妙法蓮華經文句 釋陀羅尼品
有一個人，出身微賤。
他從自己的國家逃到別的國家去，到了那裡就對人說：我是王子。
那個國家的人信了。國王把公主嫁給他。
日子過起來，問題就出來了——他脾氣極壞，動不動就發火，身邊的人都受不了。
後來有一位明智的人，從他的本國來到這裡。
公主去請教他：我丈夫這樣，該怎麼辦？
那人說：下次他發火的時候，你念一首偈給他聽。
偈是四句：
無親遊他國，欺誑一切人，麁食是常事，何勞復作瞋。
——一個人流落他鄉，沒有親人；靠著謊話活到今天。吃得粗一點本來就是尋常事，還發什麼脾氣？
公主照做了。
他當場安靜下來。從此以後，不再發火。
而在場所有的人都聽見了那四句話。
沒有一個人知道它在說什麼。
——這是《法華經文句》裡的一則故事，本論用它來解釋一件事：呪為什麼不翻譯。
呪語是一長串音，念出來沒有意思。一般人以為那是神祕，是不可解，是翻了就失效。
本論的說法不是這樣。
它說：呪只是一個法，卻遍具許多力用——病癒、罪除、善生、道合。
一翻，就只剩其中一個。
所以不翻不是因為它沒有意思。
是因為它的意思太多，落成任何一句話都會少掉別的。
而那個訛稱王子的故事，正好把這件事演了一遍。
同樣四句話，在滿座人的耳裡只是幾句尋常的道理；在那一個人心裡，卻是他整個來歷被說破了。
那首偈之所以有效，不是因為別人聽不懂。
是因為它對上的那一個人，聽懂了。
我們身邊大概也有過這樣的時刻。
一句話別人說了很多遍，你都沒放在心上；忽然有一天有人說了同樣的話，你卻整個人怔在那裡。
話沒有變。
是你剛好走到了那句話說的地方。
There was a man of low birth.
He fled his own country for another. When he arrived, he told the people: I am a prince.
The people of that country believed him. The king gave him the princess in marriage.
As life went on, the trouble appeared—his temper was terrible. He flew into rages at the slightest thing, and no one around him could bear it.
Later, a wise man came there from his native country.
The princess went to ask him: my husband is like this; what should I do?
The man said: the next time he becomes angry, recite a verse to him.
The verse had four lines:
With no kin, you wander in another land, deceiving everyone; coarse food is an ordinary matter—why trouble to become angry again?
—A man has drifted into a foreign land without relatives and survived until today through lies. Coarse food is only ordinary; why lose your temper over it?
The princess did as she was told.
He fell silent on the spot. From that time onward, he never became angry again.
And everyone present heard those four lines.
Not one of them knew what the lines meant.
—This is a story in the Fahua Wenju. The treatise uses it to explain one question: why are spells not translated?
A spell is a long string of sounds; spoken aloud, it seems to have no meaning. People generally imagine that it is mysterious, incomprehensible, and rendered ineffective by translation.
That is not the treatise’s explanation.
It says a spell is only one Dharma, yet it possesses many powers throughout—illness is cured, offenses removed, goodness born, and the path joined.
Once translated, only one of those powers remains.
Thus it is not left untranslated because it has no meaning.
It is because it has too many meanings: fixing it as any one sentence would cause the others to fall away.
And the story of the man falsely claiming to be a prince enacts precisely this point.
The same four lines sound like commonplace reasoning to everyone in the room; in that one man’s mind, they expose his entire past.
The verse works not because the others fail to understand.
It works because the one person it matches understands.
We have probably had moments like this around us too.
Others repeat a statement many times and we give it no thought; then one day someone says the same thing and our whole being suddenly stops.
The statement has not changed.
You have simply arrived at the place to which it speaks.
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 0146b29〕。段/行首〔T34 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨（換頁一枚）。
〔T34 0146b29〕釋陀羅尼品 此翻總持，總持惡不起、善不失〔其一〕。又翻能遮能持，能持善、能遮惡〔其二。其三〕此能遮邊惡、能持中善。〔其四〕眾經開遮不同，或專用治病，如那達居士；或專護法，如此文；或專用滅罪，如方等；或通用治病滅罪護經，如《請觀音》，或大明呪無上明呪無等等明呪，則非治病、非滅罪、非護經，若通方者亦應兼，若論別者幸須依經勿乖教〔云云〕。諸師或說呪者，是鬼神王名，稱其王名，部落敬主不敢為非，故能降伏一切鬼魅〔其一〕。或云呪者如軍中之密號，唱號相應無所訶問，若不相應即執治罪，若不順呪者頭破七分，若順呪者則無過失〔其二〕。或云呪者，密默治惡惡自休息，譬如微賤，從此國逃彼國，訛稱王子，彼國以公主妻之，多瞋難事。有一明人從其國來，主往說之，其人語主，若當瞋時說偈，偈云「無親遊他國，欺誑一切人，麁食是常事，何勞復作瞋。」說是偈時默然瞋歇後不復瞋，是主及一切人但聞斯偈，皆不知意。呪亦如是，密默遮惡餘無識者〔其三〕。或云呪者，是諸佛密語，如王索先陀婆，一切群下無有能識，唯有智臣乃能知之。呪亦如是，秖是一法遍有諸力，病愈罪除善生道合〔其四〕。為此義故皆存本音，譯人不翻意在此也。惡世弘經喜多惱難，以呪護之使道流通也。 文為四：一、問持經功德，二、答甚多，三、請以呪護，四、聞品得益。一問，如文。二答，有格量。本問多不？答甚多，格出功德，如文。請說呪，有五番：一、藥王，二、勇施，三、毘沙門，四、持國，五、十女。藥王為四：一、請，二、說，三、歎，四、印。下例有三，如文。十女為五：一、列名，二、請說，三、歎，四、誓，五、印。「夜叉」翻捷疾鬼「羅剎」翻食人鬼，二部是北方所領者。「富單那」，熱病鬼，「吉遮」，起尸鬼，若人若夜叉俱有此鬼。「毘陀羅」赤色鬼，「揵陀羅」，黃色鬼〔未詳〕，「烏摩勒」烏色鬼〔未詳〕，「阿跋摩羅」青色鬼。阿梨樹枝墮地，法爾破為七片，弒父母破僧是三逆罪。外國油者擣麻，使生蟲合壓之，規多汁益肥，此過尤也。斗秤輕出重入，欺盜之尤，近世有小斗出大斗入，震銘其背，斯罪亦不輕也。
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、釋名：陀羅尼之四義
「陀羅尼」此地翻作總持——總持惡不生起、善不喪失〔其一〕。
又翻作能遮、能持——能持善、能遮惡〔其二、其三〕。
〔其四〕這是能遮兩邊之惡、能持中道之善。
二、諸經開遮之不同
眾經開與遮不同：有的專用來治病，如那達居士；有的專用來護法，如這裡的經文；有的專用來滅罪，如方等；有的通用於治病、滅罪、護經，如《請觀音》；有的是大明呪、無上明呪、無等等明呪，那就不是治病、不是滅罪、不是護經。
若通融而說，也應當兼含；若別論而說，希望必須依經而不要違背教法〔云云〕。
三、諸師釋呪：四說
諸師有的說：呪是鬼神王的名字。稱他們王的名字，部落敬重其主，就不敢作非為，所以能降伏一切鬼魅〔其一〕。
有的說：呪如同軍中的密號。唱出號來若相應，就沒有人盤問；若不相應，就當場拿下治罪。若不順從呪的，頭破七分；若順從呪的，就沒有過失〔其二〕。
有的說：呪是密密默默地治惡，惡自然休息。譬如有一個微賤之人，從這個國家逃到那個國家，訛稱自己是王子，那個國家便把公主嫁給他；他多瞋而難以相處。有一位明智的人從他本國來，公主前去對他說了這件事。那人告訴公主：若他發瞋的時候就說一首偈。偈說：『無親而遊他國，欺誑一切人；粗食是尋常的事，何必再發瞋？』說這首偈的時候，他默然而瞋歇，後來就不再發瞋了。公主與所有的人只是聽見這首偈，都不知道其中的意思。呪也是如此——密密默默地遮惡，其餘的人並不知道〔其三〕。
有的說：呪是諸佛的密語。如同國王索取「先陀婆」，一切臣下沒有人能懂，唯有智臣才能知道。呪也是如此——只是一法而遍具諸種力用：病癒、罪除、善生、道合〔其四〕。
因為這個緣故，都保存原本的音，譯人不翻譯的用意就在這裡。
惡世弘經容易多有惱難，以呪來護持它，使道得以流通。
四、分文為四
文分為四：一是問持經功德，二是答甚多，三是請以呪護持，四是聞品得益。
一、問，如經文所說。
二、答，有格量。本來問的是多不多？回答說甚多，格量出功德，如經文所說。
三、請說呪，有五番：一是藥王，二是勇施，三是毘沙門，四是持國，五是十位羅剎女。
藥王分為四：一是請，二是說，三是歎，四是印可。以下照例有三，如經文所說。十女分為五：一是列名，二是請說，三是歎，四是誓，五是印可。
五、諸鬼之名
「夜叉」翻作捷疾鬼，「羅剎」翻作食人鬼，這兩部是北方所統領的。
「富單那」是熱病鬼，「吉遮」是起尸鬼——若是人、若是夜叉，都有這種鬼。
「毘陀羅」是赤色鬼，「揵陀羅」是黃色鬼〔未詳〕，「烏摩勒」是烏色鬼〔未詳〕，「阿跋摩羅」是青色鬼。
六、阿梨樹枝與三逆
阿梨樹的枝條墮地，法爾自然破為七片。
弒父、弒母、破僧，這是三種逆罪。
七、外國油與斗秤
外國的油是把麻搗碎，使它生蟲而合著壓榨，圖它多汁而更肥——這個過失尤其重大。
斗秤輕出而重入，是欺盜之尤。近世有小斗出、大斗入的，雷震而銘刻在他的背上——這種罪也不輕。
I. Explanation of the Name: Four Meanings of Dhāraṇī
“dhāraṇī” is translated here as comprehensive retention—comprehensively retaining, evil does not arise and goodness is not lost〔i〕.
It is also translated as able to ward off and able to retain—it can retain goodness and ward off evil〔ii, iii〕.
〔iv〕 This can ward off the evil of the two extremes and retain the goodness of the middle way.
II. Different Openings and Restrictions in Various Scriptures
Various scriptures differ in what they open and restrict. Some spells are used exclusively to cure illness, as with the householder Nata; some exclusively to protect the Dharma, as in this passage; some exclusively to eliminate offenses, as in the Vaipulya scriptures; some generally for curing illness, eliminating offenses, and protecting scripture, as in the Invoking Guanshiyin; and some are great-illumination spells, unsurpassed-illumination spells, and unequalled-illumination spells, which are neither for curing illness, eliminating offenses, nor protecting scripture.
If discussed from the universal approach, they should also encompass the others; if discussed separately, one must take care to follow the scripture and not depart from its teaching〔And so forth.〕.
III. Masters’ Explanations of Spells: Four Positions
Some masters say that a spell is the name of a king of ghosts and spirits. By pronouncing their king’s name, the tribe reveres its ruler and dares not commit wrong; therefore the spell can subdue all ghosts and goblins〔i〕.
Some say that a spell is like a secret watchword in an army. If the announced sign corresponds, no one questions the speaker; if it does not, the speaker is seized on the spot and punished. One who does not follow the spell has the head split into seven pieces; one who follows it is free of fault〔ii〕.
Some say that a spell treats evil secretly and silently, so evil stops of itself. Suppose a man of low birth flees this country for another and falsely claims to be a prince; that country gives him the princess in marriage, but he is irascible and difficult to live with. A wise man comes from his native country, and the princess goes to tell him what has happened. The man tells her: when your husband becomes angry, recite a verse. The verse says: “With no kin, you wander in another land, deceiving everyone; coarse food is an ordinary matter—why trouble to become angry again?” When she recites this verse, he falls silent and his anger ceases; afterward he never becomes angry again. The princess and everyone else only hear the verse and do not know its meaning. A spell is the same: it secretly and silently wards off evil, while the others do not understand〔iii〕.
Some say that a spell is the secret speech of the Buddhas. It is like a king requesting “sendhava”: none of his ministers understands except the wise minister. A spell is the same—it is only one Dharma, yet it possesses many powers throughout: illness is cured, offenses removed, goodness born, and the path joined〔iv〕.
For this reason, all preserve the original sounds; the translators’ intent in not translating lies here.
When the scripture is propagated in an evil age, many troubles and difficulties readily arise. Spells protect it so that the path may circulate.
IV. Four Divisions of the Text
The text has four divisions: first, a question about the merit of upholding the scripture; second, the answer that it is exceedingly great; third, the request to protect it with spells; and fourth, benefit attained from hearing the chapter.
First, the question is as stated in the scripture.
Second, the answer contains a comparative measure. The original question asks whether the merit is great; the answer says it is exceedingly great and brings out the merit through comparison, as stated in the scripture.
Third, the request to utter spells has five occasions: Medicine King, Brave-in-Giving, Vaiśravaṇa, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and the ten rākṣasī women.
Medicine King’s occasion has four divisions: request, utterance, praise, and confirmation. The following occasions have three by analogy, as stated in the scripture. The ten women’s occasion has five: listing the names, requesting and uttering, praise, vow, and confirmation.
V. Names of the Ghosts
“yakṣa” means a swift ghost; “rākṣasa” means a man-eating ghost. These two classes are governed by the north.
“pūtana” is a fever ghost; “kṛtya” is a corpse-raising ghost—whether among humans or yakṣas, this kind of ghost occurs.
“vetāla” is a red ghost; “gandhāra” is a yellow ghost〔unverified〕; “umaraka” is a black ghost〔unverified〕; “apasmāra” is a blue ghost.
VI. Branches of the Arjaka Tree and the Three Grave Offenses
When a branch of the arjaka tree falls to the ground, it naturally splits into seven pieces.
Killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, and disrupting the saṅgha are the three grave offenses.
VII. Foreign Oil and Measures
In foreign lands, oil is made by pounding sesame, allowing worms to arise, and pressing them together in order to obtain more juice and richness—this fault is especially grave.
Giving out with a light measure and taking in with a heavy one is an extreme form of fraudulent theft. In recent times, someone who gave out with a small measure and took in with a large one was struck by lightning, leaving an inscription on his back—this offense too is not light.
《法華經》第二十六品很短，內容也單純：藥王、勇施、毘沙門、持國，還有十位羅剎女，一個接一個上前，向佛獻上護持經典的呪語。
呪語是不譯的。經文裡是一長串音寫的字，讀出來沒有意思。
本論這一品的篇幅同樣很短——全帙裡數一數二的短——可是它幾乎全部用在一個問題上：
呪，為什麼不翻？
一、先把名字拆開
在談不翻之前，本論先釋「陀羅尼」三個字。
此地翻作總持。持什麼？「總持惡不起、善不失」——惡不生起、善不喪失。
又翻作能遮能持：能持住善，能遮住惡。
然後本論加了第四層，而這一層是天台的：「此能遮邊惡、能持中善」——遮的是兩邊的惡，持的是中道的善。
四層擺完，「陀羅尼」就不再只是一串音了。它是一種心的狀態：該留的留住，該擋的擋住。
二、四種說法，本論一個也不刪
接下來本論做了一件在此帙中反覆可見、卻在這一品做得最徹底的事：它錄了四家對『呪是什麼』的說法，而一句判語也沒有下。
第一說：呪是鬼神王的名字。你念出王的名字，部落敬重他們的主，就不敢作亂。
第二說：呪如同軍中的密號。口令對上了就通行無阻，對不上就當場拿下。
第三說：呪是密默地治惡。這一說附了一個故事，是本品最好看的一段——
有個微賤之人逃到別國，訛稱自己是王子，於是娶了公主。可是他脾氣極壞，動輒發怒，難以相處。
有一位明智的人從他本國來。公主去請教他。那人說：下次他發怒的時候，你就念一首偈。
偈是這樣的：無親遊他國，欺誑一切人，麁食是常事，何勞復作瞋。
——一個人流落他鄉、無親無故，靠謊話過活；吃得粗糙本來就是常事，還發什麼脾氣？
公主照做了。他當場默然，火就熄了；此後也不再發怒。
而全場的人都聽見了那首偈，沒有一個人知道它在說什麼。
本論收一句：「密默遮惡餘無識者」。
第四說：呪是諸佛的密語。如同國王說『拿先陀婆來』——臣下都不懂，只有智臣知道：洗手的時候要的是水，吃飯的時候要的是鹽，用膳畢要的是器，出行要的是馬。同一個名字，四種東西，看時機。
四說列完，本論才給出結論。
而它的結論不是『哪一說對』，是：「為此義故皆存本音，譯人不翻意在此也」。
正因為呪有這麼多層意思，所以譯經的人一律保存原音。
三、不翻，不是翻不出來
這一結值得停一下，因為它顛倒了一般的印象。
一般人以為呪不譯，是因為那是神祕的、不可解的、翻了就失效的。
本論的說法正好相反：不翻不是因為沒有意思，是因為意思太多。第四說已經點明——「秖是一法遍有諸力，病愈罪除善生道合」。同一個呪，遍具諸種力用：治病、除罪、生善、合道。
一翻，就只剩其中一個。
那個訛稱王子的故事，其實正是這個道理的示範。同一首偈，在滿座的人耳中只是幾句話；在那一個人心裡，卻是他整個來歷被說破。
呪之所以有效，不在於別人聽不懂，而在於它對得上的那一個人聽懂了。
而第二說『軍中密號』也是同一結構：號本身沒有意義，可是對得上就通行，對不上就拿下。意義不在字面，在相應。
四、五個人上前來，說的是同一件事
分文四科之後，本論記下請說呪的五番：藥王、勇施、毘沙門天王、持國天王，最後是十位羅剎女。
五番之中，藥王一番分四（請、說、歎、印可），十女一番分五（列名、請說、歎、誓、印可）——多出來的那一科是「誓」。
前面四番都是獻上呪語、佛加印可；只有十女在說完之後，另外發了一個誓：若有人惱亂說法的人，我們就令他頭破七分。
這一點很值得留意。羅剎女在佛典裡通常是被降伏的一方；到了這一品，她們是主動上前請護的一方，而且是唯一額外立誓的一方。
護法這件事，不挑出身。
本論並沒有為此議論，它只是照實記下五番各分幾科。可是那個「五科」與「四科」的差別擺在那裡，讀者自己看得見。
而鏡層在駁生公時，正好用上了這一點：護國的四大天王、十位羅剎女，都是為了護法而請佛印可的——她們不是被呪術驅使的對象，她們是發願的人。
五、頭破七分與阿梨樹枝
十羅剎女說完呪，發了一個很重的誓：若有人惱亂說法者，「頭破作七分，如阿梨樹枝」。
本論在這裡加了一條註腳，短得幾乎像隨手一寫：阿梨樹的枝條墮地，法爾自然破為七片。
——原來「七分」不是隨口說的數，是那種樹的枝條落地時自然的碎法。
這一條註腳很能說明本論的性格。整品都在講呪的四說、四悉、不翻之義，忽然為了一個數字去查一種樹。而查出來之後，那句誓語就從一句狠話變成了一個具體的比喻：像那種枝條落地那樣，自己就裂開了。
六、開與遮：同一個呪，用法各不相同
本論在列四說之前，先做了一件很實用的整理：它把諸經裡的呪按用途排了一遍。
有的專用來治病。有的專用來護法——這一品就是。有的專用來滅罪，如方等部。有的三樣通用，如《請觀音》。還有一類是大明呪、無上明呪、無等等明呪——那就既不是治病、也不是滅罪、也不是護經。
排完之後，本論給了一條使用原則，兩句話：
「若通方者亦應兼，若論別者幸須依經勿乖教」。
若從通融的角度說，也應當兼含；若從各別的角度說，希望必須依經而不要違背教法。
這兩句合起來，是一個相當克制的態度。它承認呪有通用的一面，也堅持每一部經所說的呪有它自己的用處；通融不等於混用。
而這條原則放在整品的開頭，其實已經預告了後面的結論。正因為呪不只有一種用途，所以譯它的時候才不能挑其中一種來翻。
七、承衍：呪護講完，接著是人護
本品之末，本論還記了三件世俗的事：弒父弒母破僧是三逆；外國榨油是把麻搗碎、使它生蟲而合著壓，圖多汁益肥——本論斥為「此過尤也」；斗秤輕出重入是欺盜之尤，近世有小斗出大斗入的，被雷震而銘刻在背上。
這三條在全帙裡相當罕見。一部釋經的著作，忽然管起了榨油的手法和買賣的斗秤。
可是位置很準：這一品講的是護法，而護法之前得先知道什麼是該遮的惡。經文列了十羅剎女所護，本論就順手把當時人身邊真實發生的惡列了幾樣。
其下〈妙莊嚴王本事品〉。本論在那一品自己說明了銜接：「前品說呪護，今品說人護，人護尚爾，呪護彌良」。
讀路由『以呪護法』，轉入『以人護法』。
文句記之眼
鏡層讀這一品，做了兩件本論沒有做的事：一件是駁，一件是辨。
先說駁。
生公（竺道生）解這一品說：淺近之人受持的心薄弱，所以用呪術來督促他們。注家則說：幽顯之力挾助讚揚，所以叫陀羅尼。
鏡層對前者的評語只有六個字：「觀生公去注遠矣」——生公的說法比注家還要離譜。
然後它給出理由，而理由非常實在：這一品的呪本來就是為弘經的人擋災難的，哪裡只是用呪術督促人？而且護國的四大天王、十位羅剎女，都是為了護法而請佛印可的——怎麼能說是拿呪術去督逼人？
它的駁不是義理上的，是文本上的。你只要看看是誰在說呪、為什麼說，就知道那個解釋對不上。
再說辨。
鏡層自己提了一個很尖的問題：呪這種東西按理本來就不該翻；可是如果真的完全不能翻，竺法護當年為什麼翻了？
它沒有迴避，也沒有替誰圓場。它接著說了一句更重的話：「若其不曉不翻之意，移品何疑？」
——連『為什麼不翻』都沒弄懂的人，把品次挪來挪去又有什麼好奇怪的？
這句話把兩件事扣在了一起：對文本的處置，反映的是對義理的理解程度。不懂為什麼不翻的人，也不會懂為什麼這一品要放在這裡。
鏡層還辨了一個譯名的變化：新譯本一律稱「真言」或「明」，而古人見它是祕密就不翻；此土原有禁呪之類的法術，於是就借「呪」這個名字去翻它。
——「呪」這個譯名本身，就是一次借用。
而借用是有代價的：借了本土術數的名字，後人就容易照術數去理解它。生公的誤解，說到底是被那個譯名帶偏的。
最後鏡層把本論所錄的四說一一配上四悉檀：鬼神王名是息惡生善，軍中密號是生善，密默治惡是對治，諸佛密語則四法具足而成第一義——並細分為病癒是世界、罪除是對治、生善是為人、道合是第一義。
四說本論並列而不判，鏡層則替它們各安了一個位置。
不判與各安其位，並不衝突。本論所以不判，是因為四說各有所當；鏡層所以能配，正因為四說各有所當。
Chapter twenty-six of the Lotus Sūtra is short and simple in content: Medicine King, Brave-in-Giving, Vaiśravaṇa, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and ten rākṣasī women come forward one after another and offer the Buddha spells to protect the scripture.
Spells are not translated. In the scripture they are long sequences of transliterated characters that seem meaningless when read aloud.
The treatise’s discussion of this chapter is equally short—among the two or three shortest in the entire work—yet it spends almost all its space on one question:
Why is a spell not translated?
I. First, Separate the Name
Before discussing nontranslation, the treatise first explains the three characters “dhāraṇī.”
Here it is translated as comprehensive retention. What does it retain? “Comprehensively retaining, evil does not arise and goodness is not lost.”
It is also translated as able to ward off and able to retain: it can retain goodness and ward off evil.
The treatise then adds a fourth layer, and this layer is Tiantai: “It can ward off the evil of the extremes and retain the goodness of the middle.”
Once these four layers have been set out, “dhāraṇī,” is no longer only a sequence of sounds. It is a state of mind: retaining what should remain and blocking what should be stopped.
II. Four Explanations, None Discarded by the Treatise
The treatise next does something repeatedly seen throughout this work, but nowhere more thoroughly than here: it records four masters’ explanations of “what is a spell,” yet passes no judgment at all.
First explanation: a spell is the name of a king of ghosts and spirits. When you pronounce their king’s name, the tribe reveres its ruler and does not dare create disorder.
Second explanation: a spell is like a secret watchword in an army. If one’s password matches, one passes without hindrance; if it does not, one is seized on the spot.
Third explanation: a spell treats evil secretly and silently. This explanation includes a story, the finest passage in the chapter—
A man of low birth fled to another country and falsely claimed to be a prince, whereupon he married the princess. But his temper was terrible; he became angry at the slightest thing and was difficult to live with.
A wise man came from his native country. The princess consulted him. The man said: the next time your husband becomes angry, recite a verse.
The verse runs: With no kin, you wander in another land, deceiving everyone; coarse food is an ordinary matter—why trouble to become angry again?
—A man has drifted into a foreign land without kin and lives by lies. Coarse food is only ordinary; why lose your temper over it?
The princess did so. He fell silent on the spot and the fire died; afterward he never became angry again.
Everyone present heard the verse, yet not one of them knew what it meant.
The treatise concludes: “It secretly and silently wards off evil; the others do not understand.”
Fourth explanation: a spell is the secret speech of the Buddhas. It is like a king saying, “Bring sendhava.” None of his ministers understands except the wise minister, who knows that during handwashing it means water, during a meal it means salt, at the meal’s end it means a vessel, and when setting out it means a horse. One name, four things, determined by the occasion.
Only after presenting the four explanations does the treatise give its conclusion.
Its conclusion is not “which explanation is right,” but: “Because of these meanings, all preserve the original sounds; the translators’ intent in not translating lies here.”
Precisely because a spell has so many layers of meaning, translators of scripture preserve its original sound without exception.
III. Not Translated Does Not Mean Impossible to Translate
This conclusion deserves a pause, because it reverses the common impression.
People generally imagine that spells are untranslated because they are mysterious, incomprehensible, and rendered ineffective by translation.
The treatise says precisely the opposite: they are left untranslated not because they lack meaning, but because they have too many meanings. The fourth explanation already states: “It is only one Dharma, yet it possesses many powers throughout: illness is cured, offenses removed, goodness born, and the path joined.” One spell universally possesses many functions: curing illness, removing offenses, producing goodness, and joining the path.
Once translated, only one of those powers remains.
The story of the man falsely claiming to be a prince is a demonstration of this principle. The same verse is merely a few words to everyone in the room; in that one man’s mind, it exposes his entire history.
A spell works not because others fail to understand, but because the one person it matches understands.
The second explanation, the army’s secret watchword, has the same structure: the sign itself carries no evident meaning, but a match opens passage and a mismatch brings arrest. Meaning does not reside in the literal wording, but in correspondence.
IV. Five Parties Come Forward to Say the Same Thing
After dividing the text into four, the treatise records five occasions on which spells are requested and spoken: Medicine King, Brave-in-Giving, the Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa, the Heavenly King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and finally the ten rākṣasī women.
Among these five, Medicine King’s occasion has four divisions (request, utterance, praise, and confirmation), while the ten women’s has five (listing the names, requesting and uttering, praise, vow, and confirmation)—the additional division is shi (“vow”).
The first four occasions each offer a spell and receive the Buddha’s confirmation. Only the ten women make a separate vow afterward: if anyone troubles the Dharma teacher, they will split that person’s head into seven pieces.
This deserves attention. In Buddhist scriptures rākṣasī women ordinarily appear as those to be subdued; in this chapter they come forward of their own accord to request protection, and they alone make an additional vow.
Protecting the Dharma does not select by origin.
The treatise offers no argument about this. It simply records the number of divisions in each of the five occasions. Yet the difference between “five divisions” and “four divisions” stands plainly before the reader.
And when the mirror refutes Daosheng, it draws precisely upon this point: the four heavenly kings who protect the realm and the ten rākṣasī women all seek the Buddha’s confirmation in order to protect the Dharma. They are not objects driven by sorcery; they are those who make vows.
V. A Head Split into Seven and Branches of the Arjaka Tree
After reciting their spell, the ten rākṣasī women make a severe vow: if anyone troubles the Dharma teacher, “may that person’s head split into seven pieces, like branches of the arjaka tree.”
The treatise adds a note here, so brief that it almost seems written in passing: branches of the arjaka tree naturally split into seven pieces when they fall to the ground.
—Thus “seven pieces” is not an arbitrary number, but the natural pattern in which that tree’s branches break upon falling.
This note reveals the character of the treatise. The entire chapter discusses four explanations of spells, the four siddhāntas, and the meaning of nontranslation; then it suddenly investigates a tree for the sake of one number. After the investigation, the vow changes from a harsh statement into a concrete simile: like that kind of branch falling to the ground and splitting apart of itself.
VI. Opening and Warding Off: The Same Spell, Different Uses
Before presenting the four explanations, the treatise makes a practical arrangement: it sorts the spells in various scriptures according to use.
Some are used exclusively to cure illness. Some are used exclusively to protect the Dharma—this chapter is one. Some are used exclusively to eliminate offenses, as in the Vaipulya scriptures. Some are used for all three purposes, as in the Invoking Guanshiyin. Another class comprises great-illumination spells, unsurpassed-illumination spells, and unequalled-illumination spells; these are neither for curing illness, eliminating offenses, nor protecting scripture.
After arranging them, the treatise gives a principle of use in two clauses:
“If discussed from the universal approach, they should also encompass the others; if discussed separately, one must take care to follow the scripture and not depart from its teaching.”
From an accommodating perspective, they should also encompass one another; from the perspective of each separately, one should follow the scripture and not violate its teaching.
Together these two clauses express considerable restraint. They acknowledge a dimension in which spells have general use while insisting that the spell taught in each scripture has its own function: accommodation does not mean indiscriminate use.
Placed at the chapter’s opening, this principle already anticipates the later conclusion. Precisely because a spell does not have only one use, its translation cannot select only one.
VII. Carrying Forward: After Protection by Spells Comes Protection by People
At the chapter’s end, the treatise records three further worldly matters: killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, and disrupting the saṅgha are the three grave offenses; in foreign lands, oil is made by pounding sesame, allowing worms to arise, and pressing them together in order to obtain more juice and richness—the treatise condemns this as “this fault is especially grave”; giving out with a light measure and taking in with a heavy measure is an extreme form of fraudulent theft, and in recent times someone who gave out with a small measure and took in with a large one was struck by lightning, leaving an inscription on his back.
These three notes are exceedingly rare in the entire work. A scriptural commentary suddenly concerns itself with methods of pressing oil and the measures used in commerce.
Yet their placement is exact: this chapter concerns protecting the Dharma, and before protecting it one must know what evil should be warded off. The scripture lists the people protected by the ten rākṣasī women, and the treatise takes the occasion to list several evils actually occurring around people of its time.
What follows is The Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment. In that chapter the treatise itself explains the transition: “The preceding chapter spoke of protection by spells; the present chapter speaks of protection by people. If protection by people is already so, protection by spells is still finer.”
The reading path turns from “protecting the Dharma through spells” to “protecting the Dharma through people.”
Through the Eye of the Wenjuji
In reading this chapter, the mirror does two things that the root treatise does not: one is refutation, the other distinction.
First, the refutation.
Daosheng (Zhu Daosheng) explains this chapter by saying that those of shallow understanding have weak minds in upholding the scripture, so spells are used to press them forward. The annotator says instead that hidden and manifest powers lend assistance and praise, and therefore it is called dhāraṇī.
The mirror’s assessment of the first position has only six Chinese characters: “Viewed carefully, Master Daosheng has strayed even farther than the annotator”.
It then gives a thoroughly concrete reason: the spells in this chapter are originally meant to ward off troubles for those who propagate the scripture—how could they merely use sorcery to coerce people? Moreover, the four heavenly kings who protect the realm and the ten rākṣasī women all seek the Buddha’s confirmation to protect the Dharma. How could this be described as using sorcery to press people forward?
Its refutation is not doctrinal but textual. Simply look at who recites the spells and why, and one sees that the explanation does not fit.
Next, the distinction.
The mirror itself raises a sharp question: in principle, spells should not be translated; but if they truly cannot be translated at all, why did Dharmarakṣa translate them?
It neither evades the question nor smooths matters over for anyone. It then makes the still harsher statement: “If one does not understand the intent of nontranslation, why be surprised that one moves the chapter?”
—If someone does not even understand why it is not translated, what is surprising about that person moving the chapter’s position?
This statement fastens two matters together: treatment of a text reflects the depth of one’s understanding of its doctrine. One who does not understand why it is untranslated will not understand why this chapter belongs in this position.
The mirror also distinguishes a change in translated terminology: new translations uniformly call it “true word” or “illumination,” whereas ancient translators saw it as secret and did not translate it. Because this land already had arts such as forbidden incantations, they borrowed the name zhou (“spell”) to translate it.
Thus the translated name “spell” is itself a borrowing.
Borrowing carries a cost: once the name of indigenous occult arts was borrowed, later readers could easily interpret it through those arts. In the end, Daosheng’s misunderstanding was led astray by the translated name.
Finally, the mirror assigns each of the root treatise’s four explanations to the four siddhāntas: the name of a ghost-spirit king stops evil and produces good; the army watchword produces good; secretly treating evil is counteraction; the Buddhas’ secret speech possesses all four dharmas and constitutes ultimate meaning—more precisely, curing illness is the worldly, removing offenses counteraction, producing good adaptation to persons, and joining the path ultimate meaning.
The root treatise presents the four explanations side by side without judgment; the mirror gives each its proper place.
Passing no judgment and giving each its place do not conflict. The treatise passes no judgment because each explanation has an appropriate application; the mirror can assign them precisely because each has an appropriate application.
考據Apparatus
本品為本帙次短之單元（六百五十九漢字），而所論獨重一事：呪何以不翻。本論先以四義釋「陀羅尼」之名，次列諸經開遮之不同，再錄諸師釋呪之四說（鬼神王名・軍中密號・密默遮惡・諸佛密語），末乃結曰「為此義故皆存本音，譯人不翻意在此也」。後半分文為四，並逐一漢譯諸鬼之名。所引二家：《請觀音》《大經》（先陀婆之典）。
一、科判定位
本品屬本門（15–28）流通之末段，為化他流通五品之第四。前品已判本品「以總持乘乘」〔0143b04〕。嚴格域為 T34n1718〔0146b29–0147a11〕：起於品題「釋陀羅尼品」〔0146b29〕，止於「斯罪亦不輕也」〔0147a11〕。全域實有六百五十九個漢字，為本帙次短之單元（最短者為 22_zhulei 之七百六十五字之下者，本單元居其次）。本單元不跨卷界。
| 次第 | 本論自科 | 行域與內容 |
|---|---|---|
| 一 | 釋名·四義 | 總持惡不起善不失〔其一〕・能遮能持〔其二三〕・能遮邊惡能持中善〔其四〕〔0146b29–0147c02 前之 0146c01–0146c02〕 |
| 二 | 諸經開遮之不同 | 專治病（那達居士）・專護法（此文）・專滅罪（方等）・通用（《請觀音》）・三明呪〔0146c02–0146c08〕 |
| 三 | 諸師釋呪·四說 | 鬼神王名〔其一〕・軍中密號〔其二〕・密默治惡（引偈）〔其三〕・諸佛密語（先陀婆）〔其四〕〔0146c08–0146c24〕 |
| 四 | 不翻之由與來意 | 皆存本音，譯人不翻意在此；惡世弘經喜多惱難，以呪護之〔0146c24–0146c26〕 |
| 五 | 分文為四 | 問持經功德・答甚多・請以呪護・聞品得益〔0146c26–0146c28〕 |
| 六 | 請說呪五番 | 藥王・勇施・毘沙門・持國・十女；藥王四科・十女五科〔0146c28–0147a03〕 |
| 七 | 諸鬼名之漢譯 | 夜叉・羅剎・富單那・吉遮・毘陀羅・揵陀羅・烏摩勒・阿跋摩羅〔0147a03–0147a07〕 |
| 八 | 阿梨樹枝與三逆 | 阿梨樹枝墮地法爾破為七片；弒父母破僧是三逆罪〔0147a07–0147a08〕 |
| 九 | 外國油與斗秤 | 擣麻使生蟲合壓・斗秤輕出重入；「震銘其背」〔0147a08–0147a11〕 |
《文句記》對位：T34n1719〔0358a07–0358b11〕，起於品題「釋陀羅尼品」〔0358a07〕，訖於「未損大儀終不及護」〔0358b10–0358b11〕。
二、成立與傳本
卷端序記灌頂法師私記、合二十卷〔0001a23–0001a24〕，又記唐天寶戊子朗和尚條倫。義說歸智者，記錄歸灌頂，現行文字又經條倫治定；神逈序、朗和尚治定語與湛然《文句記》皆屬傳本或鏡釋層，不改作智者正文。
三、所帖經文與所引
（一）所帖根經：〈陀羅尼品〉
| 本論所標 | 根經逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 「頭破七分」 | 「頭破作七分」 | T09n0262〔0059b13〕 |
| 「阿梨樹枝」 | 「如阿梨樹枝」 | 〔0059b13〕 |
本論作「若不順呪者頭破七分」〔0146c12–0146c13〕，根經作「頭破作七分」〔0059b13〕——本論省一「作」字，並錄不判。二語於根經同在一行。
（二）本論所舉之諸經開遮
「或專用治病，如那達居士；或專護法，如此文；或專用滅罪，如方等；或通用治病滅罪護經，如《請觀音》，或大明呪無上明呪無等等明呪」〔0146c03–0146c07〕。
- 那達居士：今本大藏以標記容錯法檢此名零命中，據實誌之，不代擬出處。
- 《請觀音》：即《請觀世音菩薩消伏毒害陀羅尼呪經》T20n1043，本論於 12_tipodaduo 亦引之〔0116c10〕，彼處逐字命中〔T20n1043 0037c03〕。
- 三明呪（大明呪・無上明呪・無等等明呪）：本論舉般若之定型語，不指卷品。《文句記》承此而云「通論秖是般若，般若總攝故名為呪」〔T34n1719 0358a24〕。
（三）本論所引：密默治惡之偈——今本零命中
「有一明人從其國來，主往說之，其人語主，若當瞋時說偈，偈云「無親遊他國，欺誑一切人，麁食是常事，何勞復作瞋。」」〔0146c14–0146c18〕。今本大藏以標記容錯法檢此偈四句，皆零命中。本論所述之故事亦不指出處，據實誌之，不代擬。
（四）本論所引：先陀婆之典——《大般涅槃經》
「或云呪者，是諸佛密語，如王索先陀婆，一切群下無有能識，唯有智臣乃能知之」〔0146c20–0146c23〕。今本《大般涅槃經》T12n0374 有「先陀婆」六見〔0421b01–0421b06〕，其中「索先陀婆」四見〔0421b03〕〔0421b04〕〔0421b05〕〔0421b06〕——王索先陀婆而一名四實（鹽・器・水・馬）之典即在此段。本論舉其事而不徵其文，並錄。
四、文句記釋要〔鏡〕
本品之鏡釋見 T34n1719〔0358a07–0358b11〕。其要有四。
其一·四悉之判。鏡逐一判本論釋名之四義：「善惡異故，即世界」〔0358a11〕；「能持善邊即為人，能遮惡邊即對治，中善即第一義」〔0358a12–0358a13〕；末結「故秖「遮持」二字四悉具足」〔0358a13–0358a14〕。
其二·駁生公與注家。鏡引生公之說：「近識受持心薄，故敦之以呪術」〔0358a14–0358a15〕，又引注家「幽顯挾贊故曰陀羅尼」〔0358a15〕，隨即斷曰「觀生公去注遠矣」〔0358a16〕。其駁之理由甚實：本品之呪「本為弘經者護難，豈唯敦逼呪術」〔0358a16–0358a17〕，且「護國四王、羅剎七女皆為護法請佛印許，如何謂為呪術敦之耶？」〔0358a18–0358a19〕。此駁為鏡自出，本論所無。
其三·呪之可翻與不可翻。鏡自設難：「然呪之為義本不合翻」〔0358a20〕，然「若全不可翻，竺法護何故翻之？」〔0358a22〕；末乃申一警語——「若其不曉不翻之意，移品何疑？」〔0358a22–0358a23〕。復判新舊譯名之異：「所以新譯並名真言及以明者，古人見祕密不譯，例如此土禁呪等法，便以呪名往翻」〔0358a27–0358b01〕。
其四·諸師四說之四悉配。鏡逐一配之：初說「王名異故息惡生善」〔0358b03–0358b04〕；次說「即以相應謂為生善」〔0358b04〕；第三說「密治即對治也」〔0358b05〕；第四說「具足四法成第一義，以密具四為稱理也」〔0358b07–0358b08〕，並細配「初病愈世界，罪除對治，生善為人，道合第一義」〔0358b08–0358b09〕。
五、諸家異釋
本論所錄：諸師釋呪之四說〔0146c08–0146c24〕，本論一一錄之而不加判語，末乃總收「為此義故皆存本音」〔0146c24〕——四說並存而歸於一結，非取一而棄三。
鏡層所錄並駁：生公「敦之以呪術」之說與注家「幽顯挾贊」之說〔T34n1719 0358a14–0358a16〕，鏡皆不從；末云「故知此與生公永異，注家云「贊」，未損大儀終不及護」〔0358b09–0358b11〕。二家皆鏡自錄自駁，不倒寫為本論所錄。
六、術語
| 語 | 釋 |
|---|---|
| 陀羅尼 | 此翻總持：總持惡不起、善不失；又翻能遮能持——能持善、能遮惡；又能遮邊惡、能持中善〔0146c01–0146c02〕。 |
| 諸經開遮 | 專治病・專護法・專滅罪・通用治病滅罪護經・三明呪；「若通方者亦應兼，若論別者幸須依經勿乖教」〔0146c02–0146c08〕。 |
| 諸師四說 | 鬼神王名（稱其王名部落敬主）・軍中密號（唱號相應無所訶問）・密默治惡（惡自休息）・諸佛密語（如王索先陀婆）〔0146c08–0146c24〕。 |
| 不翻之由 | 秖是一法遍有諸力，病愈罪除善生道合；為此義故皆存本音〔0146c23–0146c25〕。 |
| 諸鬼之譯 | 夜叉翻捷疾鬼・羅剎翻食人鬼（二部北方所領）・富單那熱病鬼・吉遮起尸鬼・毘陀羅赤色鬼・揵陀羅黃色鬼〔未詳〕・烏摩勒烏色鬼〔未詳〕・阿跋摩羅青色鬼〔0147a03–0147a07〕。 |
七、譬喻・互讀・承衍
本單元之譬皆為釋呪而設，凡二：軍中密號——唱號相應則無所訶問，不相應即執治罪〔0146c11–0146c13〕；訛稱王子——一微賤之人逃至彼國訛稱王子而尚公主，多瞋難事；明人教其妻於彼瞋時說一偈，說偈之時瞋即默然而歇，而在座諸人但聞其偈皆不知其意〔0146c14–0146c20〕。第二喻最切呪義——話說出來了，人人都聽見，可是只有當事人知道它在說什麼，本論以此釋「密默遮惡餘無識者」〔0146c20〕。
本單元末三事（阿梨樹枝、外國油、斗秤）為本論罕見之風俗誌：阿梨樹枝墮地法爾破為七片，故經以之喻頭破七分；外國之油以擣麻使生蟲而合壓之，圖多汁益肥，本論斥為「此過尤也」；斗秤輕出重入，本論記「近世有小斗出大斗入，震銘其背」〔0147a10–0147a11〕。此三事皆本論自出之世諦註腳，於全帙中甚少。
與〈觀世音菩薩普門品〉互讀：前品之機應以稱名為口機〔0146a24〕，本品之護持以持呪為用；同是口業而一為感、一為護。
與〈妙莊嚴王本事品〉互讀：下品本論自標「前品說呪護，今品說人護，人護尚爾，呪護彌良」〔0147b16–0147b17〕——二品之關係由本論自繫。
承衍：本單元止於斗秤之誡〔0147a11〕。其下〈妙莊嚴王本事品〉以人護經；讀路由『以呪護法』，轉入『以人護法』。
八、校本定位
本單元嚴格域內有三個校勘正文位置，皆為【大】【甲】對舉之單邊校記；無星號回指、無省略字數式校記、無 CBETA 校改。本單元校記之數為本帙最少。
| 次 | 位置 | 【大】 | 【甲】 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | 0146c04 | 士 | 土 |
| 二 | 0146c27 | 問 | 聞 |
| 三 | 0147a07 | 爾 | 甲本缺 |
三枚皆值得誌明。第一枚〔0146c04〕正落在「那達居士」之「士」，甲本作「土」——本論所舉之那達其名今本零命中（見第三目第二項），而甲本作「土」（那達居土），二形並存，並錄不判。第二枚〔0146c27〕落在分文四科之「一、問持經功德」之「問」，甲本作「聞」——問與聞義有能所之異，並錄不判。第三枚〔0147a07〕落在「若人若夜叉俱有此鬼」前之「爾」，甲本缺。
本單元嚴格域內無通用字庫外字。品題兩形之例（「序品」無釋冠、餘二十七品作「釋Ｘ品」）於本品見「釋陀羅尼品」〔0146b29〕。
This chapter is the second-shortest unit in the work (659 Han characters), and its discussion centers exclusively on one matter: why spells are not translated. The root treatise first explains the name 「陀羅尼」 tr. “dhāraṇī” through four meanings, then lists the different openings and restrictions in various scriptures, then records four explanations of spells by various masters (name of a ghost-spirit king, secret army watchword, silently warding off evil, and secret speech of the Buddhas), and only then concludes 「為此義故皆存本音，譯人不翻意在此也」 tr. “Because of these meanings, all preserve the original sounds; the translators’ intent in not translating lies here.” The latter half divides the text into four and translates the names of the ghosts one by one. Two sources are cited: the Invoking Guanshiyin and the Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra (the sendhava example).
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
This chapter belongs to the final propagation segment of the Origin Gate (15–28) and is the fourth of the five chapters on transforming others. The preceding chapter already classified it as 「以總持乘乘」 tr. “riding the vehicle through comprehensive retention”〔0143b04〕. Its strict domain is T34n1718〔0146b29–0147a11〕: it begins with the chapter heading 「釋陀羅尼品」 tr. “Explanation of the Dhāraṇī Chapter”〔0146b29〕 and ends with 「斯罪亦不輕也」 tr. “this offense too is not light”〔0147a11〕. The complete domain contains 659 Han characters and is the work’s second-shortest unit (the shortest is 22_zhulei, at 765 characters, with this unit ranked next). This unit does not cross a fascicle boundary.
| Sequence | Root-treatise division | Domain and content |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Explanation of the name · four meanings | Comprehensively retaining, evil does not arise and goodness is not lost〔其一〕; able to ward off and able to retain〔其二、其三〕; able to ward off the evil of the extremes and retain the goodness of the middle〔其四〕〔0146b29–0147c02, with 0146c01–0146c02 preceding the endpoint〕 |
| 2 | Different openings and restrictions in various scriptures | Exclusively curing illness (householder Nata), exclusively protecting Dharma (this passage), exclusively eliminating offenses (Vaipulya), general use (Invoking Guanshiyin), and the three illumination spells〔0146c02–0146c08〕 |
| 3 | Masters’ explanations of spells · four positions | Name of a ghost-spirit king〔其一〕; secret army watchword〔其二〕; secretly and silently treating evil (with verse)〔其三〕; secret speech of the Buddhas (sendhava)〔其四〕〔0146c08–0146c24〕 |
| 4 | Reason for nontranslation and purpose of the chapter | All preserve the original sounds, and the translators’ intent in not translating lies here; propagating scripture in an evil age readily brings many troubles, so spells protect it〔0146c24–0146c26〕 |
| 5 | Four divisions of the text | Question about the merit of upholding the scripture, answer that it is exceedingly great, request to protect with spells, and benefit from hearing the chapter〔0146c26–0146c28〕 |
| 6 | Five occasions requesting spells | Medicine King, Brave-in-Giving, Vaiśravaṇa, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and the ten women; four divisions for Medicine King and five for the ten women〔0146c28–0147a03〕 |
| 7 | Chinese translations of ghost names | Yakṣa, rākṣasa, pūtana, kṛtya, vetāla, gandhāra, umaraka, and apasmāra〔0147a03–0147a07〕 |
| 8 | Arjaka-tree branches and three grave offenses | Arjaka-tree branches naturally split into seven when they fall; killing one’s parents and disrupting the saṅgha are the three grave offenses〔0147a07–0147a08〕 |
| 9 | Foreign oil and measures | Pounding sesame, allowing worms to arise, and pressing them together; giving out with a light measure and taking in with a heavy one; 「震銘其背」 tr. “struck by lightning, leaving an inscription on his back”〔0147a08–0147a11〕 |
The aligned Wenjuji passage is T34n1719〔0358a07–0358b11〕, beginning with the chapter heading 「釋陀羅尼品」 tr. “Explanation of the Dhāraṇī Chapter”〔0358a07〕 and ending with 「未損大儀終不及護」 tr. “although not damaging the broad purport, it ultimately falls short of protection”〔0358b10–0358b11〕.
II. Formation and Transmission
The fascicle-opening preface records that the Dharma Master Guanding made private notes and combined them into twenty fascicles〔0001a23–0001a24〕; it also records Monk Lang’s ordering and redaction in the wuxu year of the Tianbao era under the Tang. The doctrinal exposition is attributed to Zhiyi, the record to Guanding, and the received wording was subsequently ordered and redacted by Monk Lang. Shenjiong’s preface, Lang’s redactional statement, and Zhanran’s Wenjuji belong to the transmission or mirror layers and are not retroactively attributed to Zhiyi’s root text.
III. Sutra Passages Explained and Works Cited
A. Root Scripture Explained: Dhāraṇī
| Root-treatise wording | Root-sūtra wording | Locus |
|---|---|---|
| 「頭破七分」 tr. “head split into seven pieces” | 「頭破作七分」 tr. “head split and become seven pieces” | T09n0262〔0059b13〕 |
| 「阿梨樹枝」 tr. “branches of the arjaka tree” | 「如阿梨樹枝」 tr. “like branches of the arjaka tree” | 〔0059b13〕 |
The root treatise has 「若不順呪者頭破七分」 tr. “one who does not follow the spell has the head split into seven pieces”〔0146c12–0146c13〕, while the root scripture has 「頭破作七分」 tr. “the head splits and becomes seven pieces”〔0059b13〕. The root treatise omits the single character 「作」 tr. “become”; both are recorded side by side without adjudication. The two phrases occur on the same line in the root scripture.
B. Different Openings and Restrictions in Scriptures Raised by the Root Treatise
The root treatise says: 「或專用治病，如那達居士；或專護法，如此文；或專用滅罪，如方等；或通用治病滅罪護經，如《請觀音》，或大明呪無上明呪無等等明呪」 tr. “Some are used exclusively to cure illness, as with the householder Nata; some exclusively to protect Dharma, as in this passage; some exclusively to eliminate offenses, as in the Vaipulya scriptures; some generally for curing illness, eliminating offenses, and protecting scripture, as in the Invoking Guanshiyin; and some are great-illumination, unsurpassed-illumination, and unequalled-illumination spells”〔0146c03–0146c07〕.
- Householder Nata: a markup-tolerant search of the received canon yields zero matches for this name. This is recorded as the evidence stands, without supplying a conjectural source.
- The Invoking Guanshiyin: this is the Dhāraṇī Spell Scripture Invoking the Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World’s Sounds to Dispel Poisonous Harm, T20n1043. The root treatise also cites it in
12_tipodaduo〔0116c10〕, where the wording is matched exactly at〔T20n1043 0037c03〕. - The three illumination spells (great-illumination, unsurpassed-illumination, and unequalled-illumination): the root treatise raises a standard Prajñāpāramitā formula without identifying a fascicle or chapter. The Wenjuji carries this forward: 「通論秖是般若，般若總攝故名為呪」 tr. “Discussed universally, it is simply prajñā; because prajñā comprehensively gathers all, it is called a spell”〔T34n1719 0358a24〕.
C. Root-Treatise Citation: Verse for Secretly Treating Evil—Zero Match in the Received Canon
The root treatise says: 「有一明人從其國來，主往說之，其人語主，若當瞋時說偈，偈云「無親遊他國，欺誑一切人，麁食是常事，何勞復作瞋。」」 tr. “A wise man came from his country, and the princess went to tell him. The man told the princess that when her husband became angry she should recite a verse: ‘With no kin, you wander in another land, deceiving everyone; coarse food is an ordinary matter—why trouble to become angry again?’”〔0146c14–0146c18〕. A markup-tolerant search of the received canon yields zero matches for all four clauses of this verse. The treatise gives no source for the story; this is recorded as the evidence stands, without supplying one.
D. Root-Treatise Citation: The Sendhava Example—Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra
The root treatise says: 「或云呪者，是諸佛密語，如王索先陀婆，一切群下無有能識，唯有智臣乃能知之」 tr. “Some say a spell is the secret speech of the Buddhas, like a king requesting sendhava: none of his ministers can understand, and only the wise minister can know”〔0146c20–0146c23〕. The received Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra, T12n0374, contains six occurrences of 「先陀婆」 tr. “sendhava”〔0421b01–0421b06〕, including four occurrences of 「索先陀婆」 tr. “requesting sendhava”〔0421b03〕〔0421b04〕〔0421b05〕〔0421b06〕. The example in which the king requests sendhava and one name denotes four things (salt, vessel, water, and horse) occurs in this passage. The root treatise raises the event without citing its wording; both are recorded.
IV. Essential Explanations from the Wenjuji [the Mirror]
The mirror explanation of this chapter is found in T34n1719〔0358a07–0358b11〕. Four essentials follow.
First: assignment to the four siddhāntas. The mirror assigns each of the four meanings in the root treatise’s explanation of the name: 「善惡異故，即世界」 tr. “Because good and evil differ, this is the worldly”〔0358a11〕; 「能持善邊即為人，能遮惡邊即對治，中善即第一義」 tr. “Retaining the side of goodness is adaptation to persons; warding off the side of evil is counteraction; the goodness of the middle is ultimate meaning”〔0358a12–0358a13〕; it concludes 「故秖「遮持」二字四悉具足」 tr. “Thus the two characters ‘ward off and retain’ alone fully possess the four siddhāntas”〔0358a13–0358a14〕.
Second: refutation of Master Daosheng and the annotator. The mirror cites Daosheng’s explanation: 「近識受持心薄，故敦之以呪術」 tr. “Those of shallow understanding have weak minds in upholding, so they are pressed forward with sorcery”〔0358a14–0358a15〕. It then cites the annotator: 「幽顯挾贊故曰陀羅尼」 tr. “Hidden and manifest powers lend assistance and praise, and therefore it is called dhāraṇī”〔0358a15〕, and immediately judges 「觀生公去注遠矣」 tr. “Viewed carefully, Master Daosheng has strayed even farther than the annotator”〔0358a16〕. Its reason is concrete: the spells of this chapter are 「本為弘經者護難，豈唯敦逼呪術」 tr. “originally meant to ward off troubles for those who propagate the scripture; how could they merely coerce through sorcery?”〔0358a16–0358a17〕. Moreover, 「護國四王、羅剎七女皆為護法請佛印許，如何謂為呪術敦之耶？」 tr. “the four kings who protect the realm and the seven rākṣasī women all seek the Buddha’s confirmation to protect the Dharma; how can this be called pressing them forward with sorcery?”〔0358a18–0358a19〕. This refutation originates in the mirror and is absent from the root treatise.
Third: whether spells can or cannot be translated. The mirror itself raises the difficulty 「然呪之為義本不合翻」 tr. “in meaning, spells fundamentally should not be translated”〔0358a20〕, yet asks 「若全不可翻，竺法護何故翻之？」 tr. “if they cannot be translated at all, why did Dharmarakṣa translate them?”〔0358a22〕. It then gives a warning: 「若其不曉不翻之意，移品何疑？」 tr. “if one does not understand the intent of nontranslation, why be surprised that one moves the chapter?”〔0358a22–0358a23〕. It further distinguishes old and new translated terminology: 「所以新譯並名真言及以明者，古人見祕密不譯，例如此土禁呪等法，便以呪名往翻」 tr. “Thus new translations call them true words or illuminations; ancient translators saw the secret as untranslated, and, following arts such as forbidden incantations in this land, borrowed the name ‘spell’ to translate them”〔0358a27–0358b01〕.
Fourth: assigning the masters’ four explanations to the four siddhāntas. The mirror assigns them one by one: for the first, 「王名異故息惡生善」 tr. “because the king’s name is distinct, evil stops and goodness is born”〔0358b03–0358b04〕; for the second, 「即以相應謂為生善」 tr. “correspondence itself is called producing goodness”〔0358b04〕; for the third, 「密治即對治也」 tr. “secret treatment is counteraction”〔0358b05〕; for the fourth, 「具足四法成第一義，以密具四為稱理也」 tr. “possessing all four dharmas constitutes ultimate meaning, for secretly possessing all four accords with principle”〔0358b07–0358b08〕. It then gives the detailed assignment: 「初病愈世界，罪除對治，生善為人，道合第一義」 tr. “First, curing illness is the worldly; removing offenses is counteraction; producing goodness is adaptation to persons; joining the path is ultimate meaning”〔0358b08–0358b09〕.
V. Explanations of Various Masters
Recorded by the root treatise: the masters’ four explanations of spells〔0146c08–0146c24〕. The root treatise records each without judgment and only then gathers them together under 「為此義故皆存本音」 tr. “because of these meanings, all preserve the original sounds”〔0146c24〕—four explanations coexist and return to one conclusion, rather than one being taken and three discarded.
Recorded and refuted by the mirror layer: Daosheng’s explanation 「敦之以呪術」 tr. “press them forward with sorcery” and the annotator’s 「幽顯挾贊」 tr. “hidden and manifest powers lend assistance and praise”〔T34n1719 0358a14–0358a16〕. The mirror follows neither and concludes: 「故知此與生公永異，注家云「贊」，未損大儀終不及護」 tr. “Thus we know this differs forever from Master Daosheng. The annotator says ‘praise’; although not damaging the broad purport, it ultimately falls short of protection”〔0358b09–0358b11〕. Both positions are recorded and refuted by the mirror itself and are not retroactively presented as positions recorded by the root treatise.
VI. Terminology
| Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Dhāraṇī | Here translated as comprehensive retention: comprehensively retaining, evil does not arise and goodness is not lost. Also translated as able to ward off and able to retain—retaining goodness and warding off evil; further, able to ward off the evil of the extremes and retain the goodness of the middle〔0146c01–0146c02〕. |
| Openings and restrictions in various scriptures | Exclusively curing illness, exclusively protecting Dharma, exclusively eliminating offenses, general use for curing illness/eliminating offenses/protecting scripture, and the three illumination spells. 「若通方者亦應兼，若論別者幸須依經勿乖教」 tr. “If discussed universally they should also encompass the others; if discussed separately, one must take care to follow the scripture and not depart from its teaching”〔0146c02–0146c08〕. |
| Masters’ four explanations | Name of a ghost-spirit king (pronouncing the king’s name, the tribe reveres its ruler); secret army watchword (when the announced sign corresponds, no one questions); secretly and silently treating evil (evil stops of itself); secret speech of the Buddhas (like a king requesting sendhava)〔0146c08–0146c24〕. |
| Reason for nontranslation | It is only one Dharma yet possesses many powers throughout: illness is cured, offenses removed, goodness born, and the path joined. Because of these meanings, all preserve the original sounds〔0146c23–0146c25〕. |
| Translation of ghost names | Yakṣa means swift ghost; rākṣasa, man-eating ghost (both governed by the north); pūtana, fever ghost; kṛtya, corpse-raising ghost; vetāla, red ghost; gandhāra, yellow ghost〔unverified〕; umaraka, black ghost〔unverified〕; apasmāra, blue ghost〔0147a03–0147a07〕. |
VII. Similes · Cross-Reading · Carrying Forward
The similes in this unit are both established to explain spells. There are two: the secret army watchword—if the announced sign corresponds, no one questions; if it does not, one is seized and punished〔0146c11–0146c13〕; and the man falsely claiming to be a prince—a man of low birth flees to another country, falsely claims to be a prince, and marries the princess, but is irascible and difficult. A wise man teaches his wife to recite a verse when he becomes angry; as it is spoken, his anger silently ceases, while everyone present hears the verse but does not understand it〔0146c14–0146c20〕. The second simile fits the meaning of spells most closely: the statement is spoken and everyone hears it, but only the person concerned knows what it means. The root treatise uses it to explain 「密默遮惡餘無識者」 tr. “secretly and silently warding off evil, while the others do not understand”〔0146c20〕.
The final three matters in this unit (arjaka-tree branches, foreign oil, and measures) are rare ethnographic notes in the root treatise: arjaka-tree branches naturally split into seven pieces when they fall, so the scripture uses them to illustrate a head splitting into seven; foreign oil is made by pounding sesame, allowing worms to arise, and pressing them together to obtain more juice and richness, which the root treatise condemns as 「此過尤也」 tr. “this fault is especially grave”; in commerce, giving out with a light measure and taking in with a heavy one leads the treatise to record 「近世有小斗出大斗入，震銘其背」 tr. “in recent times someone gave out with a small measure and took in with a large one and was struck by lightning, leaving an inscription on his back”〔0147a10–0147a11〕. All three are worldly notes originating in the root treatise and are rare in the work as a whole.
Read with The Universal Gateway of the Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World’s Sounds: the preceding chapter treats calling the name as oral capacity〔0146a24〕, whereas the present chapter uses upholding spells for protection. Both concern oral action, but one is resonance and the other protection.
Read with The Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment: the next chapter’s root treatise expressly marks the relation between the two: 「前品說呪護，今品說人護，人護尚爾，呪護彌良」 tr. “The preceding chapter spoke of protection by spells; the present chapter speaks of protection by people. If protection by people is already so, protection by spells is still finer”〔0147b16–0147b17〕.
Carrying forward: this unit ends with the admonition concerning measures〔0147a11〕. What follows is The Former Affairs of King Wonderful-Adornment, where people protect the scripture; the reading path turns from “protecting Dharma through spells” to “protecting Dharma through people.”
VIII. Placement of the Editions
Within the strict domain of this unit are three critical-text positions, all one-sided notes juxtaposing Taishō and edition A readings. There are no asterisk back-references, omission-count notes, or CBETA corrections. The number of critical notes in this unit is the smallest in the entire work.
| No. | Position | Taishō | Edition A |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0146c04 | gentleman | earth |
| 2 | 0146c27 | ask | hear |
| 3 | 0147a07 | thus | omitted in edition A |
All three warrant explicit record. The first〔0146c04〕 falls precisely on 「那達居士」 tr. “householder Nata,” specifically 「士」 tr. “gentleman”; edition A reads 「土」 tr. “earth.” The name Nata raised by the root treatise has zero matches in the received canon (see section III.B), while edition A reads 「土」 tr. “earth” (Nata dwelling-earth); both forms coexist and are recorded side by side without adjudication. The second〔0146c27〕 falls on 「一、問持經功德」 tr. “first, ask about the merit of upholding the scripture,” specifically 「問」 tr. “ask”; edition A reads 「聞」 tr. “hear.” Asking and hearing differ as agent and object, and both are recorded side by side without adjudication. The third〔0147a07〕 falls on 「若人若夜叉俱有此鬼」 tr. “whether among humans or yakṣas, this kind of ghost occurs,” before which stands 「爾」 tr. “thus”; edition A omits it.
There are no characters outside the common character inventory within the strict domain. The two forms of chapter heading—「序品」 tr. “Introduction Chapter,” without an initial “explanation,” and the other twenty-seven chapters as 「釋Ｘ品」 tr. “Explanation of Chapter X”—appear here as 「釋陀羅尼品」 tr. “Explanation of the Dhāraṇī Chapter”〔0146b29〕.