無明漏三漏。《成實論》說：『使人失去正道，所以稱漏。』律典說：『愚癡的人造業，打開各種漏的門。』阿毘曇說：『漏使人墮落、流轉於生死。』論與律的說法不同，卻同樣在說漏的含義。
正因煩惱賊欺誑眾生，使人失去真理之寶，變得貧窮、孤單而無覆護，造下各種惡業，招來生死之苦，亡失法身，失去慧命，喪失貴重寶物，這些都是賊義。所以不應把這兩句理解成對不生的稱歎。
煩惱就是九十八使，以及流、扼、纏、蓋等逼惱修行人的力量。煩惱是能滋潤業種的，與漏相應的業是被滋潤的。能潤、所潤都已斷盡，正是殺賊之義，怎能反而把它判作不生的稱歎？
十一、己利、有結與心得自在
『逮得己利』一句，是稱歎應供。三界內的因與果都稱為他，智慧功德與斷惑功德才稱為自己的利益；自己的利益已經具足，所以能成為應供。
『盡諸有結，心得自在』兩句，是稱歎不生。諸有就是二十五有，指眾生受生的處所；結也是二十五有，卻指招感受生的原因。生因已盡，生果便亡，不生之德很明白，不應把這兩句判作殺賊的稱歎。
阿羅漢本來只應說生因之結已盡，還不應直接說果報之有已經盡。這裡說有盡，是在因中預說果，又因果報之有不久也將窮盡。
『心得自在』，是定力具足；『慧得自在』，是智慧具足。慧自在的人不一定心自在，心自在的人必定也慧自在。現在經文說心自在，便是定、慧都具足的俱解脫人；俱解脫人的受生必定已盡，由此可知，這句稱歎的是不生之德。
若依《法華論》，這稱為上上起門，也就是以後句解釋前句。論中說：『因諸漏已盡，所以稱阿羅漢；因心得自在，所以稱諸有結已盡。』像這樣一層傳一層，後後解釋前前。
十二、本迹、觀心與五句的收束
從本與示現來說，連二乘所住的不生也不再生起，才名為大涅槃；煩惱漏流的根源早已枯竭，不再墮落二乘地與凡夫地，這是本來的不生。法身、智慧、斷德與實相功德，是本來自己的利益。已得王三昧，能破二十五有，顯出本性之我所具的八種自在，是本來的殺賊；外迹才示現二乘功德。
從觀心來說，中道正觀不流落空、假兩邊，兩邊煩惱由此止滅；能觀的心性稱為最上禪定。衣中寶珠般的祕密寶藏原是自己本有之物，這就是自己的利益。以中道正觀照見，煩惱結賊便斷；結已不存在，由結所生的有也隨之斷除。空、有兩邊都不能束縛此心，所以稱為自在。
如此，雖然仍有煩惱，卻如同沒有煩惱；不以斷滅煩惱的方式，而能進入涅槃，正是這一段所要說的意義。
1. Why Is the Assembly Who Heard the Teaching Listed in This Order?
The assembly who heard the Buddha's teaching together with Ānanda may be divided into three classes: first the śrāvakas, second the bodhisattvas, and third the various other members of the assembly. Most scriptures arrange them in this order.
There have traditionally been two explanations, one based on concrete circumstances and one based on doctrine. The circumstantial explanation arranges the assembly according to outward form, manifested conduct, and closeness to the Buddha. Śrāvakas manifest the form of renunciants, have already left the net of worldly life, and in their conduct remain close to the Tathāgata. Because they can attest the scripture, they are listed first. Gods and humans differ from the monastic community in form and dress, and their manifested conduct is not that of attendants serving the Buddha. Their relation to scriptural attestation is therefore more distant, so they are listed later. Bodhisattvas are not restricted to one outward observance and have no fixed place of manifestation. Being neither the same as laypeople nor the same as monastics, they stand between the first and last and therefore occupy the middle position.
According to the doctrinal explanation, śrāvakas delight in seeking nirvāṇa, while gods and humans cling to saṃsāra; each inclines toward one extreme. Bodhisattvas neither delight in seeking the nirvāṇa of partial emptiness nor cling to saṃsāra. Taking the middle path as their principle, they are therefore listed between the other two. The meaning of the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom is similar. Although this is called one traditional explanation, it seems to contain two: the circumstantial explanation resembles interpretation through causes and conditions, while the doctrinal explanation resembles interpretation in terms of the teaching. [Original note: the rest is abbreviated.]
Interpreted through origin and manifestation, the śrāvakas inwardly conceal bodhisattva practice and only outwardly manifest as śrāvakas; how could they rigidly abide in the nirvāṇa already attained? Gods and humans are likewise originally great bodhisattvas; how could they truly be immersed in saṃsāra? In their outward traces they separately manifest in order to guide people attached to the two extremes of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, while in their origin they constantly abide in the middle path.
Interpreted through contemplating the mind, entering the contemplation of emptiness from provisional existence emphasizes breaking attachment to saṃsāra; entering contemplation of the provisional from emptiness emphasizes breaking attachment to nirvāṇa. Correct contemplation of the middle path transcends both inclinations, and then there is no longer anyone who comes first or last. [Original note: the rest is abbreviated.]
2. Which Kind of Śrāvaka Is Listed First?
The śrāvaka assembly is divided into two groups: bhikṣus are listed first and bhikṣuṇīs afterward. The bhikṣus are again divided into two groups: those widely known to the public are listed first, and those of lesser renown afterward. Traditionally these have been called those of great renown and those of lesser renown. Although these two names have no textual basis, the distinction can still be made from the wording of the scripture.
The widely known śrāvaka assembly is further divided into six sections: first class, second number, third stage, fourth praise, fifth listing the names, and sixth conclusion.
First comes their class. They all belong to the class of great bhikṣus. People from various regions may differ in honor and rank, yet each still has an appropriate order and standing. These bhikṣus are people widely known to the assembly, eminent in reputation and weighty in virtue.
3. The Shared Relation Contained in “Together With”
The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom explains “together with” in the scripture as expressing commonality and uses seven forms of “one” to describe it: one time, one place, one discipline, one mind, one view, one path, and one liberation.
If the different teachings are traversed, each should explain its own seven unities. The Tripiṭaka teaching has one set of seven; the shared teaching has two sets according to two kinds of practitioners; the distinct teaching has immeasurable sets; and the perfect teaching has one set.
Before their original identities are disclosed, what is principally visible here are the seven unities of the Tripiṭaka and shared teachings. If one compares only how these two sets differ, then time, place, discipline, and liberation are the same, while mind, view, and path differ. When the provisional three vehicles are opened and the reality of the One Buddha-Vehicle revealed, they can enter the seven unities of the perfect teaching.
The Treatise on the Lotus Sutra speaks of four kinds of śrāvaka. Here those who abide in fruition are divided into two: those who analyze dharmas and abide in fruition are śrāvakas of the Tripiṭaka teaching, while those who directly realize that dharmas are empty and abide in fruition are śrāvakas of the shared teaching. Emanated śrāvakas are also divided into two: those who respond through manifestation after reaching the first ground belong to the distinct teaching, while those who respond after reaching the first abode belong to the perfect teaching. Śrāvakas who cause others to hear the Buddha path are likewise divided into two: those who cause others to hear it sequentially belong to the distinct teaching, while those who cause others to hear it without sequence belong to the perfect teaching.
Seen in this way, the meaning of śrāvaka unfolds very broadly. How could it be judged solely by the single category of those who have realized nirvāṇa? [Original note: the rest is abbreviated.]
4. Why Does “Great” Also Include “Many” and “Superior”?
Next comes the explanation of “great.” The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom says that “great” can also mean “many” and “superior.” Because their capacity is expansive and worthy of respect, and because they are honored by great persons such as heavenly kings, they are called great. Because they surpass the ninety-five outsider paths, they are called superior. Because they know both Buddhist and non-Buddhist scriptures throughout and number twelve thousand, they are called many.
Here “great” is further explained through a great path, great function, and great knowledge. Because their path, function, and knowledge are superior, they are called superior; because their path, function, and knowledge are manifold, they are called many. Path is the mindfulness practice based on intrinsic nature, vast and superior to the outsiders' claim to omniscience. Function is the shared mindfulness practice, superior to outsiders' supernormal powers. Knowledge is the mindfulness practice taking conditions as its objects, knowing more than the outsiders' four Vedas.
When great, many, and superior are explained according to different teachings, the meanings just given—such as being honored by great persons—belong to the Tripiṭaka teaching.
In the shared teaching, “great” means being honored by powerful arhats who cultivate direct realization of the emptiness of dharmas; “many” means comprehensively knowing that dharmas of arising and ceasing are, in their very substance, dharmas of nonarising and nonceasing; and “superior” means surpassing the four gateways into the path taught in the Tripiṭaka teaching.
In the distinct teaching, “great” means being honored by powerful arhats who directly realize dharmas; “many” means knowing buddhadharmas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges; and “superior” means surpassing people of the two vehicles.
In the perfect teaching, “great” means being honored by the great bodhisattvas; “many” means knowing all the immeasurable dharmas of the Dharma realm; and “superior” means surpassing other bodhisattvas.
In terms of origin and manifestation, these great disciples had long been praised by buddhas. In their origin they had already attained the Victory-Banner Samādhi and surpassed the various outsider paths; they had also long since accomplished knowledge of all modes and knew all things throughout. Now, in their outward traces, they come to assist the Buddha's transforming work. They manifest great, many, and superior among beings of craving and wrong views in order to guide beings of the milk stage into the flavor of curds. They then manifest the great, many, and superior of the Tripiṭaka teaching in order to lead from curds into raw ghee; manifest the great, many, and superior of the Vaipulya teaching in order to lead from raw ghee into refined ghee; and manifest the great, many, and superior of the Prajñāpāramitā teachings during the period of transferred instruction in order to lead from refined ghee into the flavor of clarified essence. They therefore also manifest the great, many, and superior of the Lotus. Their original great, many, and superior are greater still. [Original note: the rest is abbreviated.]
In contemplating the mind, contemplation of emptiness is called great, contemplation of the provisional is called many, and contemplation of the middle is called superior. Or, speaking directly from contemplation of the middle, mind-nature is expansive like space and therefore called great; it simultaneously blocks the two extremes of emptiness and existence and enters the sea of quiescence and is therefore called superior; it simultaneously illuminates ultimate and conventional truth and contains multiplicity—one mind containing all minds—and is therefore called many.
5. How Do the Three Meanings of Bhikṣu Run from the Beginning to the End of Practice?
Next comes the explanation of “bhikṣu.”
Sengzhao says: “In Chinese it may be divided into such meanings as living on pure livelihood by alms, breaking afflictions, being able to uphold the precepts, and causing Māra to fear. One Indian name contains all four, while Chinese has no single term that can translate them completely, so the original designation is retained.”
Kumārajīva says: “At first, having left the household of wife and children, one should sustain oneself through alms and live by pure means. Finally, having left the household of the three realms, one must break afflictions and uphold the precepts in self-discipline. When both dimensions of meaning are present, the heavenly Māra fears that this person will leave his domain.”
The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom says: “Frightening Māra, breaking evil, and an alms-seeker. Māra delights in beings remaining in saṃsāra. A renunciant leaves home himself and transforms others so that all leave the three realms, thereby opposing Māra's wishes. Māra exerts himself to stop this, but instead becomes bound in five places and can only grieve and fear; hence ‘frightening Māra.’ A renunciant must break the seven evils committed by body and speech; hence ‘breaking evil.’ Householders have three lawful livelihoods: first farming, second commerce, and third public service, by which they sustain their lives. The Buddha did not permit renunciants to engage in these activities and allowed only alms to sustain themselves. When the body is secure, the practice of the path can endure, and donors can gain merit. The three meanings mutually complete one another and together constitute the meaning of bhikṣu.”
The Great Parinirvāṇa Sutra and the Ratnakūṭa Sutra both explain bhikṣu only by citing the breaking of evil; they do not state all the meanings.
Here the three meanings—frightening Māra, breaking evil, and alms-seeker—should be understood as running through both the beginning and the later stages of practice. When one first leaves home and receives the precepts, the precept Dharma is established through a formal act with one motion and three proclamations. The power of nonmanifest precepts extends throughout every conditioned object and can reverse nonmanifest evil. When one first cultivates concentration and gives rise to the precepts co-arising with concentration, one can prevent and subdue greed and anger in the mind so that they do not arise. When one first cultivates contemplative wisdom and gives rise to an approximation of the precepts co-arising with the path, one can subdue afflictions. If even a beginner may be called one who breaks evil, why should only one at the later stage be so called?
Frightening Māra is the same. When one first shaves the beard and hair and receives the precept Dharma, Māra is already made to grieve. Cultivating concentration is directed toward subduing afflictions, and cultivating wisdom toward breaking them. If even a beginner causes Māra to fear, why should only one at the later stage be so called?
The same applies to alms-seeker. At first one leaves wrong livelihood and sustains oneself by alms. While cultivating meditation, one ranges through various objects and conditions in search of concentration. While cultivating wisdom, one takes truth as the object and seeks uncontaminated knowledge. All these are meanings of alms-seeker. How much more, once one corresponds with what is cultivated, could one cease to be an alms-seeker? Because all these meanings are present, the name bhikṣu applies from beginning to end. The compilers of the scriptures, however, praise only bhikṣus at the later stage of practice. The foregoing is the meaning according to the Tripiṭaka teaching.
To seek ultimate truth throughout various conditioned objects is to be an alms-seeker; to break delusions that obstruct truth is to break evil; and to cultivate this practice so that the four Māras fear is the meaning according to the shared teaching.
To seek the principle throughout the three truths is to be an alms-seeker; to remove shared and distinct delusions is to break evil; and to cause the eight or ten Māras to fear is the meaning according to the distinct teaching.
To seek the flavor of the true mark without leaving saṃsāra is to be an alms-seeker; to penetrate afflictions as themselves awakening is to break evil; and to penetrate the realm of Māra as itself the realm of the Buddha is the meaning according to the perfect teaching.
Before their original identities are disclosed, only the meanings of the first two teachings are made clear. Once the origin is disclosed, the profound meanings of the latter two are also present.
In terms of origin and manifestation, they had originally long since ascended the summit of Mount Nirvāṇa. They had left the parents called ignorance, delusion, and craving; left the wife called afflictive bonds and karma; and departed from the households of fragmentary and transformational birth-and-death. They had long since removed the afflictions of the five abodes—what evil could remain unbroken? They had attained the true joy of Dharma, like those who had eaten milk gruel and sought nothing else. They also upheld the precepts co-arising with the path of the middle and used the precept of gathering beings within the perfection of discipline to transform them. The realm of Māra had been subdued and was itself suchness as the realm of the Buddha. Their original merit had long since been accomplished, sufficient to bear and guide beings. To tame beings, they manifested outwardly as bhikṣus passing through the five flavors and guided beings in sequence, as previously explained.
In contemplating the mind, observe one thought as pure like space, unobstructed by the fetters of the extremes of emptiness and existence. When impartial great wisdom has no abiding and no attachment, this is called leaving home. To nourish oneself through contemplation of the middle so that the Dharma body and wisdom-life endure is to be an alms-seeker. To contemplate the afflictions of the five abodes as themselves awakening is to break evil. To see that every extreme view and inversion is none other than the middle path is to frighten Māra. [Original note: the rest is abbreviated.]
6. In What Sense Is the Assembly Harmoniously United?
Next comes the explanation of “assembly.” In India it is called saṃgha, translated into Chinese as a harmoniously united assembly. One person cannot be called a harmony; four or more are called a harmony. In shared communal affairs there is no second, divided assembly, and in the Dharma-principle shared in common there is no second, divergent principle.
The Buddha was constantly together with twelve hundred and fifty people: the disciples of the three Kāśyapas totaled one thousand, and the disciples of Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana totaled two hundred and fifty. Another account also lists Yaśas and fifty companions.
The Wenju cites fascicle forty-five of the Saṃyukta Āgama: “Among five hundred bhikṣus, ninety possessed the three knowledges, ninety attained liberation in both ways, and the rest attained liberation through wisdom alone.”
The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom speaks of four kinds of saṃgha. Those who do not live by pure right livelihood are called a saṃgha that has broken the precepts; those who do not understand the discipline are called an ignorant saṃgha; those who practice at the five preparatory stages are called a conscience-bearing saṃgha; and those from the stage of patience with the Dharma of suffering onward are called the true saṃgha. The present assembly is none of the first three but only the true saṃgha.
According to the four teachings, this community had passed through the various teaching assemblies of the five flavors, both partial and perfect, as companions hearing together. At present they are precisely the assembly of the perfect teaching that attests the scripture.
In terms of origin and manifestation, they were originally united with the principle of the true mark and also united with the capacities of all beings throughout the Dharma realm. Only in outward manifestation did they appear as a saṃgha united in communal affairs and principle within the half-word teaching, passing through the five flavors to guide beings. [Original note: the rest is abbreviated.]
In contemplating the mind, one who first studies contemplation of the middle and enters approximative contemplation but has not yet given rise to true realization feels shame before the heaven of ultimate meaning and moral dread before the sages; this is the conscience-bearing saṃgha. When contemplative wisdom truly arises, this is the true saṃgha. Depart from this contemplative practice and one falls into the first two kinds: those who do not accord with contemplative practice are called a saṃgha that has broken the precepts, while those who do not understand the characteristics of the object contemplated are called an ignorant saṃgha. This completes the meaning of class.
7. How Does Twelve Thousand Become a Gate of Contemplation?
Second comes the number: twelve thousand people.
In terms of origin and manifestation, they were originally twelve thousand bodhisattvas and outwardly manifested as twelve thousand śrāvakas.
In contemplating the mind, contemplate the twelve entrances. Each entrance possesses the ten Dharma realms, and each Dharma realm in turn possesses all ten Dharma realms; each realm has the ten suchnesses. Thus one entrance contains one thousand. Since one entrance already has one thousand, the twelve entrances together make twelve thousand Dharma gates.
8. How Do the Three Meanings of Arhat Run from Cause to Fruition?
Third comes the stage. The scripture says that all these people were arhats. The Ābá Scripture calls arhat “one who responds to truth,” while the Sutra of the Crown Prince's Auspicious Response calls it “true person”; both explain arhat through nonarising.
According to the old translation, arhat contains the three meanings of unattached, nonarising, and worthy of offerings. Others say that no single Chinese term can translate the name completely because it contains three meanings.
Just as grain is freed from the husk of ignorance, one no longer undergoes the fruit of birth-and-death in the field of later lives and is therefore called nonarising. Because all ninety-eight compulsions of affliction have been exhausted, one is called a slayer of thieves. Because one possesses the merits of wisdom and severance and can serve as a field of merit for humans and gods, one is called worthy of offerings. These three meanings together explain arhat.
Another explanation contrasts the beginning of practice with fruition. When one first begins to study nonarising, birth-and-death has not yet completely ceased to arise. Although one initially causes Māra to fear, he is not yet greatly afraid. Although one is initially an alms-seeker, one is not yet manifestly a field of merit worthy of offerings. Now one has attained patience with the nonarising of dharmas, destroyed the thieves of affliction, and become an excellent field of merit. This explains the three meanings of arhat at fruition by looking back to the three causal meanings of bhikṣu.
If one speaks only of accomplishment, one should take the three meanings at fruition; if one wishes to include the beginning, the three causal meanings may also be used. These explanations all belong to the Tripiṭaka and shared teachings.
In the distinct and perfect teachings, the meaning differs. One must not only slay the thieves of affliction but also break attachment to nirvāṇa, which people of the two vehicles do not regard as a thief; hence one is called a slayer of what is not regarded as a thief. One not only ceases to be born in saṃsāra but also does not abide in the nonarising of the two vehicles; even uncontaminated nonarising no longer arises. One not only receives offerings but in turn makes offerings to all beings worthy of offerings. These all praise the merit of the first ground or first abode.
9. The Origin, Manifestation, and Contemplation of the Arhat Stage
In terms of origin and manifestation, they had originally attained the Samādhi of Nonreception and were unstained by either saṃsāra or nirvāṇa, and so were called nonarising. They had severed the afflictions of the five abodes and so were called slayers of thieves. They could bring merit and benefit to beings throughout the nine Dharma realms, benefiting beings, and were therefore worthy of offerings. These are meanings of origin. Only as a skillful means for liberating beings did they pass through the five flavors and manifest nonarising at successive levels; this is manifestation.
Another formulation says: originally they were Dharma body, while in manifestation they displayed the attainment of their own benefit; originally they were prajñā, while in manifestation they displayed nonarising; originally they were liberation, while in manifestation they displayed the slaying of thieves. [Original note: the rest is abbreviated.]
In contemplating the mind, contemplation of emptiness is prajñā, contemplation of the provisional is liberation, and contemplation of the middle is Dharma body. Or, from contemplating the mind again, entering emptiness from provisional existence also possesses the three meanings of arhat. In contemplation of the middle, one slays the thief of ignorance and no longer gives rise to the mind of the two vehicles. Offering to such a practitioner is like offering to the World-Honored One.
The Vaipulya teachings say: “Making offerings to the Buddha and Mañjuśrī does not equal providing one meal to a practitioner of the Vaipulya teachings so that the practitioner's body may be sustained.” A later passage in this scripture also says: “The wrongdoing or merit obtained by slandering or praising the Buddha is lighter; that obtained by slandering or praising a person who upholds the scripture is heavier.”
Why? The Buddha has no thought of seeking food and has long since left the eight winds of gain and loss behind. Slander or praise can neither harm nor benefit him. Giving to one who upholds the scripture, however, can preserve that person's flesh-and-blood body, prolong the life of the person's retributive body, cause the Dharma body to grow, and increase wisdom-life; it therefore brings real benefit. If one slanders such a person, causing distress, retreat, and regret, then once the opportune time for cultivating the path is missed, rescue may become impossible; the harm is therefore great. [Original note: the rest is abbreviated.]
10. How Do Five Sentences Praise the Three Virtues of the Arhat?
Fourth comes the praise of virtue. The scripture has five statements praising the three virtues described above. The Treatise on the Lotus Sutra says: “The first statement is general, and the following statements explain it separately.” We therefore know that every following statement praises a merit contained in “arhat.”
“Their outflows were exhausted; they had no further afflictions” praises the slaying of thieves described above. Outflows are the three outflows: sensual outflow, existence outflow, and ignorance outflow. The Satyasiddhi Treatise says: “Because it causes one to lose the true path, it is called an outflow.” A Vinaya text says: “An ignorant person creates karma and opens the various gates of outflow.” An Abhidharma text says: “Outflows make one fall and circulate through saṃsāra.” Although treatise and Vinaya phrase the matter differently, both explain the meaning of outflow.
The thieves of affliction deceive beings, cause them to lose the jewel of truth, and leave them poor, solitary, and without protection. They make beings create various evil actions, incur the suffering of saṃsāra, lose the Dharma body and wisdom-life, and forfeit precious treasure. All these are meanings of thief. These two statements should therefore not be understood as praising nonarising.
Afflictions are the ninety-eight compulsions and such forces as currents, yokes, entanglements, and hindrances that torment practitioners. Afflictions are what moisten karmic seeds; karma associated with outflows is what is moistened. When both what moistens and what is moistened have been exhausted, this is precisely the meaning of slaying thieves. How could it instead be classified as praise of nonarising?
11. One's Own Benefit, Bonds of Existence, and Mastery of Mind
“They had attained their own benefit” praises worthiness of offerings. Causes and fruits within the three realms are all called “other”; only the merits of wisdom and severing delusion are called one's own benefit. Because one's own benefit is complete, one can become worthy of offerings.
“They had exhausted all bonds of existence; their minds had attained mastery” praises nonarising. The various existences are the twenty-five modes of existence, the places where beings take birth. Bonds are likewise related to the twenty-five modes of existence but refer to the causes that bring birth about. When the cause of birth is exhausted, the fruit of birth disappears; the virtue of nonarising is clear. These statements should not be classified as praise of slaying thieves.
Strictly speaking, an arhat should only be said to have exhausted the bonds that are causes of birth; one should not yet say directly that the retributive modes of existence are already exhausted. “Existence is exhausted” here speaks of the fruit in advance while still at the causal stage, and also reflects that retributive existence will soon reach its end.
“Mastery of mind” means concentration is complete; “mastery of wisdom” means wisdom is complete. A person with mastery of wisdom does not necessarily have mastery of mind, while one with mastery of mind necessarily also has mastery of wisdom. Since the scripture here says that their minds had mastery, these are people liberated in both ways, complete in concentration and wisdom. The rebirth of one liberated in both ways is certainly exhausted. We therefore know that this sentence praises the virtue of nonarising.
According to the Treatise on the Lotus Sutra, this is called the successive rising from higher to higher, meaning that a later statement explains an earlier one. The treatise says: “Because all outflows have been exhausted, they are called arhats; because their minds have attained mastery, they are said to have exhausted the bonds of existence.” In this way, each later statement explains the preceding one.
12. Origin, Contemplating the Mind, and the Conclusion of the Five Statements
In terms of origin and manifestation, when even the nonarising in which the two vehicles abide no longer arises, this is called great nirvāṇa. The sources of the currents of afflictive outflow had long since dried up; they no longer fell to the ground of the two vehicles or the ground of ordinary beings. This is original nonarising. Dharma body, wisdom, the merit of severance, and the merit of the true mark are originally their own benefit. Having attained the King Samādhi, they can break the twenty-five modes of existence and display the eight masteries possessed by the self of intrinsic nature. This is original slaying of thieves; only in their traces do they manifest the merits of the two vehicles.
In contemplating the mind, correct contemplation of the middle path does not flow down into the two extremes of emptiness and provisional existence, and the afflictions of both extremes thereby cease. The nature of the contemplating mind is called the highest concentration. The secret treasury, like a jewel sewn into one's robe, was originally one's own possession; this is one's own benefit. When correct contemplation of the middle illuminates, the thieves of afflictive bonds are severed. Once the bonds no longer exist, the modes of existence born from them are also cut off. Neither the extreme of emptiness nor that of existence can bind this mind, and so it is called sovereign.
Thus, although afflictions still appear to be present, it is as though there were no afflictions. One enters nirvāṇa without annihilating afflictions. This is precisely the meaning expressed by this passage.
序品才開始列同聞眾，姓名尚未出現，《法華文句》便先停下來，說誰列在前、誰列在後，又逐字解釋『與、大、比丘、眾』。若只把這一段當作法會名簿，這些解釋似乎過於繁密；若看見它正在回答『什麼人能共同證成這一會佛法』，次序、類別、數量、位階與功德便都成了讀經入口。
本論不是把會眾介紹得更熱鬧，而是把『共同在場』一層層打開：外形相近，不等於所行全同；所證相同，不等於教化作用只有一種；名字列在一起，也不等於每個人只以眼前身分出現。列眾因此既是歷史場景，也是教法如何由人證成、由人承擔的場景。
一、列次是在排高下嗎？
聲聞在前、菩薩居中、天人雜眾在後，第一眼很容易讀成身分高下。本論先從事相說親疏：聲聞現出家形，近侍如來，能為經作證，所以先列；天人身服不同，不以侍奉之迹出現，所以後列；菩薩形儀不定，既不局於俗，也不局於僧，居在中間。
可是，它隨即又從義理改變觀看方向。聲聞欣向涅槃，天人著於生死，各在一邊；菩薩不住兩邊，以中道為宗，所以居中。再從本迹說，眼前列次更不是三種固定本性：聲聞可內祕菩薩行，天人也可由大菩薩示現；外迹分居兩邊，是為了牽引兩邊眾生，本地並不離中道。
於是，列次有它的事相理由，卻不能被凝固成價值階級。它先照顧法會中可見的親疏、形服與證信功能，再把讀者帶到不可只憑外形判定本地的深處。外在位置是真實的教化安排，不是眾生究竟德性的封印。
觀心一轉，又把三類會眾化成自己的三種用心：從假入空，破對生死的執著；從空入假，破對涅槃的執著；中道正觀不再落於先後。法會次序沒有消失，卻成為檢查自己是否仍被兩邊牽引的一面鏡。
二、一個『與』字，如何成為共同修學？
『與』在經句中只是很短的連接詞，本論卻用七個『一』解釋它：同一時、同一處、同一戒、同一心、同一見、同一道、同一解脫。真正的共同，不只是一群人同時坐在靈鷲山，也包括修學所依、所見、所行與所證的相應。
七一之中，時間、地點較容易理解；戒、心、見、道、解脫則逐步深入。共同受持規範，還不等於心與見完全相同；心與見相應，也還須在道路與解脫上得到印證。所以本論又遍歷不同教法，說同一個『一』會隨所理解的空、所行的道、所證的解脫而有深淺差別。
這也說明，共同不是取消差異。三藏教與通教可以同時、同處、同戒，心、見、道卻仍有不同；到了開三顯一，先前的共同關係才被帶進更深的一乘共同。共同的法會不是要求所有人一開始便站在同一位置，而是使不同位置的人都被同一佛道攝受。
聲聞的開合也從這裡展開。住果可以依析法、體法分開；應化可以依所登位次分開；使人聞佛道，也有次第、不次第之別。『聲聞』不是一個把所有差異壓平的名稱，它可以標示所聞、所證，也可以標示教化他人的方式。若只把聲聞理解為證涅槃者，便看不見同一名下廣大的利他作用。
三、『大、多、勝』是在稱讚人多勢眾嗎？
本論先從通常的釋義說：器量尊重，所以大；超出外道，所以勝；遍知內外典籍而人數又多，所以多。接著，它把三個形容詞改成道、用、知三個方向：所行之道大，所起之用大，所具之知大；每一方向又都可以說大、多、勝。
這一轉很重要。若只把『大』理解為聲望高、數量多，稱歎便停在外在規模；道、用、知則問這群人憑什麼值得尊重，能作什麼利益，又能明白多少法門。稱歎不再只是抬高人物，而是在交代他們何以能共同證成這一會。
不同教法中的大、多、勝也不是重複用三個好字。有人以無生之法勝過生滅之解，有人遍知如恆河沙數的佛法，有人於不可計量的法界無不明了；所知愈深，所能承擔的教化也愈廣。
本迹一段把這種廣大寫成五味轉進。他們本地功德久已成就，外迹卻進入愛見眾生之中，依次示現乳、酪、生酥、熟酥、醍醐中的大、多、勝。五味不是五個孤立標籤，而是一條教化路：眾生在當下能受哪一味，便先從那一味被引導，直到醍醐。大德之大，不在遠離較淺的眾生，而在能進入各種法味，逐步把人帶向佛道。
觀心又把大、多、勝收回一心。空觀之大，不受事相限量；假觀之多，能照見眾多差別；中觀之勝，不落空、有兩邊。心性廣如虛空，能雙遮兩邊、雙照二諦，於是大、多、勝不只用來形容會眾，也成為行者觀心的三面。
四、比丘三義，為何不能只留到修行終點？
比丘常以乞士、破惡、怖魔來解釋，另有持戒之義。本論先列古說，隨即追問：這些名稱只適用於阿羅漢果位，還是從出家初心便已開始？
初受戒時，戒的力量已經防止身口造惡；初修定時，貪瞋受到制伏；初修慧時，煩惱開始被觀照。破惡尚未究竟，卻已真實開始。剃髮受戒使魔憂惱，修定修慧更向出離前進，怖魔也不是到最後才忽然成立。離開邪命，以乞食自活；修禪求定，修慧求無漏，則一路都在求法資身。三義因此由初至後相互成就。
這種讀法避免把果德名稱變成與初心無關的勳章。初心已真實走在三義所指的方向，後心則使同一名稱顯出圓滿力量。戒、定、慧不是三段互不相干的履歷，而是破惡、怖魔、乞法之行逐漸成熟的過程。
不同教法又把三義推深。求真、破障、怖四魔，是一層；歷三諦求理、除通別惑、怖更多魔事，是一層；不離生死而求實相、照見煩惱即菩提、魔界即佛界，又是一層。名相不變，所破的迷惑、所求的真理與所見的不二卻逐步開展。
本迹一段用家庭與山頂的意象說出這條路。本地早登涅槃山頂，已離無明癡愛的父母、結業的妻子，走出分段與變易兩重之家；外迹卻仍示現為歷經五味的比丘，來調御眾生。這不是厭棄真實家庭，而是把造成生死的親密纏縛人格化，使『出家』從外形進入斷惑與度生。
觀心則把出家落在一念：心如虛空，不被兩邊桎梏；以中觀資養法身慧命，便是乞士；照見五住煩惱即是菩提，便是破惡；一切顛倒不離中道，便是怖魔。出家至此不只是一個身分，也是一種不住、不著而能自資慧命的心行。
五、和合眾，究竟和合什麼？
一人不能成僧，四人以上才可稱和合眾。然而，人數聚集只是起點。本論分事和、法和：共同生活、共同作法，不能另成分裂之眾；共同所依、所證之理，也不能各執另一個真理。
因此，它先以一千二百五十常隨眾及三明、俱解脫、慧解脫的差別說明人眾，再列破戒、愚癡、慚愧、真實四種僧。『眾』不保證其中每一人都已真實和合；是否依清淨正命、是否了解律法、是否在方便位知慚知愧、是否已入真實聖道，仍有分別。
眼前經會所列，取真實僧為證信。可是觀心釋沒有讓未證者無處安身：初學中觀而尚未發真，能對第一義生慚、對聖人生愧，已名有羞僧；觀慧真實發起，才名真實僧。慚愧不是失敗者的標記，而是相似位不自欺的力量。
本迹又把和合擴大：本來與實相理和，也與法界眾生的機緣和；外迹才示現為事理和合之僧，歷五味引導眾生。真正的和合既不離共同真理，也不離眾生千差萬別的機緣。
六、數目與位階，為何都能轉成觀心？
經文列一萬二千人，本論先照數目直說，又從本迹說本為菩薩、迹現聲聞。到了觀心，數字被轉成一幅觀境：十二入中，每一入含十法界；每一法界又含十界，界界各有十如是，所以一入成一千，十二入成一萬二千法門。
這不是把法會人數改成算術遊戲，而是提醒讀者：十二入中的每一處日常接觸，都能成為完整觀門。宏大的法會沒有離開一念經驗；一萬二千也不只停在遠古會眾的人數上。
說到位階，本論用無著、不生、應供三義解阿羅漢，又以殺賊說斷惑。無明像糠，脫去無明之糠，便不再於後世田中受生；煩惱像賊，斷盡九十八使，才不再失去真理之寶；智慧、斷德具足，便成為人天福田。
但別、圓二義又反轉熟悉的名稱。不只殺煩惱賊，也要破除對二乘涅槃的執著；不只不生於生死，也不住在無漏不生；不只受人供養，也能供養、利益一切眾生。果位愈深，不是與眾生愈遠，而是對生與不生都不住，對受供與供他都能開展。
七、五句歎德，為何後句可以解釋前句？
經中以諸漏已盡、無復煩惱、逮得己利、盡諸有結、心得自在五句稱歎阿羅漢。本論不把五句平排，而把它們收入殺賊、應供、不生三德。
前兩句說漏盡、煩惱盡。煩惱如賊，使人失去理寶，造成惡業與生死苦；它又像水分滋潤業種，使果報成熟。能潤的煩惱與所潤的業都盡，正是殺賊，不是泛泛稱讚心境清淨。
逮得己利，說智慧與斷惑功德已成，不再把三界因果認作真實己利；具足這份己利，便堪受供養。盡諸有結，心得自在，則把生因與生處連起來：結是招感二十五有的因，因盡則果亡；定與慧具足，心不再被生死繫縛，所以稱不生。
上上起門又把五句串成後後釋前前。心得自在，證成有結已盡；有結盡，證成漏盡；漏盡，才完整顯出阿羅漢。讀者若只逐句各找一個定義，便看不見稱歎本身具有推進方向。
最後的觀心把全段意象收在衣珠祕藏。中道正觀不漏落空、假兩邊，兩邊煩惱止息；能觀之心是上定，衣中寶珠原是己物。正觀斷結，結盡則有亦盡，兩邊不再束縛其心。於是，己利不是從外取得的新財物，而是祕藏顯發；自在也不是任由煩惱運行，而是雖對煩惱現前，仍不被它推入兩邊。
文句記之眼
湛然先收緊『諸經多爾』的範圍：多數經如此列眾，不表示每一部經都同次序。對舊來事、義兩解，他指出事解若展開，還須具足因緣教化的多面；義解若展開，也須辨不同教法。這使本論的『似』字得到保留：兩解可以收入四釋，卻不等於已把四釋全部說完。
在聲聞列次上，《文句記》補列先聲聞、後菩薩的八義，又列先僧、後尼的八義；但解大名聞、小名聞時，只肯依經文已有的數量與『眾所知識』來立，不替舊名另造根據。鏡照的作用一面是補足，一面也是限制。
對『與』字，湛然把七一配入教化的四種利益，又說通教有兩組七一，是依利根、鈍根而分。論本四種聲聞仍守決定、增上慢、退大、應化四類；佛道聲聞則是依經義另立。這層分辨使論本原列與智者再開不相混。
解大、多、勝時，湛然說智者所立道、用、知，每一項都兼含大、多、勝；又把五味貫通於萬二千人。解『一心一切心』時，他以心、境互攝而說一切不出三千。三千是鏡中的解釋語，不是智者本段已寫出的約詞；它能照明一句，不能取代一句。
解比丘時，湛然分清僧肇四義、羅什始終之分與《大智度論》三義，並指出《涅槃》《寶梁》雖只取破惡，仍以破惡為根本。他又說五味若被拿掉，便不能顯出這是《法華》會上的比丘；所以，本迹段的五味不是旁加年代標籤，而是這群聲聞如何進入本經教化的關鍵。
解『眾』時，《記》把事和、法和連回前面的七一，又把觀解中的慚愧、真實安在相似與發真兩層。解明數時，它先判直接舉數屬於因緣，觀中一入各具十界則正是妙境，使數量、教化與觀心各有歸屬。
《記》又追問，萬二千是否全是大權示現，回答時分開發起、影響、退大、應化與原住小乘，不讓一個本迹公式平均套在全數；釋十二入時，則指出一入各具十界正是妙境，數先依假名建立，空、中本無定數。數可以轉成觀門，卻不能把每一人或每一法實體化為同一類。
到了明位與歎德，湛然先把應真讀成能應之智與所應之理，把小乘三義、大乘三德分成兩重；再用殺賊、智斷、己利、應供串成一條因果鏈。心得自在不是孤立的第五項，而是回頭照明有結、諸漏與阿羅漢。鏡照至此仍沒有另造一套功德表，只是讓本論五句之間後後釋前前的力量清楚顯出。
Why does a single scriptural phrase, “together with the great assembly of bhikṣus,” require such a long explanation? The Introduction chapter has only begun to list the assembly who heard together, and no individual names have yet appeared, but the Fahua Wenju pauses to explain who is listed first and last and then interprets each word in “together with,” “great,” “bhikṣu,” and “assembly.” If this passage is read merely as the roster of a Dharma gathering, such detail may seem excessive. Once we see that it is answering, “Who can jointly attest the Dharma of this assembly?”, order, class, number, stage, and virtue all become entrances into reading the scripture.
The treatise does not simply make the assembly more colorful. It opens “being present together” layer by layer: similarity of outward form does not mean complete identity of conduct; similarity of attainment does not mean there is only one kind of transforming function; and names listed together do not mean that each person appears only in the identity presently visible. The listing of the assembly is therefore both a historical scene and a scene in which a teaching is attested and borne by persons.
1. Does the Order Rank the Assembly from High to Low?
Śrāvakas come first, bodhisattvas occupy the middle, and the mixed assembly of gods and humans comes last. At first glance this is easily read as a hierarchy of status. The treatise first explains circumstantial closeness and distance: śrāvakas manifest the form of renunciants, attend closely upon the Tathāgata, and can attest the scripture, so they are listed first. Gods and humans differ in form and clothing and do not appear as attendants, so they are listed later. Bodhisattvas have no fixed outward deportment; confined neither to lay nor monastic form, they stand in the middle.
The treatise immediately changes the direction of vision through doctrine. Śrāvakas delight in nirvāṇa, while gods and humans cling to saṃsāra, each occupying one extreme. Bodhisattvas abide in neither and take the middle path as their principle, so they occupy the middle. From Origin and Trace, the visible order is even less a statement of three fixed natures: śrāvakas may inwardly conceal bodhisattva conduct, and gods and humans may likewise be manifestations of great bodhisattvas. Their traces occupy opposite sides in order to draw beings away from both extremes, while their origins do not depart from the middle path.
The ordering therefore has circumstantial reasons but cannot be frozen into a hierarchy of ultimate worth. It first accommodates the visible closeness, clothing, and attestational functions of the Dharma assembly, then leads readers to the depth at which original identity cannot be judged from outward form. Outward position is a real arrangement for transformation, not a seal placed upon beings' ultimate virtue.
Contemplating the mind turns the three classes into three operations within oneself. Entering emptiness from the provisional breaks attachment to saṃsāra; entering the provisional from emptiness breaks attachment to nirvāṇa; correct contemplation of the middle no longer falls into before or after. The order of the Dharma assembly does not disappear but becomes a mirror for asking whether one's own mind is still being pulled by the two extremes.
2. How Does One Word, “Together With,” Become a Shared Practice?
“Together with” is a very short connective in the scriptural sentence, yet the treatise explains it through seven unities: one time, one place, one discipline, one mind, one view, one path, and one liberation. True commonality does not mean only that a group sits together on Vulture Peak. It also includes accord in the foundations, vision, practice, and realization of cultivation.
Time and place are readily understood; discipline, mind, view, path, and liberation move progressively deeper. Sharing a rule of discipline does not mean that mind and view are already identical. Accord in mind and view must still be confirmed in the path and liberation. The treatise therefore traverses different teachings and shows that the meaning of “one” varies according to the emptiness understood, the path practiced, and the liberation realized.
This also shows that commonality does not erase difference. Practitioners of the Tripiṭaka and shared teachings may have the same time, place, discipline, and liberation, while their minds, views, and paths still differ. Only through opening the three to reveal the one is the earlier relation of commonality carried into the deeper commonality of the One Vehicle. A shared Dharma assembly does not demand that everyone begin from the same position; it allows people in different positions to be gathered by the same Buddha path.
The category of śrāvaka unfolds from here. Those abiding in fruition may be distinguished according to analysis or direct comprehension of dharmas; those responding through manifestation may be distinguished by the stage attained; and those who enable others to hear the Buddha path may do so sequentially or nonsequentially. “Śrāvaka” is not a name that flattens every difference. It may indicate what is heard and realized, or the way one enables others to hear. If śrāvakas are understood only as those who have realized nirvāṇa, the vast altruistic function within the same name disappears.
3. Do “Great, Many, and Superior” Merely Praise a Large and Impressive Crowd?
The treatise begins with the ordinary gloss: they are great because their capacity commands respect, superior because they surpass outsiders, and many because they know both inner and outer writings and are numerous. It then turns these adjectives into three directions—path, function, and knowledge. Their path is great, their function great, their knowledge great; each direction can in turn be described as great, many, and superior.
This turn is important. If “great” refers only to fame or numbers, praise stops at outward scale. Path, function, and knowledge instead ask why these people merit respect, what benefit they can perform, and how much of the Dharma they understand. Praise no longer merely elevates figures; it explains why they are able jointly to attest this assembly.
Great, many, and superior within different teachings are not repetitions of three complimentary words. Some surpass an explanation in terms of arising and ceasing through the Dharma of nonarising; some know buddhadharmas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges; some comprehend the immeasurable Dharma realm. The deeper the knowledge, the broader the transforming work that can be borne.
The passage on Origin and Trace writes this breadth as movement through the five flavors. Their original virtues were accomplished long ago, yet in manifestation they enter among beings of craving and wrong views and display the great, many, and superior of milk, curds, raw ghee, refined ghee, and clarified essence in sequence. The five flavors are not five isolated labels but a path of transformation: beings first receive the flavor they can bear and are then gradually led toward clarified essence. The greatness of the great disciples lies not in keeping far from shallower beings but in entering every flavor of Dharma and leading people step by step toward the Buddha path.
Contemplating the mind returns great, many, and superior to one mind. The greatness of emptiness is not confined by phenomena; the multiplicity of the provisional illuminates many distinctions; the superiority of the middle falls into neither emptiness nor existence. Mind-nature is broad as space, can simultaneously block both extremes and illuminate both truths, and thereby makes great, many, and superior not only descriptions of the assembly but three aspects of a practitioner's contemplation.
4. Why Can the Three Meanings of Bhikṣu Not Be Reserved for the End of Practice?
Bhikṣu is commonly explained as alms-seeker, breaker of evil, and one who frightens Māra, with the additional meaning of maintaining the precepts. After listing the ancient explanations, the treatise asks at once whether these names apply only at arhat fruition or already begin with the first aspiration to leave home.
When one first receives the precepts, their power already prevents evil of body and speech. When one first cultivates concentration, greed and anger begin to be subdued. When one first cultivates wisdom, afflictions begin to be contemplated. The breaking of evil is not yet final, but it has genuinely begun. Shaving the hair and receiving the precepts already grieves Māra; cultivating concentration and wisdom proceeds still further toward departure, so frightening Māra does not suddenly become true only at the end. Leaving wrong livelihood, living by alms, seeking concentration in meditation, and seeking uncontaminated wisdom all nourish the path. The three meanings therefore mutually complete one another from beginning to end.
This reading prevents a name of final virtue from becoming a medal unrelated to beginners. The beginner already moves in the direction indicated by the three meanings; the later stage brings the power of the same name to completion. Discipline, concentration, and wisdom are not three unrelated entries on a résumé but the gradual maturation of breaking evil, frightening Māra, and seeking the Dharma as nourishment.
Different teachings deepen the three meanings. Seeking truth, breaking obstructions, and frightening the four Māras form one level. Seeking the principle throughout the three truths, removing shared and distinct delusions, and frightening further forms of Māra form another. Seeking the flavor of the true mark without leaving saṃsāra, seeing afflictions as awakening and the realm of Māra as the realm of the Buddha, form another still. The terms remain, while the delusion broken, truth sought, and nonduality seen unfold progressively.
The passage on Origin and Trace uses the images of a household and a mountaintop. In their origin these disciples long ago ascended Mount Nirvāṇa, left the parents of ignorance and deluded craving and the wife of afflictive bonds and karma, and departed from both fragmentary and transformational birth-and-death. In their traces, however, they still manifest as bhikṣus passing through the five flavors to train beings. The imagery does not disparage an actual family; it personifies the intimate bonds that produce birth-and-death and carries “leaving home” from outward form into severing delusion and liberating beings.
Contemplating the mind places leaving home within a single thought. When mind is like space and unbound by the two extremes, and great impartial wisdom neither abides nor clings, this is leaving home. Nourishing Dharma body and wisdom-life with contemplation of the middle is being an alms-seeker. Seeing the afflictions of the five abodes as themselves awakening is breaking evil; seeing every inversion as none other than the middle path is frightening Māra. Leaving home is now not only an identity but a way of mind that does not abide or cling and can nourish wisdom-life.
5. What Exactly Is United in a Harmonious Assembly?
One person cannot constitute a saṃgha; four or more can be called a harmoniously united assembly. Yet a gathering of numbers is only the beginning. The treatise distinguishes harmony in communal affairs and harmony in Dharma: those who live and act together do not form a second, divided assembly, while in the principle they share and realize they do not each cling to a separate truth.
It therefore first describes the twelve hundred and fifty constant followers and the distinctions among those possessing the three knowledges, liberation in both ways, and liberation through wisdom. It then lists four kinds of saṃgha: precept-breaking, ignorant, conscience-bearing, and true. The word “assembly” does not guarantee that every member is already truly united. Differences remain according to whether one lives by pure right livelihood, understands the discipline, knows shame and moral dread at the preparatory stage, or has entered the true noble path.
The present scriptural assembly is taken as the true saṃgha that attests the teaching. Yet the contemplation of mind leaves room for those not yet realized. One who is beginning contemplation of the middle, has reached approximative contemplation but not true realization, and feels shame before ultimate meaning and moral dread before the sages is already called a conscience-bearing saṃgha; only when contemplative wisdom truly arises is it called the true saṃgha. Shame and moral dread are not badges of failure but the strength of an approximative stage that refuses self-deception.
Origin and Trace expand harmony further. Originally these disciples were united with the principle of the true mark and with the capacities of beings throughout the Dharma realm; outwardly they manifested as a saṃgha united in communal affairs and principle and led beings through the five flavors. Interpretation through contemplating the mind then returns this harmony to present practice. True harmony departs neither from a shared truth nor from the innumerably different capacities of beings.
6. Why Can Number and Stage Both Become Contemplation of the Mind?
The scripture lists twelve thousand people. The treatise first takes the number directly, then says through Origin and Trace that they were originally bodhisattvas but manifested as śrāvakas. In contemplating the mind, the number becomes a field of contemplation: each of the twelve entrances contains ten Dharma realms, each realm in turn contains all ten, and every realm has the ten suchnesses. One entrance thus contains one thousand, and the twelve entrances contain twelve thousand Dharma gates.
This does not turn the size of the assembly into a game of arithmetic. It reminds readers that every ordinary contact through the twelve entrances can become a complete gate of contemplation. The immense Dharma assembly has not departed from the experience of one thought; twelve thousand does not remain only the number of an ancient audience.
When explaining stage, the treatise uses unattached, nonarising, and worthy of offerings to explain arhat, and speaks of slaying thieves to describe the severing of delusion. Ignorance is like husk: once grain is freed from it, there is no further birth in the field of a later life. Afflictions are thieves: when the ninety-eight compulsions are exhausted, the jewel of truth is no longer lost. When wisdom and severance are complete, the practitioner becomes a field of merit for humans and gods.
The distinct and perfect teachings then reverse familiar meanings. One not only slays the thief of affliction but breaks attachment to the nirvāṇa that people of the two vehicles do not regard as a thief. One not only ceases to be born in saṃsāra but does not abide even in uncontaminated nonarising. One not only receives offerings but also makes offerings to and benefits every being. The deeper the stage, the farther it is from withdrawing from beings: it abides neither in arising nor nonarising and opens both receiving and giving.
7. Why Can Later Statements Explain Earlier Ones in the Fivefold Praise?
The scripture praises the arhats with five statements: their outflows had been exhausted, they had no further afflictions, they had attained their own benefit, they had exhausted all bonds of existence, and their minds had attained mastery. The treatise does not leave the five in a flat list but gathers them under the three virtues of slaying thieves, worthiness of offerings, and nonarising.
The first two statements concern exhausted outflows and afflictions. Afflictions are thieves that rob beings of the jewel of truth, and like moisture they nourish karmic seeds until fruit ripens. When both what moistens and what is moistened have been exhausted, this is slaying thieves rather than a vague praise of inner purity.
Attaining one's own benefit means that wisdom and the merit of severing delusion are complete and that one no longer mistakes causes and fruits within the three realms for true personal benefit. With this benefit complete, one is worthy of offerings. Exhausting the bonds of existence and attaining mastery of mind joins the cause of birth to its place: bonds bring forth the twenty-five modes of existence, and when the cause is exhausted the fruit disappears. Concentration and wisdom are complete and the mind is no longer bound by saṃsāra; this is nonarising.
The mode called successive rising from higher to higher links the five as later explaining earlier. Mastery of mind confirms that the bonds of existence are exhausted; exhausted bonds confirm that outflows are exhausted; exhausted outflows fully disclose the arhat. If readers merely assign one definition to each sentence, they miss the direction in which the praise itself advances.
The final contemplation of mind gathers the whole passage into the secret jewel in the robe. Correct contemplation of the middle does not fall into the extremes of emptiness or the provisional, and afflictions on both sides cease. The contemplating mind is the highest concentration, while the jewel in the robe was one's own all along. Correct contemplation severs the thieves of the bonds; when bonds cease, the existence born from them also ceases, and neither extreme can bind the mind. One's own benefit is not newly acquired wealth but the disclosure of the secret treasury. Sovereignty is not permission for affliction to run unchecked but freedom from being driven by it into either extreme.
Through the Eye of the Wenjuji
Zhanran first narrows the scope of “most scriptures are like this”: the fact that many scriptures arrange their assemblies in this order does not mean that every scripture does. On the two traditional circumstantial and doctrinal explanations, he says that the former, if unfolded, would still need the several aspects of causal transformation, while the latter would still need distinctions among the teachings. The treatise's “resembles” is thereby preserved: the two explanations can be gathered within the fourfold interpretation without already exhausting it.
For the ordering of the śrāvakas, the Wenjuji supplies eight reasons for placing śrāvakas before bodhisattvas and eight for placing monks before nuns. Yet when explaining “great renown” and “lesser renown,” it allows the terms to rest only on the numbers and the scripture's wording “known to the assembly”; it does not manufacture a basis for the traditional names. The mirror both supplements and restrains.
For “together with,” Zhanran maps the seven unities to four benefits of transformation and says that the shared teaching has two sets because it distinguishes sharp and dull faculties. The treatise's four śrāvakas remain the fixed, arrogant, regressing from the great, and manifested; “śrāvaka of the Buddha path” is established separately according to the scripture's meaning. This distinction prevents the treatise's original list and Zhiyi's further unfolding from being confused.
In explaining great, many, and superior, Zhanran says that Zhiyi's path, function, and knowledge each contain all three meanings. He also extends the five flavors through all twelve thousand people. Explaining “one mind, all minds,” he says that mind and object mutually include one another and that all lies within three thousand. “Three thousand” is language of the mirror, not a later summary expression already written by Zhiyi in this passage; it can illuminate the sentence but cannot replace it.
In explaining bhikṣu, Zhanran distinguishes Sengzhao's four meanings, Kumārajīva's division between beginning and end, and the three meanings in the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom. He notes that although the Great Nirvāṇa Sutra and the Ratnakūṭa Sutra cite only breaking evil, they still take that as the root meaning. He also says that if the five flavors are removed, one cannot show that these are bhikṣus at the Lotus assembly. The five flavors in the Origin-and-Trace passage are therefore not an appended chronological label but the key to how these śrāvakas enter the transforming work of this scripture.
In explaining “assembly,” the Record links harmony in communal affairs and Dharma back to the preceding seven unities and places conscience-bearing and true saṃgha at the respective levels of approximation and true arising. When explaining the number, it first classifies the direct statement of twelve thousand under causes and conditions; one entrance containing each of the ten realms in contemplation is precisely the wondrous object. Number, transformation, and contemplating the mind thereby retain their proper levels.
The Record further asks whether all twelve thousand are manifestations of great provisional beings. Its reply distinguishes instigators, influential companions, those regressing from the great, responsive manifestations, and those originally abiding in the lesser vehicle, preventing one Origin-and-Trace formula from being applied evenly to the whole number. In explaining the twelve entrances, it says that each entrance containing the ten realms is precisely the wondrous object, while number is first established provisionally and neither emptiness nor the middle has a fixed number. Number can become a gate of contemplation without turning every person or dharma into an identical entity.
At the discussion of stage and praise, Zhanran first reads “responding to truth” as the knowing that responds and the principle responded to, then distinguishes the three Lesser Vehicle meanings from the three Mahāyāna virtues. He links slaying thieves, wisdom and severance, one's own benefit, and worthiness of offerings into a causal sequence. Mastery of mind is not an isolated fifth item but turns back to illuminate the bonds of existence, the outflows, and arhatship. Even here the mirror does not invent another table of virtues; it only makes clear the power by which later statements in the treatise explain earlier ones.
考據Apparatus
本單元承接序品證信序，先總判同聞眾的列次，再進入聲聞眾中的多知識比丘，依次釋類、數、位、歎德四科。『與、大、比丘、眾』四字各自展開，並反覆運用因緣、約教、本迹、觀心；四釋隨文顯義，不作逐句齊備的四格。
一、科判定位
嚴格域為 T34n1718〔0005c29–0008a09〕：起於「釋同聞眾為三」〔T34 0005c29〕，終於「不斷煩惱而入涅槃即其義也」〔T34 0008a08–0008a09〕。同一行隨後另起「五、列名」〔T34 0008a09〕，已屬下一子單元，不納入本域。
本單元位於迹門〈序品〉，所消根經為「與大比丘眾萬二千人俱，皆是阿羅漢，諸漏已盡，無復煩惱，逮得己利，盡諸有結，心得自在」〔T09 0001c20–0001c22〕。本論先把同聞眾分為聲聞、菩薩、雜眾，再把聲聞分為比丘、比丘尼；比丘又分多知識、少知識，多知識眾復分六科。本域恰收六科中的前四：類、數、位、歎德；列名、結及少知識眾以下另屬後續子單元。
依本論明示轉折，可分十二節：
| 次第 | 行域 | 本論內容 |
|---|---|---|
| 一 | 0005c29–0006a14 | 同聞眾三類及事、義、本迹、觀心四重列次 |
| 二 | 0006a14–0006a20 | 聲聞、比丘與多知識眾的層級，總標六科與類義 |
| 三 | 0006a21–0006b04 | 釋『與』：七一、四教七一與聲聞開合 |
| 四 | 0006b04–0006c01 | 釋『大』兼多、勝：道、用、知，約教、本迹、觀心 |
| 五 | 0006c01–0007a12 | 釋『比丘』：諸家釋名、三義、約教、本迹、觀心 |
| 六 | 0007a12–0007a29 | 釋『眾』：和合、四種僧、約教、本迹、觀解 |
| 七 | 0007a29–0007b04 | 明數：一萬二千、本迹及十二入觀 |
| 八 | 0007b04–0007b19 | 明位前半：阿羅漢釋名、因果三義與約教 |
| 九 | 0007b19–0007c04 | 明位後半：本迹、三觀三德及持經者校量 |
| 十 | 0007c05–0007c15 | 歎德前半：五句歎三德、三漏與殺賊 |
| 十一 | 0007c15–0007c28 | 歎德中段：己利、有結、心慧自在與上上起門 |
| 十二 | 0007c28–0008a09 | 歎德後半：本迹、觀心與全域收束 |
《法華文句記》對位域起於「釋列眾中，初辨次第」〔T34n1719 0165a24〕，終於「為如無煩惱入涅槃也」〔T34n1719 0169b09〕；同一行隨即另起「列名中初總為五：」〔T34n1719 0169b09〕。兩本在同一科界閉合。
二、成立與傳本
本單元承卷端傳承而來。神逈序稱全書「迺是灌頂法師私記，合二十卷」〔T34 0001a23–0001a24〕，現行二十半卷的卷首題署則皆作「天台智者大師說」〔T34 0001b20〕。因此，義說歸智者，筆錄歸灌頂；兩層相承而不互換署名。
神逈序又記天寶戊子朗和尚因文勢不次而「因夢所感，方始條倫」〔T34 0001b06–0001b07〕，並自陳「非苟求同異輒有增減於其間矣」〔T34 0001b07–0001b08〕。這是治定者一方的傳本聲明；原先不次本、條倫本與後來所據本缺少足供逐層反校的古本，故只誌傳承，不判譜系。
本域所見〔云云〕皆為所傳夾註，不與正文連寫。現行讀本把八枚夾註分層作〔云云〕，不因白話順讀而抹去。
三、所帖經文與所引
（一）所帖《妙法蓮華經》
本單元所消經文位於〈序品〉證信眾。根經讀本整段前置頁錨在〔T09 0001c19〕，但本域所帖首字『與』的實位是〔T09 0001c20〕。逐句對位如下：
| 《文句》所釋 | T34n1718 錨 | T09n0262 今本 |
|---|---|---|
| 與 | 《釋論》明「與」者，共義〔T34 0006a21〕 | 「與大比丘眾萬二千人俱」〔T09 0001c20〕 |
| 大 | 「大」者，《釋論》明「大」者〔T34 0006b04〕 | 「大比丘眾」〔T09 0001c20〕 |
| 比丘 | 「比丘」者〔T34 0006c01〕 | 「比丘眾」〔T09 0001c20〕 |
| 眾 | 「眾」者，天竺云僧伽〔T34 0007a12〕 | 「眾萬二千人俱」〔T09 0001c20〕 |
| 萬二千 | 「二、明數者，即是一萬二千人也」〔T34 0007a29〕 | 「萬二千人俱」〔T09 0001c20〕 |
| 皆是阿羅漢 | 「三、明位者，皆是阿羅漢也」〔T34 0007b04〕 | 「皆是阿羅漢」〔T09 0001c20〕 |
| 諸漏已盡 | 「諸漏已盡，無復煩惱」〔T34 0007c06〕 | 「諸漏」〔T09 0001c20〕接「已盡」〔T09 0001c21〕 |
| 無復煩惱 | 同句〔T34 0007c06〕 | 「無復煩惱」〔T09 0001c21〕 |
| 逮得己利 | 「逮得己利」〔T34 0007c15〕 | 「逮得己利」〔T09 0001c21〕 |
| 盡諸有結 | 「盡諸有結，心得自在」〔T34 0007c17〕 | 「盡諸有結」〔T09 0001c21〕 |
| 心得自在 | 同句〔T34 0007c17〕 | 「心得」〔T09 0001c21〕接「自在」〔T09 0001c22〕 |
（二）《大智度論》所見列次與七一
本論先列事解、義解，結為「《釋論》意亦爾」〔T34 0006a09〕。今本《大智度論》先說「若從上數，應先菩薩，次第比丘、比丘尼、優婆塞、優婆夷，菩薩次佛故」〔T25 0084c12–0084c14〕，繼而問：「今何以先說比丘，次三眾，後說菩薩？」〔T25 0084c15–0084c16〕，答以「菩薩雖應次佛，以諸煩惱未盡故，先說阿羅漢」〔T25 0084c16–0084c17〕，其後又從顯示、祕密及方便示現五道等續釋。這可證先列聲聞的論題；本論所說形服親疎、欣涅槃與著生死，不是今本此段的逐字連文。
本論七一次序為「一時、一處、一戒、一心、一見、一道、一解脫」〔T34 0006a21–0006a22〕；今本作「共」名一處、一時、一心、一戒、一見、一道、一解脫，是名為「共」〔T25 0079b24–0079b25〕。七項相同，排列次序有別，兩本各守原字。
（三）《大智度論》所釋大、多、勝
| 《文句》原句 | 《大智度論》今本 | 異同 |
|---|---|---|
| 「大」者，《釋論》明「大」者，亦言多，亦言勝〔T34 0006b04–0006b05〕 | 「摩訶」，秦言大，或多，或勝。〔T25 0079b25–0079b26〕 | 三義直接相應，今本主詞作摩訶 |
| 「為天王等大人所敬故言大」〔T34 0006b05–0006b06〕 | 「云何大？一切眾中最上故，一切障礙斷故，天王等大人恭敬故，是名為大。」〔T25 0079b26–0079b28〕 | 本論撮取第三項 |
| 「遍知內外經書故言多，又數至一萬二千故言多」〔T34 0006b07–0006b08〕 | 「云何多？數至五千，故名多。」〔T25 0079b28〕 | 所釋經本的人數不同；今本此處沒有遍知內外經書 |
| 「升出九十五種道外故言勝」〔T34 0006b06〕 | 「云何勝？一切九十六種道論議，能破故名勝。」〔T25 0079b28–0079b29〕 | 九十五、九十六及升出、能破皆有別 |
（四）《大智度論》所釋比丘、四僧與大數
今本分散說明比丘三義：
一、乞士：「比丘名乞士，清淨活命故，名為乞士。」〔T25 0079c01–0079c02〕。
二、破煩惱：復次，「比」名破，「丘」名煩惱；能破煩惱，故名比丘。〔T25 0080a02–0080a03〕
三、怖魔：復次，「比」名怖，「丘」名能，能怖魔王及魔人民。〔T25 0080a05–0080a06〕
《文句》自《釋論》云：「怖魔、破惡、乞士」〔T34 0006c07〕以下，把三義鋪陳成相互成就的一段；今本沒有這段長文，故只判依義展述，不把整段套作今本逐字。
四種僧的名稱亦有差別：
| 《文句》 | 《大智度論》今本 | 對位 |
|---|---|---|
| 「不依淨命名破戒僧，不解法律名愚癡僧，五方便名慚愧僧，苦法忍去名真實僧」〔T34 0007a18–0007a20〕 | 「是僧四種：有羞僧、無羞僧、啞羊僧、實僧。」〔T25 0080a14–0080a15〕 | 四名不逐字相同 |
| 破戒僧〔T34 0007a18〕 | 「云何名無羞僧？破戒，身、口不淨，無惡不作，是名無羞僧。」〔T25 0080a17–0080a18〕 | 破戒與無羞依義相應 |
| 愚癡僧〔T34 0007a19〕 | 「云何名啞羊僧？雖不破戒，鈍根無慧，不別好醜」〔T25 0080a18–0080a20〕 | 不解法律與啞羊依義相應 |
| 真實僧〔T34 0007a20〕 | 「云何名實僧？若學人、若無學人，住四果中、行四向道，是名實僧。」〔T25 0080a22–0080a24〕 | 實僧明文；本論另以苦法忍起界定 |
《文句記》引《大論》作「若過若減皆存大數」〔T34n1719 0167c15〕；今本作云何名「大數」？少過少減，是名為「大數」。〔T25 0080a28–0080a29〕兩句意近而不逐字相同。
（五）《法華論》兩譯
兩譯所列四種聲聞同文：
- 「聲聞有四種：一者決定聲聞；二者增上慢聲聞；三者退菩提心聲聞；四者應化聲聞。」〔T26n1519 0009a15–0009a17〕。
- 「聲聞有四種：一者決定聲聞；二者增上慢聲聞；三者退菩提心聲聞；四者應化聲聞。」〔T26n1520 0018b09–0018b10〕。
兩譯都沒有把佛道聲聞列作第五類。本論從四種聲聞再開住果、應化、佛道；《記》明說又「佛道」者，準經義立〔T34n1719 0166b18〕，故佛道聲聞屬智者依經義所立的再開。
本論引總別門作《法華論》云：「初句總，後句別。」〔T34 0007c05–0007c06〕今本一譯作總別相門者，「皆是阿羅漢」等十六句。初句是總，餘句別故。〔T26n1519 0001c21–0001c22〕另一譯作「總別門者，皆是羅漢等十六句，初句總，餘句別故。」〔T26n1520 0011b07–0011b08〕本論的後句是撮語，兩今本皆作餘句。
兩譯又同列三門：「一者上上起門；二者總別相門；三者攝取事門。」〔T26n1519 0001b27–0001b28；T26n1520 0011a16–0011a17〕。
本論所引上上起門為「以諸漏盡故名羅漢，以心得自在故名有結盡」〔T34 0007c27–0007c28〕。今本一譯作「上上起門者，謂諸漏已盡故，名為阿羅漢。以心得自在故，名為諸漏已盡。」〔T26n1519 0001b29–0001c01〕；另一譯作「上上起門者，謂諸漏已盡故名為羅漢，以心得自在故名諸漏已盡」〔T26n1520 0011a17–0011a19〕。兩今本均以心得自在釋諸漏已盡，不作名有結盡，異者並錄。
《記》另自稱「準《法華論》以八義故，先列聲聞」〔T34n1719 0165b16〕，又稱「《論》又云：先僧次尼亦有八義」〔T34n1719 0165c03〕。現行兩譯的可辨對應場景中，未取得兩套八項的連續逐字段；只記《記》的傳錄狀態，不虛構今本對位。
（六）肇師、什師與《注維摩詰經》
今本《注維摩詰經》對『與大比丘眾八千人俱』的注釋如下：
- 肇曰：「比丘，秦言或名淨乞食、或名破煩惱、或名淨持戒、或名能怖魔。天竺一名該此四義，秦言無一名以譯之，故存義名焉。」〔T38 0328b04–0328b07〕。
- 什曰：「摩訶，秦言大、亦言勝、亦言多。」〔T38 0328b09–0328b10〕；又說「比丘，秦言破煩惱、亦言乞士。除五種邪命養法身，故言乞士。」〔T38 0328b12–0328b13〕。
《文句》所引肇句作「秦言淨命，乞食、破煩惱、能持戒、怖魔等」〔T34 0006c02–0006c03〕，標點、詞形與今本不同；什師長段自「始出妻子家」〔T34 0006c04〕至「天魔怖其出境也」〔T34 0006c06〕，也不是今本什注的連文。兩段均標作《文句》所引或展述，不冒稱 T1775 逐字。
（七）《涅槃》與《寶梁》
《文句》說「《涅槃》、《寶梁》皆舉破惡名比丘者，不具說也」〔T34 0006c13–0006c14〕。今本《大般涅槃經》作「比丘，比丘之人名破煩惱。我今不破惡覺煩惱，云何當得名為比丘？」〔T12 0742b27–0742b28〕；《大寶積經》〈寶梁聚會〉作「所言比丘，比丘者能破煩惱，故名比丘。」〔T11 0640b21–0640b22〕。兩今本均作破煩惱，本論總攝為破惡，意同而非同字。
（八）九十人三明的典籍自標
本論自標《雜阿含》四十五，所引為「五百比丘中，九十人三明，九十人俱解脫，餘但慧解脫」〔T34 0007a17–0007a18〕。
今本直接場景在《中阿含經》卷二十九，先問：「此五百比丘，幾比丘得三明達？幾比丘得俱解脫？幾比丘得慧解脫耶？」〔T01n0026 0610b22–0610b24〕，再答：「此五百比丘，九十比丘得三明達，九十比丘得俱解脫，餘比丘得慧解脫。」〔T01n0026 0610b24–0610b26〕。另有《佛說解夏經》平行：「此五百苾芻中，九十苾芻得三明法，九十苾芻得俱解脫，餘者苾芻得慧解脫。」〔T01n0063 0862a04–0862a06〕。《記》亦說「九十人三明」者，《中含》二十九文同〔T34n1719 0167b23〕。故並錄本論自標、今本直接場景與《記》所指，不靜默改動原典層的典名。
（九）《阿颰經》與《瑞應》
本論說「《阿颰經》云應真；《瑞應》云真人」〔T34 0007b05〕。今本《佛開解梵志阿颰經》作「不復疑惑，乃得羅漢。羅漢者為已應真」〔T01n0020 0261c22〕；《太子瑞應本起經》作「一心之道，謂之羅漢。羅漢者真人也」〔T03n0185 0475a26〕。T1718 作阿颰，《記》作阿跋〔T34n1719 0168a10〕，字形並錄不改。
（十）《方等》與〈法師品〉
本論引《方等》作「供佛及文殊，不如施行方等者一食充軀」〔T34 0007b28–0007b29〕。今本《大方等陀羅尼經》有兩個相關場景：
一、先說「若有一人神通無礙，如文殊師利亦喻於我」〔T21 0648a01–0648a02〕，再校量供養一生補處菩薩，仍不及供養經中四句偈或讀誦者〔T21 0648a03–0648a09〕。
二、另說「若復有人持四天下，以積珍寶至于梵天以供於我，不如有人與彼受持經者一食充軀。」〔T21 0649a18–0649a20〕。
本論把佛、文殊校量與一食充軀校量撮合成一句；今本兩場不相連，故分列，不合造今本連文。
本論又概括下文為「毀讚佛罪福輕，毀讚持經者罪福重」〔T34 0007b29–0007c01〕。根經現文作：「若有惡人，以不善心，於一劫中現於佛前，常毀罵佛，其罪尚輕」〔T09 0030c29–0031a02〕；續云「若人以一惡言，毀呰在家、出家讀誦法華經者，其罪甚重。」〔T09 0031a02–0031a03〕。今本直接說毀罵、毀呰及罪輕重，未說讚與福；本論是雙向概括。
（十一）三種漏義
本論依次引《成論》云：「失道故名漏。」〔T34 0007c08〕、律云：「癡人造業，開諸漏門。」〔T34 0007c08–0007c09〕與毘曇云：「漏落生死。」〔T34 0007c09〕。
《成實論》今本的直接三漏場作：「欲界中除無明，餘一切煩惱名為欲漏；色無色界有漏亦如是；三界無明名無明漏。」〔T32 0320b01–0320b03〕。此場定義三漏，未見失道故名漏的連文，故不冒稱已逐字對上。
《十誦律》先說「汝愚癡人！不知我以種種因緣呵欲」〔T23 0001c09–0001c10〕，後問「何況乃作起欲恚癡結縛根本不淨惡業？」〔T23 0001c12–0001c13〕，接「是愚癡人開諸漏門」〔T23 0001c13–0001c14〕。本論的癡人造業是壓縮撮語，今本沒有造業二字緊接癡人。
泛稱毘曇尚未唯一鎖成一部現行 T 本。《阿毘曇毘婆沙論》有「留住義是漏義、浸漬義是漏義、流出義是漏義」〔T28 0189c06–0189c07〕，又說眾生在生死法中不能自出〔T28 0189c15–0189c16〕，可作近義場，不冒充漏落生死的逐字出處。較後的《大般涅槃經疏》保存「但數家稱為漏落生死，論家稱為漏失道理」〔T38 0160b02–0160b03〕，只能證中古疏家傳承兩種語型，不能倒代《成實論》或某一毘曇原本。
四、文句記釋要〔鏡〕
湛然以同一連續鏡域逐科照明本段，並明確在〔T34n1719 0169b09〕轉入下一科列名。
| 《文句》節點 | 《文句記》逐字釋要 |
|---|---|
| 同聞眾列次〔T34 0005c29–0006a14〕 | 言「多爾」者，亦有經中菩薩後列，各有所表。如《華嚴經》不列聲聞，純無雜故。〔T34n1719 0165a24–0165a26〕；「事似因緣須具四悉，義似約教復須論八。」〔T34n1719 0165a28–0165a29〕 |
| 本迹、觀心〔T34 0006a10–0006a14〕 | 「約本迹中，此經列眾超出群經」〔T34n1719 0165b10〕；觀解後「云云」者，亦應更約因緣明觀諸教開顯及本迹觀。〔T34n1719 0165b14–0165b16〕 |
| 聲聞、比丘次第〔T34 0006a14–0006a20〕 | 「釋列聲聞，準《法華論》以八義故，先列聲聞」〔T34n1719 0165b16〕；先僧次尼八義自「一、男尊女卑」〔T34n1719 0165c03〕至「八、得歎有無」〔T34n1719 0165c05–0165c06〕；「今但依文故，破其無據。」〔T34n1719 0165c12–0165c13〕 |
| 與、七一〔T34 0006a21–0006b04〕 | 「時處世界，戒是為人，心見對治，道脫第一義。」〔T34n1719 0165c24–0165c25〕；「通教二者，分利鈍故」〔T34n1719 0166a12–0166a14〕；「《論》中四者，決定、增上、退大、應化。」〔T34n1719 0166b06〕 |
| 大、多、勝〔T34 0006b04–0006c01〕 | 「次今師意，亦具三文，以一一文皆兼《論》中三義故也。」〔T34n1719 0166c17–0166c18〕；「故此五味通萬二千」〔T34n1719 0167a08〕；言「一心一切心」者，心境俱心各攝一切，一切不出三千故也。〔T34n1719 0167a13–0167a14〕 |
| 比丘〔T34 0006c01–0007a12〕 | 「肇有四義：一、淨命乞士，二、破煩惱，三、能持戒，四、怖魔。什公分之，一始三終。」〔T34n1719 0167a19–0167a20〕；「引論者闕能持戒，破惡秖是破煩惱耳，故但三義而次第不同。」〔T34n1719 0167a21–0167a23〕；「迹示五味」者，若不約五味，非今經比丘。〔T34n1719 0167b13–0167b14〕 |
| 眾〔T34 0007a12–0007a29〕 | 「眾者」，以一萬二千事法和故。〔T34n1719 0167b18–0167b19〕；「法和」者，如前七共同真理故。〔T34n1719 0167b22–0167b23〕；「五品六根名慚愧僧。初住已去名真實僧。」〔T34n1719 0167c07–0167c08〕 |
| 明數〔T34 0007a29–0007b04〕 | 「二明數中直爾舉數，即是因緣」〔T34n1719 0167c09–0167c10〕；「約觀中界入一一各十界者，正當妙境」〔T34n1719 0168a02–0168a03〕 |
| 明位〔T34 0007b04–0007c04〕 | 「《阿跋經》能所雙標，應謂能應之智，真即所應之理」〔T34n1719 0168a10–0168a12〕；「中二重，初約小三義，次約大三德。」〔T34n1719 0168b01〕；「觀心中先直以三德對三觀釋」〔T34n1719 0168b10–0168b12〕 |
| 歎德〔T34 0007c05–0008a09〕 | 「經中諸漏一句即是煩惱，失道等三相由而有，同名漏故所以引之。」〔T34n1719 0168c13–0168c15〕；「由前殺賊成斷功德，斷必具智功成己利，由己利故，故堪應供。」〔T34n1719 0168c23–0168c25〕；「心自在句釋於上句，二脫必漏盡、因盡必果亡」〔T34n1719 0169a05–0169a06〕；「約觀心中亦具五句」〔T34n1719 0169b04〕 |
《記》在解『一心一切心』時明說三千，而本域 T1718 沒有『一念三千』四字；這是湛然鏡語，不倒作智者本文逐字。《記》又以發起、影響、退大、應化、元住小分疏萬二千之本迹〔T34n1719 0167c16–0167c23〕，用以防止把所有人一概實體化成同一種本地菩薩。
五、諸家異釋
本論自錄的異解有三組。
一、同聞眾列次的舊解分事、義兩面：事解依形迹親疎排列，義解依欣涅槃、著生死與居中求宗排列〔T34 0006a02–0006a10〕。智者判前者似因緣、後者似約教，繼而另開本迹、觀心。
二、聲聞多知識、少知識，舊稱大名聞、小名聞；本論明說「雖然無據，今依文判如此」〔T34 0006a17〕。《記》所說依文，是前列萬二千並有眾所知識、後列二千而無知識字樣〔T34n1719 0165c12–0165c16〕。舊名只存作古說，不升格為經文自標。
三、比丘名義由肇師四義、什師始終之分與《大智度論》三義並列；《涅槃》《寶梁》則只舉破惡一義。各說分母不同，本論以初後皆通三義疏通，不刪成單一字源。
四、阿羅漢名義亦錄異解。舊翻立三名，本論作「依舊翻云無著、不生、應供」〔T34 0007b06〕；另有無翻之說，作「或言無翻，名含三義」〔T34 0007b06〕，即以不生、殺賊、應供三義含於一名。又有始終對辨之說，作「或言初始學無生，生未無生，初雖怖魔，魔未大怖，初雖乞士，未是灼然應供」〔T34 0007b10〕，而以「以果對因釋羅漢三義」〔T34 0007b13〕收之。三說並存，本論不裁一家。
本域沒有另錄後世山家、山外等宗諍；今本對讀所見異同，均置於第三目，不以對校代替諸家義判。
六、術語
| 詞項 | 本域用法 |
|---|---|
| 同聞眾 | 與阿難同聞法會、供成證信的會眾；先分聲聞、菩薩、雜眾 |
| 多知識 | 由眾所知識而來，指廣為眾人所識，不指知識量較多 |
| 七一 | 一時、一處、一戒、一心、一見、一道、一解脫；四教中再各依所證開合 |
| 四種聲聞 | 論本為決定、增上慢、退菩提心、應化；本論再開住果、應化、佛道 |
| 大、多、勝 | 摩訶三義；智者另以道、用、知三軸使每一義互相含攝 |
| 三念處 | 性念處、共念處、緣念處，分別繫道、用、知 |
| 五味 | 乳、酪、生蘇、熟蘇、醍醐；本域作迹中教化轉進的譬喻 |
| 比丘三義 | 怖魔、破惡、乞士；肇師四義另含能持戒，不與三義混數 |
| 四種僧 | 本論作破戒、愚癡、慚愧、真實；《大智度論》今本名稱另作有羞、無羞、啞羊、實 |
| 十二入 | 六根與六境；觀中一入具十法界，一界又具十界，界界各十如是 |
| 阿羅漢三義 | 無著、不生、應供；本論又以殺賊說斷惑，並依因果、約教、本迹、觀心加深 |
| 三德 | 法身、般若、解脫；明位與歎德中又與阿羅漢釋名三義交相配對 |
| 三漏 | 欲漏、有漏、無明漏；失道、開漏門、漏落生死是三種釋漏語，不是三漏名稱 |
| 二十五有 | 『有』為生處，『結』為生因；同數而分因果 |
| 心自在、慧自在 | 心自在偏定，慧自在偏慧；本論判心自在者定慧俱足 |
| 上上起門 | 以後句展轉解釋前句，後後釋前前，不是一般最高之門的形容 |
本域反覆出現三藏、通教、別教、圓教的分別名稱；後世總攝約詞不得代替本文原來的分說。
七、譬喻・互讀・承衍
本域以譬喻連起名義與修行。五味把聲聞示迹寫成乳、酪、生蘇、熟蘇、醍醐的轉進；出家則以離父母妻子之家、登涅槃山頂說離兩種生死；無明如糠，後有如田，阿羅漢脫糠便不再在後世田中受生；煩惱如賊，欺誑眾生失去理寶，又以流、扼、纏、蓋寫其逼惱；衣中寶珠則在觀心收束處說祕藏原是己物。這些意象都出於本域自身，不宜抽離原句另造固定表格。
與《妙法蓮華經》互讀，『與、大、比丘、眾、數、位、五句歎德』皆可回到〈序品〉同一段證信文。與〈法師品〉互讀，毀佛與毀持經者的校量照明本論何以說供養持經者能全肉身、續報命、生法身、增慧命；本論的毀讚、罪福是概括語，仍須與根經現文分層。
與《法華玄義》互讀，四釋總綱已在序品首節建立；本域顯示四釋如何隨『與、大、比丘、眾、數、位、德』各自伸縮。與《摩訶止觀》互讀，可見觀心釋把出家、乞士、破惡、怖魔轉為一念心中的觀行；只取本論已說的觀心入口，不把後文具名法門倒寫進來。
《法華玄贊》與《法華文句》同釋一經，可在同一根經證信句上並觀慈恩、天台兩鏡，但本域沒有直接引《玄贊》，故只誌並鏡位置，不以一疏裁另一疏。
本域所說從四教、五味、本迹到觀心的層層轉讀，承衍於後世《法華》解行：名相不是停在字源，列眾也不只是法會名簿；經首一個『與』字，已被展成共時、共處、共戒、共心、共見、共道、共解脫的修學關係。
八、校本定位
（一）嚴格域二十組校記
| 次第 | 行錨 | 【大】 | 【甲】 | 形態 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0006a02 | 逐 | 遂 | 單字異讀 |
| 2 | 0006a05 | 檢 | 𨆘 | 甲本異讀含通用字庫外字 |
| 3 | 0006a15 | 次 | 次尼 | 甲本增尼 |
| 4 | 0006a18 | 歎 | 歎德 | 甲本增德 |
| 5 | 0006a27 | 論 | 論明 | 甲本增明 |
| 6 | 0006b06 | 升 | 昇 | 星號跨處校記 |
| 7 | 0006b06 | 道外 | 外道 | 語序互倒 |
| 8 | 0006c06 | 其 | 甚 | 單字異讀 |
| 9 | 0006c10 | 七 | 七支 | 甲本增支 |
| 10 | 0006c18 | 魔〔電子校訂、甲〕 | 麼〔大〕 | 電子校訂字與大正原字分層 |
| 11 | 0006c19 | 惱煩 | 煩惱 | 語序互倒 |
| 12 | 0006c23 | 故 | 故故 | 甲本重故 |
| 13 | 0007a04 | 須 | 乞 | 單字異讀 |
| 14 | 0007a12 | 魔 | 魔也 | 甲本增也 |
| 15 | 0007a28 | 舉 | 氣 | 單字異讀 |
| 16 | 0007b08 | 云 | 言 | 單字異讀 |
| 17 | 0007b20 | 不 | 一不 | 甲本前增一 |
| 18 | 0007c11 | 業 | 業故 | 甲本增故 |
| 19 | 0007c21 | 盡 | 盡言 | 甲本增言 |
| 20 | 0008a07 | 賊 | 惑 | 單字異讀 |
第六組不是本域自立新注號，而是星號校的跨處指向型：corresp="#0002013"，承接前出『升／昇』校記。第十組須分清電子校訂正文『魔』、甲本『魔』與大正原字『麼』，不可抹成兩本單一對讀。
語序異讀如『道外／外道』『惱煩／煩惱』只並錄，不以現代語感改判；增字異讀也不倒寫入原典正文。
（二）所傳夾註
嚴格域有八枚行內夾註，現行讀本皆分層作〔云云〕：
| 次第 | 實位 | 前接正文 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0006a10 | 義解似約教〔云云〕 |
| 2 | 0006a14 | 中道正觀無復前後〔云云〕 |
| 3 | 0006b04 | 證涅槃者判之〔云云〕 |
| 4 | 0006b27 | 然其本地大、多、勝又矣〔云云〕 |
| 5 | 0007a12 | 即是怖魔〔云云〕 |
| 6 | 0007a24 | 歷五味中引諸眾生〔云云〕 |
| 7 | 0007b24 | 本是解脫，迹示殺賊〔云云〕 |
| 8 | 0007c04 | 若失好時則不可救，故大損〔云云〕 |
夾註雖只二字，仍屬所傳文本層；不把它改成句末語助，也不據《記》的展開反填入原典層。
（三）通用字庫外字與頁錨
嚴格域正文沒有 <g> 字。校記的甲本異讀有一字：#CB13640＝𨆘，編碼 U+28198，位於〔T34 0006a05〕『檢／𨆘』一組。正文無通用字庫外字與校記涉及一字必須分列，不能以前者抹去後者。
頁錨取所引首字前最近的大正藏行標，不取整段前置錨代替。跨行句標起訖：例如所帖『諸漏已盡』首字『諸』在〔T09 0001c20〕，『已盡』續於〔T09 0001c21〕；本域末句首字『不』在〔T34 0008a08〕，續至〔T34 0008a09〕。起界、終界都與鄰接單元共用行標，故以逐字界線判域，不只按行號切割。
This unit continues the Introduction chapter's introduction attesting the teaching. It first determines the order of the assembly hearing together, then enters the widely known bhikṣus within the śrāvaka assembly and explains in sequence the four sections of class, number, stage, and praise of virtue. The four words “together with,” “great,” “bhikṣu,” and “assembly” are each unfolded, repeatedly employing causes and conditions, the teaching, Origin and Trace, and contemplating the mind. The fourfold interpretation discloses meaning as the text requires rather than forming a four-cell grid repeated for every sentence.
1. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
The strict domain is T34n1718〔0005c29–0008a09〕. It begins with 「釋同聞眾為三」 tr. “The assembly hearing together is explained in three parts”〔T34 0005c29〕 and ends with 「不斷煩惱而入涅槃即其義也」 tr. “Entering nirvāṇa without annihilating afflictions is precisely its meaning”〔T34 0008a08–0008a09〕. The same line then begins the separate section 「五、列名」 tr. “Fifth, listing the names”〔T34 0008a09〕, which belongs to the next subunit and is not included here.
This unit lies in the Trace Gate's Introduction chapter. The root-scripture passage explained is 「與大比丘眾萬二千人俱，皆是阿羅漢，諸漏已盡，無復煩惱，逮得己利，盡諸有結，心得自在」 tr. “Together with a great assembly of twelve thousand bhikṣus, all of them arhats whose outflows had been exhausted, who had no further afflictions, who had attained their own benefit, exhausted all bonds of existence, and whose minds had attained mastery”〔T09 0001c20–0001c22〕. The treatise first divides the assembly hearing together into śrāvakas, bodhisattvas, and a mixed assembly, then divides the śrāvakas into bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs. The bhikṣus are further divided into the widely known and the less widely known, while the widely known assembly is divided into six sections. The present domain includes precisely the first four: class, number, stage, and praise of virtue. Listing the names, conclusion, and the less widely known assembly belong to the following subunit.
According to the treatise's explicit transitions, the domain may be divided into twelve sections:
| Sequence | Line domain | Content of the treatise |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0005c29–0006a14 | Three classes of the assembly hearing together and fourfold ordering through circumstances, doctrine, Origin and Trace, and contemplating the mind |
| 2 | 0006a14–0006a20 | Hierarchy of śrāvakas, bhikṣus, and the widely known assembly; general indication of six sections and the meaning of class |
| 3 | 0006a21–0006b04 | Explaining “together with”: seven unities, seven unities of the four teachings, and divisions of śrāvakas |
| 4 | 0006b04–0006c01 | Explaining “great” as also many and superior: path, function, knowledge, teaching, Origin and Trace, and contemplating the mind |
| 5 | 0006c01–0007a12 | Explaining “bhikṣu”: explanations of the name by various masters, three meanings, teaching, Origin and Trace, and contemplating the mind |
| 6 | 0007a12–0007a29 | Explaining “assembly”: harmony, four kinds of saṃgha, teaching, Origin and Trace, and contemplative explanation |
| 7 | 0007a29–0007b04 | Clarifying the number: twelve thousand, Origin and Trace, and the contemplation of the twelve entrances |
| 8 | 0007b04–0007b19 | First half of clarifying the stage: explanations of arhat, three causal and resultant meanings, and the teachings |
| 9 | 0007b19–0007c04 | Second half of clarifying the stage: Origin and Trace, three contemplations and three virtues, and comparison involving those who uphold the scripture |
| 10 | 0007c05–0007c15 | First half of praising virtue: five statements praise three virtues, the three outflows, and slaying thieves |
| 11 | 0007c15–0007c28 | Middle of praising virtue: one's own benefit, bonds of existence, mastery of mind and wisdom, and successive rising from higher to higher |
| 12 | 0007c28–0008a09 | Second half of praising virtue: Origin and Trace, contemplating the mind, and conclusion of the whole domain |
The parallel domain in the Fahua Wenjuji begins with 「釋列眾中，初辨次第」 tr. “In explaining the listing of the assembly, first distinguish the order”〔T34n1719 0165a24〕 and ends with 「為如無煩惱入涅槃也」 tr. “This is entering nirvāṇa as though without afflictions”〔T34n1719 0169b09〕. The same line immediately begins 「列名中初總為五：」 tr. “In listing the names, first there are five overall”〔T34n1719 0169b09〕. The two works close at the same doctrinal boundary.
2. Formation and Transmission
This unit follows the transmission stated at the beginning of the fascicle. Shenjiong's preface calls the whole work 「迺是灌頂法師私記，合二十卷」 tr. “Privately recorded by Dharma Master Guanding, comprising twenty fascicles”〔T34 0001a23–0001a24〕, while the headings of all twenty half-fascicles in the current edition read 「天台智者大師說」 tr. “Spoken by Tiantai Master Zhiyi”〔T34 0001b20〕. The doctrinal exposition therefore belongs to Zhiyi and the record to Guanding; the two layers form a transmission without exchanging attribution.
Shenjiong's preface also records that in the wuzi year of the Tianbao era Master Lang, finding the textual sequence disordered, 「因夢所感，方始條倫」 tr. “was moved by a dream and only then began to put it into order”〔T34 0001b06–0001b07〕, and declares 「非苟求同異輒有增減於其間矣」 tr. “He did not casually seek differences and similarities or arbitrarily add and subtract within it”〔T34 0001b07–0001b08〕. This is the redactor's own statement about the transmission. Because the earlier disordered text, the ordered recension, and the later witnesses lack sufficiently ancient exemplars for layer-by-layer collation, the transmission is recorded without adjudicating a stemma.
Every 〔云云〕 in this domain is an inherited interlinear note rather than continuous main text. The present reader text separates all eight as 〔云云〕 and does not erase them for the sake of smoother vernacular reading.
3. Sutra Passages Explained and Works Cited
A. The Sutra of the Lotus Blossom of the Wondrous Dharma Explained
The scriptural passage explained in this unit belongs to the attesting assembly in the Introduction chapter. The reader edition of the root scripture places the page anchor for the whole paragraph at〔T09 0001c19〕, but the actual location of the first word, “together with,” is〔T09 0001c20〕. The sentence-by-sentence correspondences are:
| Expression explained by the Wenju | T34n1718 anchor | Current T09n0262 text |
|---|---|---|
| Together with | The Treatise of Explanation clarifies 「與」 tr. “together with” as commonality〔T34 0006a21〕 | 「與大比丘眾萬二千人俱」 tr. “Together with a great assembly of twelve thousand bhikṣus”〔T09 0001c20〕 |
| Great | 「大」 tr. “great,” which the Treatise of Explanation likewise explains as 「大」 tr. “great”〔T34 0006b04〕 | 「大比丘眾」 tr. “great assembly of bhikṣus”〔T09 0001c20〕 |
| Bhikṣu | 「比丘」 tr. “bhikṣu”〔T34 0006c01〕 | 「比丘眾」 tr. “assembly of bhikṣus”〔T09 0001c20〕 |
| Assembly | 「眾」 tr. “assembly,” called saṃgha in India〔T34 0007a12〕 | 「眾萬二千人俱」 tr. “an assembly of twelve thousand people together”〔T09 0001c20〕 |
| Twelve thousand | 「二、明數者，即是一萬二千人也」 tr. “Second, clarifying the number: it is twelve thousand people”〔T34 0007a29〕 | 「萬二千人俱」 tr. “twelve thousand people together”〔T09 0001c20〕 |
| All were arhats | 「三、明位者，皆是阿羅漢也」 tr. “Third, clarifying the stage: all were arhats”〔T34 0007b04〕 | 「皆是阿羅漢」 tr. “all were arhats”〔T09 0001c20〕 |
| Their outflows were exhausted | 「諸漏已盡，無復煩惱」 tr. “Their outflows were exhausted; they had no further afflictions”〔T34 0007c06〕 | 「諸漏」 tr. “their outflows”〔T09 0001c20〕 continues with 「已盡」 tr. “were exhausted”〔T09 0001c21〕 |
| They had no further afflictions | Same sentence〔T34 0007c06〕 | 「無復煩惱」 tr. “they had no further afflictions”〔T09 0001c21〕 |
| They had attained their own benefit | 「逮得己利」 tr. “They had attained their own benefit”〔T34 0007c15〕 | 「逮得己利」 tr. “They had attained their own benefit”〔T09 0001c21〕 |
| They had exhausted all bonds of existence | 「盡諸有結，心得自在」 tr. “They had exhausted all bonds of existence; their minds had attained mastery”〔T34 0007c17〕 | 「盡諸有結」 tr. “They had exhausted all bonds of existence”〔T09 0001c21〕 |
| Their minds had attained mastery | Same sentence〔T34 0007c17〕 | 「心得」 tr. “their minds attained”〔T09 0001c21〕 continues with 「自在」 tr. “mastery”〔T09 0001c22〕 |
B. The Ordering and Seven Unities in the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom
The treatise first gives circumstantial and doctrinal explanations and concludes 「《釋論》意亦爾」 tr. “The meaning of the Treatise of Explanation is also like this”〔T34 0006a09〕. The present Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom first says 「若從上數，應先菩薩，次第比丘、比丘尼、優婆塞、優婆夷，菩薩次佛故」 tr. “If counted downward from above, bodhisattvas should come first, followed in order by bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās, because bodhisattvas are next to the Buddha”〔T25 0084c12–0084c14〕. It then asks 「今何以先說比丘，次三眾，後說菩薩？」 tr. “Why now are bhikṣus spoken of first, then the three assemblies, and bodhisattvas afterward?”〔T25 0084c15–0084c16〕, answering 「菩薩雖應次佛，以諸煩惱未盡故，先說阿羅漢」 tr. “Although bodhisattvas should follow the Buddha, because their afflictions are not yet exhausted, arhats are spoken of first”〔T25 0084c16–0084c17〕. It continues by explaining disclosure, secrecy, and the skillful manifestation of the five destinies. This attests the topic of listing śrāvakas first; the Wenju's wording about form and dress, closeness and distance, delight in nirvāṇa, and attachment to saṃsāra is not a verbatim continuous passage in the current text.
The Wenju orders the seven unities as 「一時、一處、一戒、一心、一見、一道、一解脫」 tr. “one time, one place, one discipline, one mind, one view, one path, and one liberation”〔T34 0006a21–0006a22〕. The current text says that 「共」 tr. “together” means one place, one time, one mind, one discipline, one view, one path, and one liberation, and that this is called 「共」 tr. “together”〔T25 0079b24–0079b25〕. The seven items are the same, but their order differs; each work retains its own wording.
C. Great, Many, and Superior in the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom
| Original sentence in the Wenju | Current Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| 「大」 tr. “great”: the Treatise of Explanation explains 「大」 tr. “great” as also many and superior〔T34 0006b04–0006b05〕 | 「摩訶」 tr. “mahā” in the Qin language means great, or many, or superior〔T25 0079b25–0079b26〕 | The three meanings correspond directly; the current text has mahā as its subject |
| 「為天王等大人所敬故言大」 tr. “Because they are honored by great persons such as heavenly kings, they are called great”〔T34 0006b05–0006b06〕 | 「云何大？一切眾中最上故，一切障礙斷故，天王等大人恭敬故，是名為大。」 tr. “Why great? Because they are highest among all assemblies, because every obstruction has been severed, and because heavenly kings and other great persons revere them: this is called great”〔T25 0079b26–0079b28〕 | The treatise extracts the third item |
| 「遍知內外經書故言多，又數至一萬二千故言多」 tr. “Because they comprehensively know inner and outer scriptures, they are called many; because their number reaches twelve thousand, they are also called many”〔T34 0006b07–0006b08〕 | 「云何多？數至五千，故名多。」 tr. “Why many? Because their number reaches five thousand, they are called many”〔T25 0079b28〕 | The scriptures explained have different numbers; the present text does not mention comprehensive knowledge of inner and outer scriptures here |
| 「升出九十五種道外故言勝」 tr. “Because they rise beyond the ninety-five outsider paths, they are called superior”〔T34 0006b06〕 | 「云何勝？一切九十六種道論議，能破故名勝。」 tr. “Why superior? Because they can refute the arguments of all ninety-six paths, they are called superior”〔T25 0079b28–0079b29〕 | Ninety-five versus ninety-six and rising beyond versus being able to refute both differ |
D. Bhikṣu, the Four Saṃghas, and the Large Number in the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom
The current text explains the three meanings of bhikṣu in separate passages:
First, alms-seeker: 「比丘名乞士，清淨活命故，名為乞士。」 tr. “Bhikṣu means alms-seeker; because one lives by pure livelihood, one is called an alms-seeker”〔T25 0079c01–0079c02〕.
Second, breaking afflictions: further, 「比」 tr. “bhi” means breaking and 「丘」 tr. “kṣu” means afflictions; because one can break afflictions, one is called bhikṣu〔T25 0080a02–0080a03〕.
Third, frightening Māra: further, 「比」 tr. “bhi” means fear and 「丘」 tr. “kṣu” means able; one is able to frighten Māra King and Māra's people〔T25 0080a05–0080a06〕.
From the words of the Treatise of Explanation, the Wenju says 「怖魔、破惡、乞士」 tr. “frightening Māra, breaking evil, and alms-seeker”〔T34 0006c07〕 and unfolds the three as a mutually completing passage. The current text does not contain this long paragraph, so it is classified only as an exposition according to meaning rather than presented as a verbatim current passage.
The names of the four saṃghas likewise differ:
| Wenju | Current Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom | Correspondence |
|---|---|---|
| 「不依淨命名破戒僧，不解法律名愚癡僧，五方便名慚愧僧，苦法忍去名真實僧」 tr. “Those who do not rely on pure livelihood are called a precept-breaking saṃgha; those who do not understand the Dharma and discipline are called an ignorant saṃgha; those at the five preparatory stages are called a conscience-bearing saṃgha; and those from patience with the Dharma of suffering onward are called the true saṃgha”〔T34 0007a18–0007a20〕 | 「是僧四種：有羞僧、無羞僧、啞羊僧、實僧。」 tr. “There are four kinds of saṃgha: conscience-bearing, shameless, mute-sheep, and true”〔T25 0080a14–0080a15〕 | The four names are not verbally identical |
| Precept-breaking saṃgha〔T34 0007a18〕 | 「云何名無羞僧？破戒，身、口不淨，無惡不作，是名無羞僧。」 tr. “What is called a shameless saṃgha? It breaks the precepts, body and speech are impure, and there is no evil it does not commit; this is called a shameless saṃgha”〔T25 0080a17–0080a18〕 | Precept-breaking corresponds in meaning to shameless |
| Ignorant saṃgha〔T34 0007a19〕 | 「云何名啞羊僧？雖不破戒，鈍根無慧，不別好醜」 tr. “What is called a mute-sheep saṃgha? Although it does not break the precepts, its faculties are dull, it lacks wisdom, and does not distinguish good from bad”〔T25 0080a18–0080a20〕 | Not understanding the discipline corresponds in meaning to mute-sheep |
| True saṃgha〔T34 0007a20〕 | 「云何名實僧？若學人、若無學人，住四果中、行四向道，是名實僧。」 tr. “What is called the true saṃgha? Trainees and those beyond training who abide in the four fruits or practice the four approaches are called the true saṃgha”〔T25 0080a22–0080a24〕 | The true saṃgha is explicit; the Wenju instead defines its threshold from patience with the Dharma of suffering |
The Wenjuji cites the Great Treatise as 「若過若減皆存大數」 tr. “Whether slightly more or slightly less, the large number is retained”〔T34n1719 0167c15〕. The current text asks what is called a 「大數」 tr. “large number” and answers that slightly more or slightly less is called a 「大數」 tr. “large number”〔T25 0080a28–0080a29〕. The two statements are close in meaning but not verbally identical.
E. The Two Translations of the Treatise on the Lotus Sutra
The two translations list the same four kinds of śrāvaka:
- 「聲聞有四種：一者決定聲聞；二者增上慢聲聞；三者退菩提心聲聞；四者應化聲聞。」 tr. “There are four kinds of śrāvaka: first fixed śrāvakas; second, arrogant śrāvakas; third, śrāvakas who have regressed from the aspiration for awakening; fourth, responsive manifestations of śrāvakas”〔T26n1519 0009a15–0009a17〕.
- 「聲聞有四種：一者決定聲聞；二者增上慢聲聞；三者退菩提心聲聞；四者應化聲聞。」 tr. “There are four kinds of śrāvaka: first fixed śrāvakas; second, arrogant śrāvakas; third, śrāvakas who have regressed from the aspiration for awakening; fourth, responsive manifestations of śrāvakas”〔T26n1520 0018b09–0018b10〕.
Neither translation lists a “śrāvaka of the Buddha path” as a fifth class. The Wenju further divides those abiding in fruition, responsive manifestations, and śrāvakas of the Buddha path from the four kinds. The Record explicitly says of the additional 「佛道」 tr. “Buddha path” that it is established according to the scripture's meaning〔T34n1719 0166b18〕. The śrāvaka of the Buddha path is therefore a further distinction established by Zhiyi according to the scripture's meaning.
The Wenju cites the general-and-specific gate as the Treatise on the Lotus Sutra saying 「初句總，後句別。」 tr. “The first statement is general; the later statements are specific”〔T34 0007c05–0007c06〕. One current translation reads: in the gate of general and specific characteristics, 「皆是阿羅漢」 tr. “all are arhats” and the other sixteen statements—the first statement is general and the remaining statements specific〔T26n1519 0001c21–0001c22〕. The other reads 「總別門者，皆是羅漢等十六句，初句總，餘句別故。」 tr. “As for the general-and-specific gate: in the sixteen statements beginning ‘all are arhats,’ the first is general and the remaining statements are specific”〔T26n1520 0011b07–0011b08〕. “Later statements” in the Wenju is a compressed expression; both current texts say “remaining statements.”
The two translations also list the same three gates: 「一者上上起門；二者總別相門；三者攝取事門。」 tr. “First, the gate of successive rising from higher to higher; second, the gate of general and specific characteristics; third, the gate of encompassing the matter”〔T26n1519 0001b27–0001b28；T26n1520 0011a16–0011a17〕.
The Wenju cites the successive-rising gate as 「以諸漏盡故名羅漢，以心得自在故名有結盡」 tr. “Because all outflows are exhausted, one is called an arhat; because the mind has attained mastery, one is said to have exhausted the bonds of existence”〔T34 0007c27–0007c28〕. One current translation reads 「上上起門者，謂諸漏已盡故，名為阿羅漢。以心得自在故，名為諸漏已盡。」 tr. “The gate of successive rising from higher to higher means: because all outflows are exhausted, one is called an arhat; because the mind has attained mastery, one is said to have exhausted all outflows”〔T26n1519 0001b29–0001c01〕; the other reads 「上上起門者，謂諸漏已盡故名為羅漢，以心得自在故名諸漏已盡」 tr. “The gate of successive rising from higher to higher means: because all outflows are exhausted, one is called an arhat; because the mind has attained mastery, one is said to have exhausted all outflows”〔T26n1520 0011a17–0011a19〕. Both current texts use mastery of mind to explain exhaustion of outflows rather than “exhaustion of the bonds of existence”; the difference is recorded side by side.
The Record also says 「準《法華論》以八義故，先列聲聞」 tr. “According to the Treatise on the Lotus Sutra, śrāvakas are listed first for eight reasons”〔T34n1719 0165b16〕 and 「《論》又云：先僧次尼亦有八義」 tr. “The treatise further says that monks first and nuns second likewise has eight reasons”〔T34n1719 0165c03〕. No continuous verbatim passage containing either set of eight has been recovered in a recognizable corresponding scene in the two current translations. Only the state of transmission in the Record is noted; no current-text correspondence is fabricated.
F. Sengzhao, Kumārajīva, and the Commentary on the Vimalakīrti Sutra
The current Commentary on the Vimalakīrti Sutra explains “together with a great assembly of eight thousand bhikṣus” as follows:
- Sengzhao says: 「比丘，秦言或名淨乞食、或名破煩惱、或名淨持戒、或名能怖魔。天竺一名該此四義，秦言無一名以譯之，故存義名焉。」 tr. “Bhikṣu in the Qin language may mean one who purely seeks alms, one who breaks afflictions, one who purely maintains the precepts, or one able to frighten Māra. One Indian name embraces these four meanings, and the Qin language has no single name that translates it; therefore the semantic name is retained”〔T38 0328b04–0328b07〕.
- Kumārajīva says: 「摩訶，秦言大、亦言勝、亦言多。」 tr. “‘Mahā’ in the Qin language means great, also superior, and also many”〔T38 0328b09–0328b10〕; he further says 「比丘，秦言破煩惱、亦言乞士。除五種邪命養法身，故言乞士。」 tr. “Bhikṣu in the Qin language means breaking afflictions and also alms-seeker. Because one eliminates the five forms of wrong livelihood and nourishes the Dharma body, one is called an alms-seeker”〔T38 0328b12–0328b13〕.
The Wenju cites Sengzhao's sentence as 「秦言淨命，乞食、破煩惱、能持戒、怖魔等」 tr. “In Qin language: pure livelihood, seeking alms, breaking afflictions, being able to maintain the precepts, frightening Māra, and so on”〔T34 0006c02–0006c03〕. Its punctuation and word forms differ from the current text. Kumārajīva's long passage from 「始出妻子家」 tr. “first leaving the household of wife and children”〔T34 0006c04〕 to 「天魔怖其出境也」 tr. “the heavenly Māra fears that he will leave Māra's domain”〔T34 0006c06〕 is likewise not continuous in the current commentary. Both are therefore labeled as citations or expositions in the Wenju, not presented as verbatim T1775 text.
G. The Great Nirvāṇa Sutra and the Ratnakūṭa
The Wenju says 「《涅槃》、《寶梁》皆舉破惡名比丘者，不具說也」 tr. “The Nirvāṇa and the Ratnakūṭa both call one a bhikṣu by citing the breaking of evil, without stating the meanings completely”〔T34 0006c13–0006c14〕. The present Great Parinirvāṇa Sutra reads 「比丘，比丘之人名破煩惱。我今不破惡覺煩惱，云何當得名為比丘？」 tr. “Bhikṣu: a bhikṣu is called one who breaks afflictions. I now do not break the afflictions of evil discursive thoughts; how could I be called a bhikṣu?”〔T12 0742b27–0742b28〕. The Jeweled-Beam Assembly of the Mahāratnakūṭa reads 「所言比丘，比丘者能破煩惱，故名比丘。」 tr. “As for the word bhikṣu: because a bhikṣu can break afflictions, he is called a bhikṣu”〔T11 0640b21–0640b22〕. Both current texts say “break afflictions,” while the treatise gathers this under “break evil”; the meaning agrees but the wording does not.
H. The Work's Own Attribution of the Ninety with Three Knowledges
The treatise identifies fascicle forty-five of the Saṃyukta Āgama and cites 「五百比丘中，九十人三明，九十人俱解脫，餘但慧解脫」 tr. “Among five hundred bhikṣus, ninety possessed the three knowledges, ninety were liberated in both ways, and the rest possessed only liberation through wisdom”〔T34 0007a17–0007a18〕.
The direct scene in the current canon occurs in fascicle twenty-nine of the Madhyama Āgama. It first asks 「此五百比丘，幾比丘得三明達？幾比丘得俱解脫？幾比丘得慧解脫耶？」 tr. “Among these five hundred bhikṣus, how many attained the three knowledges? How many attained liberation in both ways? How many attained liberation through wisdom?”〔T01n0026 0610b22–0610b24〕 and then answers 「此五百比丘，九十比丘得三明達，九十比丘得俱解脫，餘比丘得慧解脫。」 tr. “Among these five hundred bhikṣus, ninety attained the three knowledges, ninety attained liberation in both ways, and the remaining bhikṣus attained liberation through wisdom”〔T01n0026 0610b24–0610b26〕. A parallel in the Sutra on the End of the Rains Retreat reads 「此五百苾芻中，九十苾芻得三明法，九十苾芻得俱解脫，餘者苾芻得慧解脫。」 tr. “Among these five hundred bhikṣus, ninety attained the threefold knowledge, ninety attained liberation in both ways, and the remaining bhikṣus attained liberation through wisdom”〔T01n0063 0862a04–0862a06〕. The Record likewise says of 「九十人三明」 tr. “ninety possessed the three knowledges” that the wording is the same in fascicle twenty-nine of the Madhyama Āgama〔T34n1719 0167b23〕. The treatise's own title, the direct current scene, and the source indicated by the Record are therefore presented together without silently changing the canonical attribution.
I. The Ābá Scripture and the Auspicious Response
The treatise says 「《阿颰經》云應真；《瑞應》云真人」 tr. “The Ābá Scripture says ‘one who responds to truth’; the Auspicious Response says ‘true person’”〔T34 0007b05〕. The present Sutra in Which the Buddha Opens Understanding for the Brahmin Ābá reads 「不復疑惑，乃得羅漢。羅漢者為已應真」 tr. “No longer doubting, he then attained arhatship. An arhat is one who has responded to truth”〔T01n0020 0261c22〕. The Sutra of the Crown Prince's Auspicious Response and Original Arising reads 「一心之道，謂之羅漢。羅漢者真人也」 tr. “The path of single-mindedness is called arhatship. An arhat is a true person”〔T03n0185 0475a26〕. T1718 writes Ābá, while the Record writes Ābá with a variant second graph〔T34n1719 0168a10〕; both forms are recorded without alteration.
J. The Vaipulya Text and the Dharma Teacher Chapter
The treatise cites the Vaipulya text as 「供佛及文殊，不如施行方等者一食充軀」 tr. “Making offerings to the Buddha and Mañjuśrī does not equal giving one meal to sustain the body of a practitioner of the Vaipulya teachings”〔T34 0007b28–0007b29〕. The present Great Vaipulya Dhāraṇī Sutra has two related scenes:
First it says 「若有一人神通無礙，如文殊師利亦喻於我」 tr. “If there were one person unobstructed in supernormal powers, like Mañjuśrī, this could also be compared to me”〔T21 0648a01–0648a02〕, then compares making offerings to a bodhisattva in the final life, saying that it still does not equal making offerings to four lines of verse from the scripture or to one who recites them〔T21 0648a03–0648a09〕.
Second, it says 「若復有人持四天下，以積珍寶至于梵天以供於我，不如有人與彼受持經者一食充軀。」 tr. “If someone were to take the four continents and heap jewels up to Brahmā Heaven as an offering to me, this would not equal someone giving one meal to sustain the body of a person who receives and upholds this scripture”〔T21 0649a18–0649a20〕.
The treatise combines the comparison involving the Buddha and Mañjuśrī with that involving one meal sustaining the body. The two scenes are not continuous in the current text, so they are listed separately rather than fabricated into a continuous current passage.
The treatise also summarizes a later passage as 「毀讚佛罪福輕，毀讚持經者罪福重」 tr. “The wrongdoing and merit from slandering or praising the Buddha are light; the wrongdoing and merit from slandering or praising one who upholds the scripture are heavy”〔T34 0007b29–0007c01〕. The current root scripture reads 「若有惡人，以不善心，於一劫中現於佛前，常毀罵佛，其罪尚輕」 tr. “If an evil person, with an unwholesome mind, were constantly to revile the Buddha in his presence for an entire eon, that wrongdoing would still be light”〔T09 0030c29–0031a02〕 and continues 「若人以一惡言，毀呰在家、出家讀誦法華經者，其罪甚重。」 tr. “If a person were with one evil word to slander a householder or renunciant who reads and recites the Lotus Sutra, that wrongdoing would be extremely heavy”〔T09 0031a02–0031a03〕. The current text directly addresses reviling and slandering and their relative weight, not praise and merit; the treatise summarizes in both directions.
K. Three Explanations of Outflow
The treatise successively cites the Satyasiddhi Treatise: 「失道故名漏。」 tr. “Because it causes the loss of the path, it is called an outflow”〔T34 0007c08〕; a Vinaya text: 「癡人造業，開諸漏門。」 tr. “An ignorant person creates karma and opens the various gates of outflow”〔T34 0007c08–0007c09〕; and an Abhidharma text: 「漏落生死。」 tr. “Outflows make one fall into saṃsāra”〔T34 0007c09〕.
The direct passage on three outflows in the present Satyasiddhi Treatise reads 「欲界中除無明，餘一切煩惱名為欲漏；色無色界有漏亦如是；三界無明名無明漏。」 tr. “In the desire realm, all afflictions other than ignorance are called sensual outflow; the existence outflows of the form and formless realms are likewise; ignorance in the three realms is called ignorance outflow”〔T32 0320b01–0320b03〕. This passage defines the three outflows but does not contain the continuous wording “because it causes the loss of the path, it is called an outflow”; no false verbatim match is claimed.
The Sarvāstivāda Vinaya in Ten Recitations first says 「汝愚癡人！不知我以種種因緣呵欲」 tr. “You ignorant person! You do not know that I rebuke desire through various causes and conditions”〔T23 0001c09–0001c10〕, later asks 「何況乃作起欲恚癡結縛根本不淨惡業？」 tr. “How much less should one perform impure evil karma rooted in the bonds of desire, anger, and delusion?”〔T23 0001c12–0001c13〕, and continues 「是愚癡人開諸漏門」 tr. “This ignorant person opens the various gates of outflow”〔T23 0001c13–0001c14〕. “An ignorant person creates karma” in the treatise is a compressed expression; the current text does not place the two words “creates karma” directly after “ignorant person.”
The generic designation “Abhidharma” has not yet been uniquely identified with one extant Taishō text. The Abhidharma Vibhāṣā Treatise has 「留住義是漏義、浸漬義是漏義、流出義是漏義」 tr. “Remaining is the meaning of outflow, soaking is the meaning of outflow, and streaming out is the meaning of outflow”〔T28 0189c06–0189c07〕 and also says that beings cannot emerge by themselves from dharmas of saṃsāra〔T28 0189c15–0189c16〕. This is a semantically close scene, not presented as the verbatim source of “outflows make one fall into saṃsāra.” The later Commentary on the Great Parinirvāṇa Sutra preserves 「但數家稱為漏落生死，論家稱為漏失道理」 tr. “The Abhidharma masters call it falling through outflows into saṃsāra, while the treatise masters call it losing the principle of the path through outflows”〔T38 0160b02–0160b03〕. This can attest the medieval commentarial transmission of the two formulations but cannot stand in retroactively for the Satyasiddhi Treatise or a particular Abhidharma source.
4. Essential Explanations from the Wenjuji [the Mirror]
Zhanran illuminates the present passage section by section through one continuous mirror domain and explicitly turns to the next section, listing the names, at〔T34n1719 0169b09〕.
| Node in the Wenju | Verbatim essential explanation in the Wenjuji |
|---|---|
| Order of the assembly hearing together〔T34 0005c29–0006a14〕 | The phrase 「多爾」 tr. “mostly like this” means that in some scriptures bodhisattvas are also listed later, each arrangement expressing something; the Flower Garland Sutra does not list śrāvakas because it is pure and unmixed〔T34n1719 0165a24–0165a26〕; 「事似因緣須具四悉，義似約教復須論八。」 tr. “The circumstantial explanation resembles causes and conditions and should include the four siddhāntas; the doctrinal explanation resembles interpretation in terms of the teaching and should further discuss eight”〔T34n1719 0165a28–0165a29〕 |
| Origin and Trace; contemplating the mind〔T34 0006a10–0006a14〕 | 「約本迹中，此經列眾超出群經」 tr. “In terms of Origin and Trace, this scripture's listing of the assembly transcends the other scriptures”〔T34n1719 0165b10〕; after the contemplative explanation, the expression 「云云」 tr. “and so forth” means that causes and conditions should further be used to explain contemplation, the opening and disclosure of the teachings, and contemplation of Origin and Trace〔T34n1719 0165b14–0165b16〕 |
| Order of śrāvakas and bhikṣus〔T34 0006a14–0006a20〕 | 「釋列聲聞，準《法華論》以八義故，先列聲聞」 tr. “In explaining the listing of śrāvakas, according to the Treatise on the Lotus Sutra, śrāvakas are listed first for eight reasons”〔T34n1719 0165b16〕; the eight reasons for monks first and nuns second run from 「一、男尊女卑」 tr. “first, men are honored and women subordinate”〔T34n1719 0165c03〕 to 「八、得歎有無」 tr. “eighth, whether praise of attainment is present or absent”〔T34n1719 0165c05–0165c06〕; 「今但依文故，破其無據。」 tr. “Now it is only according to the wording, and so the lack of basis in that account is refuted”〔T34n1719 0165c12–0165c13〕 |
| Together with; seven unities〔T34 0006a21–0006b04〕 | 「時處世界，戒是為人，心見對治，道脫第一義。」 tr. “Time and place are worldly; discipline is for the individual; mind and view are counteractive; path and liberation are ultimate meaning”〔T34n1719 0165c24–0165c25〕; 「通教二者，分利鈍故」 tr. “The shared teaching has two because sharp and dull faculties are distinguished”〔T34n1719 0166a12–0166a14〕; 「《論》中四者，決定、增上、退大、應化。」 tr. “The four in the treatise are fixed, arrogant, regressing from the great, and responsive manifestations”〔T34n1719 0166b06〕 |
| Great, many, and superior〔T34 0006b04–0006c01〕 | 「次今師意，亦具三文，以一一文皆兼《論》中三義故也。」 tr. “Next, the intent of the present master also contains three passages, because each passage includes all three meanings in the treatise”〔T34n1719 0166c17–0166c18〕; 「故此五味通萬二千」 tr. “Therefore these five flavors extend throughout the twelve thousand”〔T34n1719 0167a08〕; concerning 「一心一切心」 tr. “one mind, all minds,” mind and object are both mind and each encompasses all, because all does not exceed three thousand〔T34n1719 0167a13–0167a14〕 |
| Bhikṣu〔T34 0006c01–0007a12〕 | 「肇有四義：一、淨命乞士，二、破煩惱，三、能持戒，四、怖魔。什公分之，一始三終。」 tr. “Sengzhao has four meanings: first, pure-livelihood alms-seeker; second, breaking afflictions; third, able to maintain the precepts; fourth, frightening Māra. Master Kumārajīva divides them, one at the beginning and three at the end”〔T34n1719 0167a19–0167a20〕; 「引論者闕能持戒，破惡秖是破煩惱耳，故但三義而次第不同。」 tr. “The cited treatise lacks ‘able to maintain the precepts’; breaking evil is only breaking afflictions, so there are merely three meanings in a different order”〔T34n1719 0167a21–0167a23〕; as for 「迹示五味」 tr. “manifesting the five flavors in the traces,” if this were not interpreted through the five flavors, these would not be the bhikṣus of the present scripture〔T34n1719 0167b13–0167b14〕 |
| Assembly〔T34 0007a12–0007a29〕 | 「眾者」 tr. “‘Assembly’” means that the twelve thousand are united in communal affairs and Dharma〔T34n1719 0167b18–0167b19〕; 「法和」 tr. “harmony in Dharma” means that, as in the preceding seven, they share the true principle〔T34n1719 0167b22–0167b23〕; 「五品六根名慚愧僧。初住已去名真實僧。」 tr. “Those at the five grades and six faculties are called the conscience-bearing saṃgha; those from the first abode onward are called the true saṃgha”〔T34n1719 0167c07–0167c08〕 |
| Clarifying the number〔T34 0007a29–0007b04〕 | 「二明數中直爾舉數，即是因緣」 tr. “In the second section, clarifying the number, simply stating the number is causes and conditions”〔T34n1719 0167c09–0167c10〕; 「約觀中界入一一各十界者，正當妙境」 tr. “In terms of contemplation, each realm and entrance possessing the ten realms is precisely the wondrous object”〔T34n1719 0168a02–0168a03〕 |
| Clarifying the stage〔T34 0007b04–0007c04〕 | 「《阿跋經》能所雙標，應謂能應之智，真即所應之理」 tr. “The Ābá Scripture marks both agent and object: ‘responding’ means the wisdom able to respond, and ‘truth’ is the principle to which it responds”〔T34n1719 0168a10–0168a12〕; 「中二重，初約小三義，次約大三德。」 tr. “The middle has two levels: first the three Lesser Vehicle meanings, then the three Mahāyāna virtues”〔T34n1719 0168b01〕; 「觀心中先直以三德對三觀釋」 tr. “In contemplating the mind, first directly explain the three virtues by pairing them with the three contemplations”〔T34n1719 0168b10–0168b12〕 |
| Praising virtue〔T34 0007c05–0008a09〕 | 「經中諸漏一句即是煩惱，失道等三相由而有，同名漏故所以引之。」 tr. “The scriptural statement ‘all outflows’ is affliction; the three characteristics, including loss of the path, arise from it and are all called outflow, which is why they are cited”〔T34n1719 0168c13–0168c15〕; 「由前殺賊成斷功德，斷必具智功成己利，由己利故，故堪應供。」 tr. “The preceding slaying of thieves accomplishes the merit of severance; severance necessarily includes wisdom, whose accomplishment is one's own benefit; because of one's own benefit one is worthy of offerings”〔T34n1719 0168c23–0168c25〕; 「心自在句釋於上句，二脫必漏盡、因盡必果亡」 tr. “The statement ‘mind has mastery’ explains the preceding statement; the two liberations necessarily exhaust outflows, and when cause is exhausted the fruit necessarily disappears”〔T34n1719 0169a05–0169a06〕; 「約觀心中亦具五句」 tr. “Contemplating the mind likewise contains all five statements”〔T34n1719 0169b04〕 |
When explaining “one mind, all minds,” the Record explicitly speaks of three thousand, while the present domain of T1718 does not contain the four graphs for “three thousand in one thought-moment.” This is Zhanran's mirror language and is not back-projected as verbatim language of Zhiyi. The Record also differentiates instigators, influential companions, those regressing from the great, responsive manifestations, and those originally abiding in the lesser vehicle when explaining the Origin and Trace of the twelve thousand〔T34n1719 0167c16–0167c23〕, preventing every person from being reified as the same kind of original bodhisattva.
5. Explanations of Various Masters
The treatise itself records four groups of divergent explanations.
First, the traditional account of the order of the assembly hearing together has circumstantial and doctrinal dimensions. The circumstantial explanation arranges by outward form, manifested conduct, and closeness or distance; the doctrinal explanation arranges by delight in nirvāṇa, attachment to saṃsāra, and seeking the principle in the middle〔T34 0006a02–0006a10〕. Zhiyi judges that the former resembles causes and conditions and the latter resembles the teaching, then separately opens Origin and Trace and contemplating the mind.
Second, the widely known and less widely known śrāvakas were traditionally called those of great renown and lesser renown. The treatise explicitly says 「雖然無據，今依文判如此」 tr. “Although this has no basis, it is now judged this way according to the wording”〔T34 0006a17〕. The Record explains “according to the wording” from the earlier listing of twelve thousand together with “known to the assembly,” while the later listing has two thousand without the expression “known”〔T34n1719 0165c12–0165c16〕. The old names are retained only as an ancient explanation and are not elevated into labels used by the scripture itself.
Third, the meaning of bhikṣu is presented through Sengzhao's four meanings, Kumārajīva's distinction between beginning and end, and the three meanings in the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom. The Great Nirvāṇa Sutra and the Ratnakūṭa cite only one meaning, breaking evil. Each account has a different denominator; the treatise reconciles them by saying that all three meanings apply from beginning to end rather than reducing them to a single etymology.
Fourth, divergent explanations of arhat are also recorded. The old translation establishes three names, as the treatise says 「依舊翻云無著、不生、應供」 tr. “According to the old translation: unattached, nonarising, and worthy of offerings”〔T34 0007b06〕. Another view says it is untranslatable: 「或言無翻，名含三義」 tr. “Others say there is no translation, because the name contains three meanings”〔T34 0007b06〕—the three meanings of nonarising, slaying thieves, and worthiness of offerings are contained in one name. A further view contrasts beginning and end: 「或言初始學無生，生未無生，初雖怖魔，魔未大怖，初雖乞士，未是灼然應供」 tr. “Others say: when one first begins to study nonarising, birth has not yet ceased to arise; although one initially frightens Māra, Māra is not yet greatly afraid; although one is initially an alms-seeker, one is not yet manifestly worthy of offerings”〔T34 0007b10〕. It concludes with 「以果對因釋羅漢三義」 tr. “Explaining the three meanings of arhat by pairing fruition with cause”〔T34 0007b13〕. The three accounts coexist, and the treatise does not adjudicate a single school.
No later controversy between the Shanjia and Shanwai currents or comparable debate is separately recorded in this domain. Differences found through comparison of extant texts are placed in section 3 and are not made to substitute for doctrinal judgments among masters.
6. Terminology
| Term | Use in this domain |
|---|---|
| Assembly hearing together | The assembly that hears the Dharma together with Ānanda and establishes attestational confidence; first divided into śrāvakas, bodhisattvas, and a mixed assembly |
| Widely known | Derives from “known to the assembly”; means widely recognized by people, not possessing a greater quantity of knowledge |
| Seven unities | One time, one place, one discipline, one mind, one view, one path, and one liberation; further divided within the four teachings according to realization |
| Four kinds of śrāvaka | In the treatise: fixed, arrogant, regressing from the aspiration for awakening, and responsive manifestations; the Wenju further divides those abiding in fruition, responsive manifestations, and those who enable others to hear the Buddha path |
| Great, many, and superior | The three meanings of mahā; Zhiyi additionally uses path, function, and knowledge as three axes through which each meaning encompasses the others |
| Three mindfulness practices | Mindfulness based on intrinsic nature, shared mindfulness, and mindfulness taking conditions as objects, respectively linked to path, function, and knowledge |
| Five flavors | Milk, curds, raw ghee, refined ghee, and clarified essence; used here as a simile for progressive transformation in manifestation |
| Three meanings of bhikṣu | Frightening Māra, breaking evil, and alms-seeker; Sengzhao's four meanings additionally include being able to maintain the precepts and are not conflated numerically with the three |
| Four kinds of saṃgha | The Wenju has precept-breaking, ignorant, conscience-bearing, and true; the current Great Treatise instead names conscience-bearing, shameless, mute-sheep, and true |
| Twelve entrances | The six faculties and six objects; in contemplation, one entrance possesses the ten Dharma realms, each realm possesses ten, and each has the ten suchnesses |
| Three meanings of arhat | Unattached, nonarising, and worthy of offerings; the treatise also uses slaying thieves for severing delusion and deepens the meanings through cause and fruition, the teachings, Origin and Trace, and contemplating the mind |
| Three virtues | Dharma body, prajñā, and liberation; in clarifying stage and praising virtue they are also paired reciprocally with the three explanations of arhat |
| Three outflows | Sensual outflow, existence outflow, and ignorance outflow; losing the path, opening gates of outflow, and falling into saṃsāra are three explanations of the word “outflow,” not names of the three outflows |
| Twenty-five modes of existence | “Existence” is the place of birth and “bond” the cause of birth; the number is the same, while cause and fruit differ |
| Mastery of mind and mastery of wisdom | Mastery of mind emphasizes concentration, mastery of wisdom emphasizes wisdom; the treatise judges that one with mastery of mind possesses both |
| Successive rising from higher to higher | Later statements progressively explain earlier ones; it does not merely mean “the highest gate” |
The distinctions among the Tripiṭaka, shared, distinct, and perfect teachings recur throughout this domain. Later summary expressions must not replace the treatise's own separate formulations.
7. Similes · Cross-Reading · Carrying Forward
This domain links terminology and practice through similes. The five flavors present the śrāvakas' manifestations as a progression through milk, curds, raw ghee, refined ghee, and clarified essence. Leaving home is expressed as leaving the parents and spouse and ascending Mount Nirvāṇa to depart from two kinds of birth-and-death. Ignorance is husk, later existence a field: when an arhat sheds the husk, there is no further birth in a later field. Afflictions are thieves who deceive beings and deprive them of the jewel of principle, while currents, yokes, entanglements, and hindrances depict their torment. At the conclusion of contemplation, the jewel in the robe shows that the secret treasury was one's own from the start. All these images arise in the present domain and should not be detached from their sentences to form a newly invented fixed table.
In cross-reading with the Sutra of the Lotus Blossom of the Wondrous Dharma, “together with,” “great,” “bhikṣu,” “assembly,” number, stage, and the five statements of praise all return to one attesting passage in the Introduction chapter. Cross-read with the Dharma Teacher chapter, the comparison between reviling the Buddha and reviling one who upholds the scripture illuminates why the treatise says that supporting a scripture-holder can preserve the fleshly body, extend retributive life, generate the Dharma body, and increase wisdom-life. The treatise's wording about slander and praise, wrongdoing and merit, is a summary and must remain stratified from the root scripture's present wording.
Cross-read with the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, the general framework of the fourfold interpretation has already been established in the opening unit of the Introduction chapter; this domain shows how the four interpretations expand and contract around “together with,” “great,” “bhikṣu,” “assembly,” number, stage, and virtue. Cross-read with the Great Calming and Contemplation, one sees interpretation through contemplating the mind transform leaving home, alms-seeker, breaking evil, and frightening Māra into practices within one thought. Only the contemplative entrances actually stated in the treatise are taken; named practices from later passages are not back-projected into it.
The Profound Eulogy of the Lotus Sutra and the Fahua Wenju explain the same scripture and may be viewed as Cien and Tiantai mirrors of the same attesting sentence. The present domain does not directly cite the Profound Eulogy, however, so its position as a parallel mirror is merely noted; neither commentary adjudicates the other.
This domain's successive readings through the four teachings, five flavors, Origin and Trace, and contemplating the mind carry forward into later Lotus understanding and practice. Terms do not stop at etymology, and listing the assembly is not merely a roster. One word, “together with,” at the beginning of the scripture has already unfolded into a relation of one time, one place, one discipline, one mind, one view, one path, and one liberation.
8. Placement of the Editions
A. Twenty Critical Notes in the Strict Domain
| Sequence | Line anchor | Taishō | Witness A | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0006a02 | 逐 | 遂 | Single-graph variant |
| 2 | 0006a05 | 檢 | 𨆘 | Witness A variant contains a graph outside the common character set |
| 3 | 0006a15 | 次 | 次尼 | Witness A adds 尼 |
| 4 | 0006a18 | 歎 | 歎德 | Witness A adds 德 |
| 5 | 0006a27 | 論 | 論明 | Witness A adds 明 |
| 6 | 0006b06 | 升 | 昇 | Asterisk-linked cross-reference note |
| 7 | 0006b06 | 道外 | 外道 | Reversed word order |
| 8 | 0006c06 | 其 | 甚 | Single-graph variant |
| 9 | 0006c10 | 七 | 七支 | Witness A adds 支 |
| 10 | 0006c18 | 魔〔electronic correction, A〕 | 麼〔Taishō〕 | Electronic correction and original Taishō graph kept distinct |
| 11 | 0006c19 | 惱煩 | 煩惱 | Reversed word order |
| 12 | 0006c23 | 故 | 故故 | Witness A repeats 故 |
| 13 | 0007a04 | 須 | 乞 | Single-graph variant |
| 14 | 0007a12 | 魔 | 魔也 | Witness A adds 也 |
| 15 | 0007a28 | 舉 | 氣 | Single-graph variant |
| 16 | 0007b08 | 云 | 言 | Single-graph variant |
| 17 | 0007b20 | 不 | 一不 | Witness A adds 一 before the text |
| 18 | 0007c11 | 業 | 業故 | Witness A adds 故 |
| 19 | 0007c21 | 盡 | 盡言 | Witness A adds 言 |
| 20 | 0008a07 | 賊 | 惑 | Single-graph variant |
The sixth group is not a new note number originating in this domain but an asterisk-linked cross-reference of the form corresp="#0002013", carrying forward the earlier 升／昇 note. The tenth group must distinguish the electronically corrected main text 魔, Witness A's 魔, and the original Taishō graph 麼; they must not be flattened into a simple two-witness comparison.
Word-order variants such as 道外／外道 and 惱煩／煩惱 are recorded side by side without adjudication based on modern usage. Added-graph variants are likewise not back-projected into the source text.
B. Inherited Interlinear Notes
The strict domain contains eight inline notes, all separated as 〔云云〕 in the present reader text:
| Sequence | Actual location | Immediately preceding main text |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0006a10 | 義解似約教〔云云〕 |
| 2 | 0006a14 | 中道正觀無復前後〔云云〕 |
| 3 | 0006b04 | 證涅槃者判之〔云云〕 |
| 4 | 0006b27 | 然其本地大、多、勝又矣〔云云〕 |
| 5 | 0007a12 | 即是怖魔〔云云〕 |
| 6 | 0007a24 | 歷五味中引諸眾生〔云云〕 |
| 7 | 0007b24 | 本是解脫，迹示殺賊〔云云〕 |
| 8 | 0007c04 | 若失好時則不可救，故大損〔云云〕 |
Although the note is only two graphs long, it remains part of the transmitted textual layer. It is not converted into sentence-final filler, nor is the Record's expansion retroactively inserted into the source layer.
C. Graph Outside the Common Character Set and Page Anchors
The main text in the strict domain contains no <g> graph. A reading in the critical apparatus does contain one: #CB13640 = 𨆘, encoded U+28198, in the 檢／𨆘 group at〔T34 0006a05〕. “No graph outside the common set in the main text” and “one such graph in the critical notes” must be reported separately; the former cannot erase the latter.
Page anchors use the nearest Taishō line marker before the first graph cited rather than the anchor placed before an entire paragraph. For example, the first graph 諸 in the explained phrase “their outflows were exhausted” is at〔T09 0001c20〕, while 已盡 continues at〔T09 0001c21〕. The final sentence of the present domain begins with 不 at〔T34 0008a08〕 and continues through〔T34 0008a09〕. Both the opening and closing boundaries share line markers with neighboring units, so the domain must be determined by exact textual boundaries rather than line numbers alone.