金光明最勝王經 大吉祥天女增長財物品第十七

This chapter begins with the Goddess of Great Auspiciousness stating where she dwells. It then sets out in detail the practices for those who seek wealth and grain: purifying a chamber, paying reverence, making offerings, reciting the formula, undertaking precepts, confessing offenses, making vows, and establishing an altar. It next relates the goddess’s response and the fulfillment of what is sought, and closes by directing the finest share of what is obtained back toward the Three Jewels, relief of the poor, reading the sūtra, and dedication. Huizhao’s Commentary serves as the exegetical mirror. Zhiyi and Jizang, commenting on the old recension, preserve the corresponding passage in the latter half of the Deity of Merit chapter. Zhili’s Record on the Words and Phrases of the Sūtra of Golden Light supplies a line-by-line record and is kept distinct in work and layer from his Record of Gleaned Notes on the Profound Meaning of the Sūtra of Golden Light, which explains only the Profound Meaning. The three recensions and the readings transmitted by the various masters are recorded without adjudicating.

I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement

Huizhao divides the chapter into four parts:

「下明其得法。品文分四：一明請求之軌」—“The following explains the method of obtaining it. The chapter text is divided into four: first, explanation of the protocol for making a request” 〔T39n1788 0309a18〕

Using the three boundary phrases 我於爾時, 既得如是, and 爾時, he continues with benefit obtained through the request, instruction in how it is to be used, and the World-Honored One’s praise of its benefit. He further divides the beginning of the protocol for making a request as indicating the dwelling place, so that the object contemplated has a determinate location.

This is the commentator’s division, not a set of headings supplied by the sūtra itself. The chapter contains only 948 Han characters, so the present edition follows the scriptural sequence in its divisions and does not insert separate outline numbers.

Huizhao also states explicitly that the sequence shown in the sūtra is not identical to the sequence of actual performance:

「懺禮供養誦呪敷座，非是前後，所明各別。然準經文標示正教，隨便即說，不依行次。」—“Confession, reverence, offering, recitation of the formula, and laying out the seat do not stand in temporal order; each matter is explained separately. The sūtra marks and indicates the correct teaching, but states it as convenient rather than according to the order of practice” 〔T39n1788 0309b08〕

The chapter may therefore be read in its scriptural sequence, but the commentator’s rearrangement cannot be poured back into the sūtra as though the text itself had declared that order.

II. Alternate Translations · Collation of the Three Translations

Chapter Boundaries in the Three Recensions

This passage has a continuous correspondence in all three Chinese recensions. The two old recensions include it in the latter half of the Deity of Merit chapter, while Yijing’s recension first establishes it as an independent Chapter Seventeen. The primary difference is thus the handling of the chapter division, not the presence or absence of the content.

The continuous alignments of the three recensions are as follows:

The Original Characters of the Dhāraṇīs in the Two Old Recensions

T663 transmits one sound-form:

「波利富樓那遮利　三曼陀達舍尼羅佉　摩訶毘呵羅伽帝　三曼陀毘陀那伽帝　摩訶迦梨波帝　波婆禰　薩婆哆㖃　三曼陀　脩鉢梨富隷　阿夜那達摩帝　摩訶毘鼓畢帝　摩訶彌勒簸僧祇帝　醯帝簁三博祇悕帝　三曼陀阿咃　阿㝹婆羅尼」—the transmitted dhāraṇī sound sequence 〔T16n0663 0345b08〕

T664 first transmits one sound-form:

「婆梨富樓那遮利　三曼陀達舍尼　摩訶毘呵羅伽帝　三曼陀毘那伽帝　摩訶伽梨波帝　波娑彌　薩婆哆三曼陀　修鉢梨富隷　阿夜那達摩帝　摩訶毘鼓畢帝　摩訶彌勒簸僧祇帝　醯帝簁三博祇悕帝三曼陀阿咃　阿㝹娑羅尼」—the first transmitted dhāraṇī sound sequence 〔T16n0664 0388b11〕

It then preserves an interlinear note and a second sound-form:

「〔此下呪八行新飜出，還是功德天說，與舊呪不同，不知何者是非，故並寫出之〕南無一切三世佛　南無一切諸菩薩　南無彌勒菩薩等。」—“[The following eight lines of the formula were newly translated. They are still spoken by the Deity of Merit, but differ from the old formula. It is not known which is right or wrong, so both are written out.] Homage to all buddhas of the three times; homage to all bodhisattvas; homage to Bodhisattva Maitreya and the others” 〔T16n0664 0388b17〕

「哆姪咃　波梨富樓那遮利　三曼陀達舍尼　摩訶毘呵羅伽帝　三曼陀毘陀那伽帝摩訶迦葉梨耶　波利波羅波禰薩婆利陀三曼多修鉢利帝　富隷那阿夜那達摩多摩訶俱畢帝　摩訶彌勒帝盧簸僧祇帝帝醯帝簁僧祇晞帝　三曼陀遏咃何㝹波羅尼　莎波呵」—the second transmitted dhāraṇī sound sequence 〔T16n0664 0388b20〕

The note itself preserves both formulas with the words “both are written out.” They are likewise reproduced here in full, recorded without adjudicating between their correctness and incorrectness and without imposing an unsupported restoration of their sounds.

Complete Table of Enumerable Original-Character Differences between T663 and T664

The following table compares the two continuously corresponding passages after punctuation and spaces are removed, grouping adjacent differences into word-blocks. All thirteen are listed. A difference of punctuation can be seen in the purification passage: T663 reads 「應淨掃灑洗浴其身，著鮮白衣妙香塗身，為我至心三稱彼佛寶華琉璃世尊名號，禮拜供養燒香散華；」—“one should sweep, sprinkle, and purify; bathe the body; put on fresh white clothing; anoint the body with fine fragrance; for my sake sincerely invoke three times the name of that buddha, the World-Honored One Jeweled-Flower Lapis Lazuli; bow, make offerings, burn incense, and scatter flowers” 〔0345b03–b05〕; T664 reads 「應淨掃灑、洗浴其身、著鮮白衣、妙香塗身，為我至心三稱彼佛寶華琉璃世尊名號，禮拜、供養、燒香、散華，」—“one should sweep, sprinkle, and purify; bathe the body; put on fresh white clothing; anoint the body with fine fragrance; for my sake sincerely invoke three times the name of that buddha, the World-Honored One Jeweled-Flower Lapis Lazuli; bow, make offerings, burn incense, and scatter flowers” 〔0388b05–b08〕. The lexical sequence is shared, while the pauses and sentence-ending punctuation differ; each recension retains its own punctuation.

T664’s second formula is an additional preservation with no counterpart in T663; it has already been reproduced in full together with its interlinear note in the preceding subsection.

Individual Alignment of the Names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

T663 and T664 have the same original characters in their lists, although their line locations are given separately. T665 adds a universal homage to all buddhas of the ten directions and three times and adds Bodhisattva Well Established; it also places the list before the formula. Their internal order differs as well: the two old recensions first list five bodhisattvas 〔T663 0345c03–c04／T664 0388c15–c16〕 and then the buddhas of the four directions 〔T663 0345c04–c06／T664 0388c16–c18〕, while Yijing first lists the buddhas of the four directions 〔0439b26–b27〕 and then six bodhisattvas 〔0439b28–0439c01〕. The table follows T665’s sequence for alignment and does not represent the original order of the old recensions.

Complete Table of Original-Character Differences between the T665 Sūtra and Huizhao’s Citations in T1788

The following table aligns all lemmatic citations across the chapter after punctuation and spaces are removed. It yields twenty-four continuous differences. Sūtra and citation each retain their own recension; the commentary’s wording is not written back into the sūtra.

The interlinear notes within the dhāraṇī likewise remain with their respective witnesses: T665 has 去聲，下皆同爾 and 入聲, while Huizhao’s citation has 去聲，下皆同 and 入. Punctuation also differs and is not supplied from one witness to complete the other.

III. Scriptural Grounds for the Consciousness-Only Meaning (the Point of the Eye)

Explanation of the Title and Alternative Explanations within the Same Commentary

Huizhao explains the title:

「昔少有加多云增，先無令得稱長。財謂七珍，物謂四事。若能弘經，天女能令財物增長。此品廣明，故云〈增長財物品〉。」—“Adding to what was formerly little is called increase; causing what was formerly absent to be obtained is called growth. Wealth means the seven precious things, and goods mean the four requisites. If one can propagate the sūtra, the goddess can cause wealth and goods to increase and grow. This chapter explains that matter extensively and is therefore called The Goddess of Great Auspiciousness Increases Wealth” 〔T39n1788 0309a08〕

Asked how this chapter differs from the following chapter, the commentary first answers:

「能與者異故。」—“Because the beings able to give are different” 〔T39n1788 0309a12〕

It then also preserves another explanation transmitted from Tripiṭaka Master Paramārtha:

「此品正與衣服，珍財、飲食是兼；後品正與飲食，餘者是兼。」—“This chapter principally gives clothing, while precious wealth and food and drink are secondary; the following chapter principally gives food and drink, while the remaining goods are secondary” 〔T39n1788 0309a13〕

The first answer distinguishes the beings who give; the second distinguishes principal and secondary gifts. Both explanations are preserved without selecting one and discarding the other.

Eleven Items according to the Method of Practice and Nine according to the Text

Huizhao keeps the sequence of actual practice distinct from the sūtra’s narrative sequence:

「下第二正教修法。準依作法，有十一種：初應先教誦呪令就；二作壇場；三嚴淨其身；四應受八戒；五二時之中為自及天女供養三寶，及自供養天女；六為天女及以自身三時之中禮佛法僧；七自懺己愆；八普為迴向發所求願；九於天女前歸禮請名；十正誦神呪；十一希天滿願。今文不次，依文分九：一禮敬三寶。此經及寶華佛亦應禮敬，以前標說，此略不論。準前求辨才亦禮敬三寶及諸天神皆請加被，今此不請者，以增財易故。」—“The following, second, section directly teaches the method of practice. According to the method of performance, there are eleven items: first, one should initially be taught to recite the formula until it is mastered; second, establish the altar ground; third, adorn and purify the body; fourth, undertake the eight precepts; fifth, at the two times make offerings to the Three Jewels on behalf of oneself and the goddess, and oneself make offerings to the goddess; sixth, on behalf of the goddess and oneself, pay reverence to Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha at the three times; seventh, personally confess one’s faults; eighth, dedicate universally and make the wish for what is sought; ninth, before the goddess take refuge, pay reverence, and invoke the names; tenth, directly recite the divine formula; eleventh, hope that the goddess will fulfill the wish. The present text is not sequential. According to the text, it is divided into nine: first, reverence for the Three Jewels. This sūtra and Buddha Jeweled Flower should also be revered; because this was indicated earlier, it is omitted here. According to the preceding request for eloquence, one also revered the Three Jewels and requested all heavenly deities to bestow their aid. They are not requested here because increasing wealth is easy” 〔T39n1788 0309b27〕

The eleven belong to what is “according to the method of practice,” while the nine belong to what is “according to the text.” They cannot be fused into an eleven-item list supposedly enumerated by the sūtra itself.

Explanation of the Six Phrases

「五歎呪功能。有六：一灌頂法句，明是勝人法，如受王位，國師乘象取四海水，吉祥茅草以灌其頂，示吉祥相；此表得聞此陀羅尼當受佛位。二定成就句者，決滿所求。三真實句者，說契真故。四無虛誑者，不誑他故。五平等行者，一切有情皆得行故。六正善根者，世出世善之根本故。」—“Fifth, praise of the formula’s function, in six parts. First, a phrase of the Dharma of consecration: it shows that this is the Dharma of an excellent person. As when one receives royal station, the state preceptor rides an elephant, takes water from the four seas, and consecrates the person’s head with auspicious grass, displaying an auspicious sign; this represents that one who hears this dhāraṇī will receive the station of buddhahood. Second, a phrase of certain accomplishment means that what is sought will decisively be fulfilled. Third, a phrase of truth means that what is said accords with the real. Fourth, freedom from deception means not deceiving others. Fifth, impartial practice means that all sentient beings can practice it. Sixth, a right root of goodness means the foundation of worldly and supramundane good” 〔T39n1788 0309c25〕

These six explanations are Huizhao’s judgments. They are not syllable-by-syllable translations of the sounds of the dhāraṇī.

Precepts, the Two Times, and the Altar Ground

Huizhao separately determines the community to which the eight-precept discipline applies:

「下第三教應受戒。此據在家二眾法說，出家五眾不必須受。」—“The following, third, section teaches that precepts should be undertaken. This is stated according to the Dharma for the two lay communities; the five renunciant communities do not necessarily need to undertake them” 〔T39n1788 0310a04〕

The sūtra itself specifies offerings in the late afternoon; Huizhao adds:

「言及於晡時者，明晨朝亦爾。言供養佛，法及菩薩并吉祥天。」—“The words ‘and in the late afternoon’ show that the same applies at dawn. The words ‘make offerings to the buddhas’ mean to the Buddha, Dharma, and bodhisattvas, together with the Goddess of Great Auspiciousness” 〔T39n1788 0310a09〕

His five items for the altar ground are:

「下第八教立壇場。立壇場法有五：一依閑寂清淨之處、二瞿摩塗地、三畫吉祥女形、四為敷高座、五懸列旛蓋燒香散華。」—“The following, eighth, section teaches the establishment of the altar ground. The method for establishing it has five items: first, rely on a secluded and pure place; second, coat the ground with goma; third, paint the form of the Goddess of Great Auspiciousness; fourth, lay out a high seat for her; fifth, hang and arrange banners and canopies, burn incense, and scatter flowers” 〔T39n1788 0310a16〕

“The same applies at dawn” and the five-item synthesis of the altar ground are both the ancient master’s comprehensive interpretation. They cannot be passed off as the verbatim statements of this scriptural passage.

How What Is Obtained Is to Be Used

Huizhao first records the word order in the phrase concerning the finest share:

「此中文倒，應云可用上分為自及我廣修法會，設諸飲食布列香華，供養三寶。」—“The wording here is inverted. It should say: one may use the finest share, on behalf of oneself and me, to hold extensive Dharma assemblies, set out many foods and drinks, arrange incense and flowers, and make offerings to the Three Jewels” 〔T39n1788 0310b05〕

He then explains exchanging the goods for their value:

「已下二應貿供養餘，更為供養。」—“The following, second, section says that one should exchange the remainder of the offerings and make further offerings” 〔T39n1788 0310b09〕

The commentary further divides the remaining use into six parts: offering the finest share, exchanging what remains and offering again, protection by the goddess, relief of the poor, direct propagation of this sūtra, and universal giving and dedication. This division directs acquired wealth back toward offering, propagation of the sūtra, and liberation, while the wording of the sūtra and the commentator’s rearrangement remain on separate levels.

IV. Explanations of Various Masters

Huizhao’s Commentary on the Sūtra of Golden Light, the Supreme King, T39n1788

The principal commentary on this chapter contains three approaches, four major divisions, three divisions of the protocol for making a request, three divisions of benefit obtained through the request, and six divisions of use. Its internal alternative explanations, eleven items and nine items, six phrases, determination concerning the precept communities, two times, altar ground, inverted wording, and exchange for value have all been preserved in Section III. Fascicle five bears the attribution 「翻經沙門慧沼撰」—“composed by the sūtra-translating śramaṇa Huizhao” 〔T39n1788 0286b13〕. The present chapter continues near the end of that same fascicle, at 0309a06–0310b20; apparent matches for its title in the opening contents of the fascicle are not used as the principal commentary.

Zhiyi’s Words and Phrases on the Sūtra of Golden Light, T39n1785

The chapter heading is 「釋功德天品」—“Explanation of the Deity of Merit Chapter” 〔T39n1785 0076b17〕. Zhiyi first explains generally:

「此天住福德莊嚴法門攝一切法，而以功德為首，故言功德天。」—“This deity abides in the Dharma gate of the adornment of merit, which encompasses all dharmas; because merit stands foremost, she is called the Deity of Merit” 〔T39n1785 0076b18〕

He divides the whole chapter into six sections. Within the third, 「勸示行法，文中有略示廣示」—“exhorting and showing the method of practice; within the text there is a brief indication and an extensive indication” 〔0076b25–b26〕, the extensive indication unfolds from her constant dwelling place, Animanda, through invocation and offerings and the recitation and upholding of the divine formula 〔Zhili opens it into six at T39n1786 0143b21–b24〕, directly covering the corresponding passage of this chapter. The three sections “vowing to come and respond like a shadow,” “requiring shared practice,” and “separately indicating refuge and reverence” respectively connect with the old recension’s coming of the goddess, returning roots of goodness through giving, and reverential invocation of names. These are divisions in the Words and Phrases; they are not rewritten as items supposedly enumerated by Yijing’s text. The relevant fascicle bears the attributions 「隋天台智者大師說」—“spoken by the Great Tiantai Master Zhizhe of the Sui” 〔0073b04〕 and 「門人灌頂錄」—“recorded by his disciple Guanding” 〔0073b05〕.

Jizang’s Commentary on the Sūtra of Golden Light, T39n1787

Jizang explicitly states the principal and secondary gifts of this chapter:

「此品中亦與食飲，而與財物為正。」—“This chapter also gives food and drink, but the giving of wealth and goods is principal” 〔T39n1787 0168a24〕

Concerning what is expressed by the divine formula, the commentary preserves four categories:

「神呪所詮凡有四種：一嘆諸佛功德、二說第一義諦、三明藥草、四唱鬼神名字」—“What a divine formula expresses is generally of four kinds: first, praise of the buddhas’ qualities; second, statement of ultimate truth; third, explanation of medicinal herbs; fourth, proclamation of the names of spirits” 〔T39n1787 0168b17〕

He determines that the present formula “should be the qualities of the buddhas,” and further explains consecration, auspiciousness free of falsity, impartial practice among sentient beings, and roots of goodness among them. His explanation is preserved alongside Huizhao’s interpretation of the six phrases, without using either commentary to adjudicate the other. The work bears the attribution 「沙門吉藏撰」—“composed by the śramaṇa Jizang” 〔T39n1787 0160a27〕.

Zhili’s Record on the Words and Phrases of the Sūtra of Golden Light, T39n1786

This work explains Zhiyi’s Words and Phrases and contains a line-by-line record of the passage corresponding to this chapter:

「第三、〈功德天品〉，二：初、釋題，二：」—“Third: the Deity of Merit Chapter, in two parts: first, explanation of the title; second—” 〔T39n1786 0143a27〕

It then opens six items within the extensive indication of the method of practice in the latter half of the old recension:

「勸示行法，二：初、略勸示；二、廣勸示。私開六：初、示常所住處。」—“Exhorting and showing the method of practice, in two parts: first, brief exhortation and indication; second, extensive exhortation and indication. I privately open the latter into six: first, showing her constant dwelling place” 〔T39n1786 0143b21〕

Zhili translates Animanda as Possessor of Wealth, explains consecration as the water of dharma-nature consecrating the summit of the ten grounds, and expressly directs what is obtained toward awakening rather than the five desires:

「五、勸迴向菩提。此乃奉供及誦密言邀請意也。若為自身受五欲樂、希望財寶，即輪迴業，眾聖所訶，尊天寧護？令為己他成菩提故，其所剋獲非生死因，當依此文修今行法。」—“Fifth, exhortation to dedicate toward awakening. This is the intention of presenting offerings and reciting the esoteric words as an invitation. If it were for oneself to enjoy the pleasures of the five desires and hope for wealth and jewels, that would be the karma of cyclic existence, reproached by the sages; how could the honored goddess protect it? Because the practice causes awakening to be accomplished for oneself and others, what is obtained does not become a cause of birth and death. One should practice the present method according to this passage” 〔T39n1786 0143c01〕

He also explains āraṇya in two senses:

「阿蘭若，此云無諍，以其所居不與世諍，即離聚落五里處也。又有達摩阿蘭若，謂說諸法本來清淨，因名其處為法阿蘭若，即《華嚴經》初於阿蘭若法菩提場是也。今經所指，該其二也。」—“Āraṇya here means free of contention: because its dwelling does not contend with the world, it is a place five li distant from a settlement. There is also a Dharma-āraṇya, meaning that all dharmas are originally pure; for that reason the place is called a Dharma-āraṇya, as in the opening of the Flower Garland Sūtra, at the Dharma site of awakening in an āraṇya. What the present sūtra indicates encompasses both” 〔T39n1786 0143c05〕

His discussion closes by leaving “I” and “mine”:

「所獲資財離我我所。姊尚不著，妹豈能來？」—“The wealth obtained is free of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ If the elder sister is not attached, how could the younger sister come?” 〔T39n1786 0143c19〕

The relevant fascicle bears the attribution 「宋四明沙門知禮述」—“set forth by the śramaṇa Zhili of Siming in the Song” 〔0138a12〕. This is the line-by-line layer of the Record on the Words and Phrases.

Zhili’s Record of Gleaned Notes on the Profound Meaning of the Sūtra of Golden Light, T39n1784

This work explains the Profound Meaning. Its relevant passage is only a general discussion:

「〈堅牢地神品〉、〈大辯天品〉、〈功德天品〉，各於品內廣明饒益行經之者。」—“The Earth Deity Firm and Steadfast, Great Eloquence, and Deity of Merit chapters each explain extensively within the chapter how those who practice the sūtra are benefited” 〔T39n1784 0014b18〕

It shows how Zhili gathers the three chapters at the profound-meaning layer, but supplies no line-by-line explanation of this chapter. The work bears the attribution 「宋四明沙門知禮述」—“set forth by the śramaṇa Zhili of Siming in the Song” 〔0012b05〕. T1784 and T1786 are two distinct works and two distinct layers of commentary; they are not conflated.

V. Terminology

VI. Similes · Rhetoric

The chapter uses no explicit formula introducing a simile. Its narrative power chiefly arises from three arrangements—space, ritual, and return—together with a rhetoric of enumeration.

From city and garden to a single chamber. The goddess first names the northern city Possessor of Wealth, the garden Wondrous-Flower Merit Radiance, and the splendid seven-jeweled palace; she then brings the petitioner back to one purified chamber. The magnificent dwelling and an ordinary room reflect one another, locating the distant divine domain in the immediate place that can be purified.

From hearing the invitation to truthful disclosure in a dream. The sūtra first says that the goddess will 「即便護念觀察是人」—“immediately watch over and observe this person” 〔T16n0665 0440a02〕, then says that she is seen in a dream and truthfully explains the matter. Invisible protective attention joins with a remembered dream-disclosure, giving narrative transition to the fulfillment of what is sought.

From overflowing abundance to return through giving. The initial wish is for 「五穀日日增多、倉庫盈溢」—“the five grains to increase day after day and the storehouses to overflow” 〔T16n0665 0439b08〕, but the close directs what is obtained toward offerings to the Three Jewels, relief of the poor, universal giving, and dedication to awakening. Wealth is not an endpoint sealed within the storehouse; it becomes a medium of circulation from oneself to others.

Enumeration produces all-pervasiveness. Each honored name is invoked individually, each kind of offering is arranged separately, and the benefits name gold and silver, wealth and jewels, cattle and sheep, grain and wheat, food and drink, and clothing one by one. Rather than stating abstractly that everything is complete, the rhetoric leads the reader through each object of reverence, each practice, each thing obtained, and each thing given.

VII. Cross-Reading · Carrying Forward

Cross-reading with the preceding chapter. Chapter Sixteen already has the Goddess of Great Auspiciousness explain offerings, propagation of the sūtra, and the benefits of material support. This chapter develops those themes through the northern city and garden, the practice of invitation, and the use of what is obtained. Huizhao’s two explanations distinguishing this chapter from the following chapter have both been preserved in Section III; chapter order is not substituted for the ancient master’s original judgments.

Cross-reading with the following chapter. In all three recensions this passage closes immediately before The Earth Deity Firm and Steadfast. T665 establishes a separate Chapter Seventeen, while the two old recensions continue this passage within the Deity of Merit chapter. When the next chapter is read, each recension’s chapter boundary must remain intact; Yijing’s title is not retrojected into the old recensions.

Wisdom and merit support one another. Zhiyi says that merit stands foremost; Zhili further reads the wisdom of Great Eloquence and the merit of the Deity of Merit as mutually revealing, and closes with the wealth obtained leaving “I” and “mine.” This carrying forward does not deny the scriptural increase of wealth and grain. It returns the question of how what is obtained avoids congealing into “mine” to the direction of propagating the sūtra, awakening, and liberation.

Four exegetical routes. Huizhao divides the passage line by line according to Yijing’s recension. Zhiyi, Jizang, and Zhili’s Record on the Words and Phrases read the corresponding passage within the old Deity of Merit chapter. Zhili’s Record of Gleaned Notes gathers those who benefit practitioners of the sūtra only at the profound-meaning layer. Each route retains the recension and commentary layer it explains, recorded without adjudicating.

VIII. Placement of the Editions

• Yijing’s T16n0665 (base recension): Fascicle eight bears the attribution 「大唐三藏沙門義淨奉　制譯」—“translated under imperial command by the Great Tang Tripiṭaka śramaṇa Yijing” 〔0437c18〕. The chapter heading is at 0439b04 and the body at 0439b05–0440a16; its true final line is the Buddha’s praise 「自他俱益」—“benefiting both self and others” 〔0440a16〕. The next chapter begins at 0440a17. The source text of this chapter contains 948 Han characters.
• Dharmakṣema’s T16n0663: The fascicle containing this passage bears the attribution 「北涼三藏法師曇無讖譯」—“translated by the Northern Liang Tripiṭaka Dharma master Dharmakṣema” 〔0340c15, as found in fascicle two〕. The corresponding passage is the latter half of Deity of Merit, Chapter Eight, at 0345a28–0345c06; the next chapter begins at 0345c07.
• T16n0664 Combined Edition: The attribution where this chapter appears reads 「北涼三藏曇無讖譯」—“translated by the Northern Liang Tripiṭaka Dharmakṣema” 〔0388a09〕. The corresponding passage is the latter half of Deity of Merit, Chapter Thirteen, at 0388b01–0388c18; the next chapter begins at 0388c19. Its second formula and transmitted interlinear note occur at 0388b17–b26.
• Huizhao’s T39n1788, Commentary on the Sūtra of Golden Light, the Supreme King: Fascicle five bears the author attribution at 0286b13, and the present chapter continues near the end of that same fascicle. Its principal commentary runs 0309a06–0310b20, and the title of the next chapter is at 0310b21. Chapter-title occurrences near 0181c, 0182c, and 0191c belong to opening contents and are not treated as the principal commentary.
• Zhiyi’s T39n1785, Words and Phrases on the Sūtra of Golden Light: The relevant fascicle bears attributions at 0073b04–b05. The Explanation of the Deity of Merit Chapter runs 0076b17–b29, and the next chapter heading is at 0076c01.
• Jizang’s T39n1787, Commentary on the Sūtra of Golden Light: The author attribution is at 0160a27. The line-by-line commentary on the Deity of Merit chapter runs 0168a20–b29, and the next chapter heading is at 0168c01.
• Zhili’s T39n1786, Record on the Words and Phrases of the Sūtra of Golden Light: The relevant fascicle bears the attribution at 0138a12. Its line-by-line record on the Deity of Merit chapter runs 0143a27–c22, with the extensive indication of the method of practice corresponding to Chapter Seventeen beginning at 0143b21.
• Zhili’s T39n1784, Record of Gleaned Notes on the Profound Meaning of the Sūtra of Golden Light: The author attribution is at 0012b05. The relevant general discussion on the profound-meaning layer runs 0014b18–b20; there is no line-by-line commentary on this chapter.