金光明最勝王經 王法正論品第二十
一個國家，從哪裡開始失去正法？
不是從怨敵侵入、暴雨失時或日月無光才開始。那些都是經文後來列出的結果。經先指出一個可辨認的失法處：國人造惡，國王看見了，卻捨而不管。
見惡不遮，非法便會滋長。姦詐漸多，諂侫得寵，行善者反受治罰；人們由賞罰所示，知道什麼會得到親近，什麼反會招來苦楚。國王的愛敬與治罰，就這樣影響國人如何取捨善惡。
經用兩個大象譬喻寫這種破壞：國人破散，如象踏蓮池；諂誑損害王政，如象入花園。家財散失，人民相侵，疾病流行，穀果失味，風雨不時，都從王捨正法、親近惡人相續而來。
力尊幢王在妙幢受位後，把自己曾受的正論交給他。妙幢與力尊幢都曾受位，也都須依正法而行。受位之後仍須回答同一個問題：所得的力量，要使惡業增長，還是要教眾生捨惡修善？
正法要求人王看見惡時不棄置，治罰時必須依法；也要求他以善化人，不順非法，對親與非親平等觀待。親近、友愛與保全王位，都不可成為隨順非法的理由。
經甚至說，寧可捨棄身命，也不追隨非法之友。若為保全王位而親近諂侫，王政反受損害，王位也將失去；若因親近而放棄平等，國內便有偏黨。
人王若以法化民，勸人行十善，天眾便生歡喜；星辰依位，日月不失常度，和風應節，甘雨順時，苗實成熟，人民無飢。國土安寧與眾生安樂，同時成為依法而行的結果。
那麼，一個國家從哪裡開始失去正法？經文最先說出的失法處，是看見惡而捨而不管。又從哪裡回到正法？從依法治惡、以善化人、不隨非法之友、不因親疏改變善惡之判的那些轉折。
Where does a country begin to lose the true Dharma?
It does not begin only when enemies invade, violent rains fall out of season, or the sun and moon lose their light. Those are consequences the scripture lists later. It first identifies a recognizable point of loss: the people do evil, the king sees it, and yet leaves it unattended.
When evil is seen but not checked, what is contrary to Dharma flourishes. Deceit increases, flatterers gain favor, and those who practice goodness are punished instead. From the king’s rewards and punishments, people learn what brings intimacy and what instead brings suffering. In this way the king’s affection and punishment influence how the people choose between good and evil.
The scripture uses two elephant similes for this destruction: the people are scattered like an elephant trampling a lotus pond, while flatterers and deceivers damage royal government like an elephant entering a flower garden. The loss of homes and wealth, people’s plundering one another, the spread of disease, crops and fruit losing flavor, and winds and rains falling out of season all follow in continuity from the king’s abandonment of the true Dharma and intimacy with evil persons.
After Wonderful Banner receives his position, King Power-Honored Banner gives him the right treatise that he himself once received. Wonderful Banner and Power-Honored Banner have both received royal position, yet both must act according to the true Dharma. After receiving power, each must still answer the same question: will the power one has received cause evil actions to increase, or teach sentient beings to abandon evil and cultivate good?
The true Dharma requires the human king not to abandon evil when he sees it and to punish only according to Dharma. It also requires him to transform people through goodness, not follow what is contrary to Dharma, and regard the intimate and the distant equally. Intimacy, friendship, and preservation of the royal position must never become reasons to follow what is contrary to Dharma.
The scripture even says that one should rather give up body and life than follow a friend acting contrary to Dharma. If the king draws close to flatterers in order to preserve his position, the royal government is damaged and the throne itself will be lost. If intimacy causes him to abandon equality, partial factions arise within the realm.
When a human king instructs the people through Dharma and encourages the ten wholesome actions, the multitude of gods rejoices. The stars move according to their stations, the sun and moon do not lose their regular courses, gentle winds accord with the seasons, sweet rains fall at the proper time, crops and fruit ripen, and the people know no famine. The peace of the realm and the happiness of sentient beings become results of action in accord with Dharma.
Where, then, does a country begin to lose the true Dharma? The first point of loss named by the scripture is seeing evil and leaving it unattended. And where does a return to Dharma begin? In those turns where evil is punished according to Dharma, people are transformed through goodness, friends acting contrary to Dharma are not followed, and judgments of good and evil do not change according to intimacy or distance.
唐義淨譯《金光明最勝王經》卷八〈王法正論品第二十〉· 大正藏 T16n0665〔起 T16 0442a15〕。段/行首〔T16 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔T16 0442a15〕爾時，此大地神女，名曰堅牢，於大眾中，從座而起，頂禮佛足，合掌恭敬白佛言：「世尊！於諸國中為人王者，若無正法，不能治國安養眾生，及以自身長居勝位；惟願世尊慈悲哀愍，當為我說王法正論治國之要，令諸人王得聞法已，如說修行，正化於世，能令勝位永保安寧，國內人民咸蒙利益。」
爾時，世尊於大眾中，告堅牢地神曰：「汝當諦聽！過去有王，名力尊幢，其王有子，名曰妙幢，受灌頂位未久之頃，爾時父王告妙幢言：『有王法正論，名天主教法，我於昔時受灌頂位而為國主，我之父王，名智力尊幢，為我說是王法正論。我依此論，於二萬歲善治國土，我不曾憶起一念心行於非法，汝於今日亦應如是，勿以非法而治於國。云何名為王法正論？汝今善聽，當為汝說。』爾時力尊幢王，即為其子以妙伽他說正論曰：
「『我說王法論，利安諸有情；
為斷世間疑，滅除眾過失。
一切諸天主，及以人中王；
當生歡喜心，合掌聽我說。
往昔諸天眾，集在金剛山；
四王從座起，請問於大梵：
「梵主最勝尊，天中大自在；
願哀愍我等，為斷諸疑惑。
云何處人世，而得名為天？
復以何因緣，號名曰天子？
云何生人間，獨得為人主？
云何在天上，復得作天王？」
如是護世間，問彼梵王已。
爾時梵天主，即便為彼說：
「護世汝當知，為利有情故；
問我治國法，我說應善聽。
由先善業力，生天得作王；
若在於人中，統領為人主。
諸天共加護，然後入母胎；
既至母胎中，諸天復守護。
雖生在人世，尊勝故名天；
由諸天護持，亦得名天子。
三十三天主，分力助人王；
及一切諸天，亦資自在力。
除滅諸非法，惡業令不生；
教有情修善，使得生天上。
人及蘇羅眾，并揵闥婆等；
羅剎栴茶羅，悉皆資半力。
父母資半力，令捨惡修善；
諸天共護持，示其諸善報。
若造諸惡業，令於現世中；
諸天不護持，示其諸惡報。
國人造惡業，王捨不禁制；
斯非順正理，治擯當如法。
若見惡不遮，非法便滋長；
遂令王國內，姦詐日增多。
王見國中人，造惡不遮止；
三十三天眾，咸生忿怒心。
因此損國政，諂偽行世間；
被他怨敵侵，破壞其國土。
居家及資具，積財皆散失；
種種諂誑生，更互相侵奪。
由正法得王，而不行其法；
國人皆破散，如象踏蓮池。
惡風起無恒，暴雨非時下；
妖星多變怪，日月蝕無光。
五穀眾花果，果實皆不成；
國土遭飢饉，由王捨正法。
若王捨正法，以惡法化人；
諸天處本宮，見已生憂惱。
彼諸天王眾，共作如是言：
『此王作非法，惡黨相親附。
王位不久安，諸天皆忿恨。』
由彼懷忿故，其國當敗亡。
〔T16 0443a01〕 以非法教人，流行於國內；
鬪諍多姦偽，疾疫生眾苦。
天主不護念，餘天咸捨棄；
國土當滅亡，王身受苦厄。
父母及妻子，兄弟并姊妹；
俱遭愛別離，乃至身亡歿。
變怪流星墮，二日俱時出；
他方怨賊來，國人遭喪亂。
國所重大臣，枉橫而身死；
所愛象馬等，亦復皆散失。
處處有兵戈，人多非法死；
惡鬼來入國，疾疫遍流行。
國中最大臣，及以諸輔相；
其心懷諂侫，並悉行非法。
見行非法者，而生於愛敬；
於行善法人，苦楚而治罰。
由愛敬惡人，治罰善人故；
星宿及風雨，皆不以時行。
有三種過生，正法當隱沒；
眾生無光色，地肥皆下沈。
由敬惡輕善，復有三種過；
非時降霜雹，飢疫苦流行。
穀稼諸果實，滋味皆損減；
於其國土中，眾生多疾病。
國中諸樹木，先生甘美果；
由斯皆損減，苦澁無滋味。
先有妙園林，可愛遊戲處；
忽然皆枯悴，見者生憂惱。
稻麥諸果實，美味漸消亡；
食時心不喜，何能長諸大。
眾生光色減，勢力盡衰微；
食噉雖復多，不能令飽足。
於其國界中，所有眾生類；
少力無勇勢，所作不堪能。
國人多疾患，眾苦逼其身；
鬼魅遍流行，隨處生羅剎。
若王作非法，親近於惡人；
令三種世間，因斯受衰損。
如是無邊過，出在於國中；
皆由見惡人，棄捨不治擯。
由諸天加護，得作於國王；
而不以正法，守護於國界。
若人修善行，當得生天上；
若造惡業者，死必墮三塗。
若王見國人，縱其造過失；
三十三天眾，皆生熱惱心。
不順諸天教，及以父母言；
此是非法人，非王非孝子。
若於自國中，見行非法者；
如法當治罰，不應生捨棄。
是故諸天眾，皆護持此王；
以滅諸惡法，能修善根故。
王於此世中，必招於現報；
由於善惡業，行捨勸眾生。
為示善惡報，故得作人王；
諸天共護持，一切咸隨喜。
由自利利他，治國以正法；
見有諂侫者，應當如法治。
假使失王位，及以害命緣；
終不行惡法，見惡而捨棄。
害中極重者，無過失國位；
皆因諂侫人，為此當治罰。
若有諂誑人，當失於國位；
由斯損王政，如象入花園。
天主皆瞋恨，阿蘇羅亦然；
以彼為人王，不以法治國。
是故應如法，治罰於惡人；
以善化眾生，不順於非法。
寧捨於身命，不隨非法友；
於親及非親，平等觀一切。
若為正法王，國內無偏黨；
法王有名稱，普聞三界中。
三十三天眾，歡喜作是言：
『贍部洲法王，彼即是我子。
以善化眾生，正法治於國；
勸行於正法，當令生我宮。』
天及諸天子，及以蘇羅眾；
因王正法化，常得心歡喜。
天眾皆歡喜，共護於人王；
眾星依位行，日月無乖度。
和風常應節，甘雨順時行；
苗實皆善成，人無飢饉者。
一切諸天眾，充滿於自宮；
是故汝人王，亡身弘正法。
應尊重法寶，由斯眾安樂；
常當親正法，功德自莊嚴。
眷屬常歡喜，能遠離諸惡；
〔T16 0444a01〕 以法化眾生，恒令得安隱。
令彼一切人，修行於十善；
率土常豐樂，國土得安寧。
王以法化人，善調於惡行；
常得好名稱，安樂諸眾生。」』」
爾時，大地一切人王及諸大眾，聞佛說此古昔人王治國要法，得未曾有，皆大歡喜，信受奉行。
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.
堅牢地神女請法
這時，大地神女名叫堅牢。祂在大眾之中從座位起身，頂禮佛足，合掌恭敬地對佛說：
『世尊！在各個國家中作人王的人，如果沒有正法，就不能治理國家、安養眾生，也不能使自己長久安居尊勝之位。惟願世尊慈悲哀愍，為我宣說王法正論中治理國家的要義，使眾人王聽聞以後，能依所說而修行，以正法教化世間；如此既能使尊位長保安寧，也能使國內人民全都蒙受利益。』
佛說過去父子傳論
這時，世尊在大眾之中告訴堅牢地神：
你應當仔細聽！過去有一位國王，名叫力尊幢。他有一個兒子，名叫妙幢。妙幢受灌頂位不久，父王便告訴他：
『有一部王法正論，名叫天主教法。我從前接受灌頂、成為國主時，我的父王智力尊幢曾為我宣說這部王法正論。我依照此論，在二萬年中善加治理國土，從來不曾憶起一念以非法行事的心。你今天也應當如此，不可用非法治理國家。什麼叫作王法正論？你現在好好聽，我就為你說。』
於是，力尊幢王便以妙伽他為兒子宣說正論：
七十三頌今語
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我要宣說王法之論，使有情得到利益與安樂；為了斷除世間的疑惑，也為了滅除眾多過失。
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一切諸天之主，以及人中之王，都應當生起歡喜心，合掌聽我宣說。
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往昔，眾多天眾聚集在金剛山；四位天王從座位起身，向大梵天請問。
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祂們說：『梵主是最尊勝者，在諸天之中得大自在；願您哀愍我們，為我們斷除種種疑惑。
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一個身處人世的人，為什麼能稱為天？又由於什麼因緣，能稱為天子？
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為什麼生在人間，卻能獨自成為人主？為什麼身在天上，又能成為天王？』
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護持世間的四天王這樣問過梵王以後，梵天之主便為祂們宣說。
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梵天說：護世者，你們應當知道：你們為了利益有情而問我治國之法；我現在宣說，你們應當好好聽。
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由於過去善業的力量，生在天上便得以作王；如果生在人間，統領國土，便作人主。
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諸天先共同加以護持，然後他進入母胎；既已進入母胎之中，諸天又繼續守護。
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他雖然生在人世，卻因尊勝而稱為天；又由於諸天護持，所以也稱為天子。
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三十三天之主分出力量幫助人王；一切諸天也都資助他自在的力量。
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人王要除滅各種非法，使惡業不再生起；又要教導有情修善，使他們能生到天上。
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人與蘇羅眾、揵闥婆等，以及羅剎栴茶羅，全都各自資助一半的力量。
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父母也資助一半力量，使人捨惡修善；諸天共同護持，向人顯示修善所得的善報。
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如果造作種種惡業，諸天就在現世不再護持，藉此顯示造惡所得的惡報。
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國民造作惡業，國王卻放任而不禁止，這便不合正理；應當依法加以治擯。
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如果看見惡行而不制止，非法就會滋長，於是使國內的姦詐一天比一天增多。
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國王看見國中人民造惡而不加制止，三十三天眾全都會生起忿怒心。
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因此，國政受到損害，諂曲虛偽流行世間；外來怨敵乘隙侵入，破壞國土。
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人們的家宅、生活資具與積聚的財物都會散失；種種諂曲欺誑相繼生起，彼此互相侵奪。
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國王因正法而取得王位，卻不奉行正法，國民便全都破散，如同大象踐踏蓮池。
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惡風起得沒有常準，暴雨不合時節而下；妖星屢現變怪，日月蝕去光明。
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五穀、眾花與果實都不能成熟；國土遭受飢饉，這是由於國王捨棄正法。
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如果國王捨棄正法，用惡法教化人民，諸天在自己的宮中見到此事，便生起憂惱。
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那些天王共同這樣說：『這位國王行非法之事，親近依附惡黨。
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他的王位不會長久安穩，諸天全都忿恨。』由於諸天心懷忿怒，那個國家將會敗亡。
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國王用非法教人，使非法流行國內；鬪諍與姦偽增多，疾疫生起，使眾人受苦。
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天主不再護念，其餘諸天也全都捨棄；國土將要滅亡，國王自身也要遭受苦厄。
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父母、妻子、兄弟與姊妹，全都遭逢所愛分離，乃至自己身亡命終。
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變怪的流星墜落，兩個太陽同時出現；他方怨賊前來，國民遭受喪亡與亂事。
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國家所倚重的大臣無故橫死；國王所愛的象馬等，也全都散失。
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各處都有兵戈，許多人非法而死；惡鬼進入國境，疾疫遍處流行。
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國中權勢最大的大臣以及各位輔相，內心懷著諂侫，全都行於非法。
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國王看見行非法的人，反而對他們愛敬；對奉行善法的人，卻加以苦楚治罰。
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因為愛敬惡人、治罰善人，星宿的運行以及風雨的來去，全都不合時節。
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於是生起三種過失：正法將要隱沒，眾生失去光色，土地的肥沃也都下沈減損。
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由於敬重惡人而輕賤善人，又生起三種過失：霜雹不合時節降下，飢饉與疾疫之苦流行。
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穀稼和各種果實的滋味都減損；在那國土之中，眾生多有疾病。
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國中的樹木原先生出甘美果實，後來全都減損，只剩苦澁而沒有滋味。
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原先有美妙的園林，是可愛的遊戲之處，忽然全都枯萎衰敗，看見的人無不生起憂惱。
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稻、麥和各種果實的美味逐漸消失，吃的時候心中不喜，又怎能資養身體的諸大？
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眾生的光色減退，勢力全都衰微；即使吃得很多，也不能使人飽足。
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在那國界中，所有各類眾生都力量微少、沒有勇勢，所作的事情無力承當。
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國民多有疾患，眾苦逼迫其身；鬼魅遍處流行，到處生起羅剎之患。
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如果國王行於非法、親近惡人，便使三種世間因此受到衰損。
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這樣無量無邊的過失出現在國中，都是因為看見惡人，卻棄置他們的惡行而不加治擯。
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國王由於諸天加護才得以作王，卻不用正法守護國界。
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如果有人修行善行，將得生到天上；如果有人造作惡業，死後必墮三塗。
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如果國王看見國民造作過失，卻縱容他們，三十三天眾全都會生起熱惱心。
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這樣的人不順從諸天的教導，也不順從父母的言教；他是行非法的人，不配稱為國王，也不是孝子。
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如果在自己的國中看見行非法的人，就應當依法治罰，不應棄置不問。
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因為國王能滅除各種惡法、修習善根，所以諸天眾全都護持這位國王。
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國王在這一世必定招感現前的果報；他依善業與惡業而作取捨，藉此勸導眾生。
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國王為眾生顯示善報與惡報，所以得以作人王；諸天共同護持，一切眾生也全都隨喜。
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國王以正法治國，利益自己也利益他人；看見諂侫的人，應當依法處治。
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即使面臨失去王位，乃至危害性命的因緣，也始終不行惡法，不可見到惡行便捨棄不管。
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各種危害之中，最嚴重的莫過於喪失國位；這些全由諂侫之人所致，因此應當治罰。
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如果有諂曲欺誑的人，國王將會失去王位；這些人損害王政，如同大象進入花園。
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諸位天主全都忿怒，阿蘇羅也是如此，因為那人雖作人王，卻不用正法治理國家。
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所以，國王應當依法治罰惡人，以善法教化眾生，不可順從非法。
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寧可捨棄自己的身命，也不追隨行非法的朋友；在賞罰親近的人與不親近的人時，應當平等看待一切。
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如果是一位奉行正法的國王，國內就沒有偏私結黨；這位法王享有名稱，普遍傳聞於三界之中。
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三十三天眾歡喜地這樣說：『贍部洲那位奉法的國王，就是我的孩子。
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他以善法教化眾生，用正法治理國家，勸人奉行正法，將使他們生到我的天宮。』
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諸天與諸天子，以及蘇羅眾，因為國王用正法教化，常能心生歡喜。
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天眾全都歡喜，共同護持人王；群星依各自的位置運行，日月也不偏離常度。
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和風常常順應時節，甘雨依時降下；禾苗與果實全都善能成熟，人民之中沒有遭受飢饉的人。
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一切天眾都充滿自己的天宮；所以，你這位人王即使犧牲身命，也要弘揚正法。
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應當尊重正法之寶，眾生由此得到安樂；常應親近正法，使自身以功德莊嚴。
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眷屬常常歡喜，也能遠離各種惡行；國王以正法教化眾生，使他們恆常得到安穩。
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要使所有人民修行十善；如此，舉國便常得豐足安樂，國土也得到安寧。
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國王用正法教化人民，善加調伏眾人的惡行；他常得美好的名稱，也使眾生安樂。
大眾信受
這時，大地上一切人王以及所有大眾，聽聞佛宣說這一部古代人王治國的要法，都得到了從未曾有的體會，無不非常歡喜，信受而奉行。
The Earth Goddess Firm and Steadfast Requests the Teaching
At that time, the earth goddess named Firm and Steadfast rose from her seat in the assembly, bowed her head at the Buddha’s feet, joined her palms reverently, and addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One, if those who serve as human kings in the various realms lack the true Dharma, they cannot govern their countries, support sentient beings in peace, or long remain in their honored and excellent positions. I only pray that the World-Honored One will compassionately explain for me the essentials of governing a realm within the Right Treatise on Royal Dharma. After hearing it, human kings will be able to practice according to what is taught and instruct the world through the true Dharma. In this way their honored positions will remain secure for a long time, while all the people of their realms will receive benefit.”
The Buddha Recounts a Treatise Transmitted from Father to Son
The World-Honored One then addressed the earth deity Firm and Steadfast before the assembly:
“Listen carefully. In the past there was a king named Power-Honored Banner. He had a son named Wonderful Banner. Not long after Wonderful Banner had received the consecrated position, his royal father told him:
“‘There is a Right Treatise on Royal Dharma called The Teaching of the Lord of Gods. When I formerly received consecration and became ruler of the realm, my father, King Wisdom-Power Honored Banner, explained this Right Treatise on Royal Dharma to me. In accord with this treatise, I governed the realm well for twenty thousand years and never once recalled even a single thought of acting contrary to Dharma. You should do the same today and must not govern the realm through what is contrary to Dharma. What is the Right Treatise on Royal Dharma? Listen carefully now, and I will explain it to you.’”
King Power-Honored Banner then proclaimed the right treatise to his son in wondrous gāthās:
Seventy-Three Stanzas in Contemporary Language
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I will explain the treatise on royal Dharma so that sentient beings may obtain benefit and happiness, so that the doubts of the world may be cut off, and so that its many faults may be extinguished.
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All lords among the gods and kings among human beings should give rise to joy, join their palms, and listen as I speak.
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In the past, a multitude of gods gathered upon Vajra Mountain. The Four Heavenly Kings rose from their seats and questioned Great Brahmā.
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They said: “Lord Brahmā is the most honored and excellent, possessing great mastery among all gods. Please take pity on us and remove our many doubts.
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“Why can a person living in the human world be called a god? Through what causes and conditions can he be called a son of the gods?
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“Why, though born among human beings, can he alone become their ruler? Why, while dwelling in heaven, can one become a king of gods?”
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After the Four Heavenly Kings who protect the world had questioned Brahmā in this way, the lord of the Brahmā gods explained it to them.
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Brahmā said: “Protectors of the world, you should know that you have asked me about the way of governing a realm for the benefit of sentient beings. I will now explain it; listen well.
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“Through the power of past wholesome actions, one born in heaven may become a king there. If born among human beings and governing a realm, one becomes a human ruler.
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“The gods first protect him together, and only then does he enter his mother’s womb. Once he has entered the womb, the gods continue to guard him.
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“Although born in the human world, he is called a god because of his exalted position. Because the gods protect him, he is also called a son of the gods.
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“The lord of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three apportions power to assist the human king, and all the gods support his power of mastery.
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“The human king must eliminate every act contrary to Dharma so that evil actions no longer arise. He must also teach sentient beings to cultivate good so that they may be born in heaven.
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“Human beings, the hosts of suras, gandharvas, rākṣasas, and caṇḍālas each contribute half their power.
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“Parents too contribute half their power, causing people to abandon evil and cultivate good. The gods protect them together and show people the good results obtained by cultivating goodness.
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“When people perform evil deeds, the gods cease protecting them in this very life, thereby revealing the bad results obtained from doing evil.
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“When the people of a realm perform evil deeds and the king permits them without restraint, this does not accord with right principle. They should be disciplined and expelled according to Dharma.
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“If evil conduct is seen but not stopped, what is contrary to Dharma will flourish, and deception within the realm will increase day by day.
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“When the king sees the people of the realm doing evil and does not stop them, the gods of the Thirty-Three all give rise to anger.
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“The government is therefore damaged, while flattery, crookedness, and deceit circulate through the world. Foreign enemies seize the opportunity to invade and destroy the realm.
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“People’s homes, means of living, and accumulated wealth are scattered and lost. Every kind of crooked deceit arises in succession, and people plunder one another.
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“A king obtains his position through the true Dharma but does not practice it; the people of the realm are scattered like a lotus pond trampled by an elephant.
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“Harmful winds arise without regularity, and violent rains fall out of season. Strange stars repeatedly display portents, and eclipses deprive the sun and moon of light.
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“The five grains, flowers, and fruits cannot ripen, and famine afflicts the realm. This comes from the king’s abandonment of the true Dharma.
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“When a king abandons the true Dharma and instructs his people through evil ways, the gods see this from their own palaces and become distressed.
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“Those kings of the gods say together: ‘This king acts contrary to Dharma and draws near to evil companions.
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“‘His royal position will not long remain secure, and all the gods are angered.’ Because the gods harbor anger, that realm will be destroyed.
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“The king teaches people through what is contrary to Dharma and causes it to spread throughout the realm. Conflict and deceit increase, epidemics arise, and the multitude suffers.
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“The lord of the gods no longer protects him, and all the other gods abandon him. The realm approaches destruction, and the king himself encounters painful adversity.
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“His parents, wife, brothers, and sisters all suffer separation from what they love, and he himself eventually dies.
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“Strange meteors fall, and two suns appear at once. Enemies and bandits come from other lands, and the people undergo death and disorder.
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“Important ministers upon whom the country depends die violent deaths without cause, while the elephants and horses beloved by the king are scattered and lost.
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“Weapons of war appear everywhere, and many die contrary to Dharma. Evil ghosts enter the borders, and epidemics spread in every place.
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“The most powerful ministers and all the counselors of the realm harbor flattery and deceit in their hearts and act contrary to Dharma.
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“When the king sees those who act contrary to Dharma, he instead loves and honors them; when he sees those who practice wholesome Dharma, he subjects them to painful punishment.
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“Because he loves and honors evil persons and punishes the good, the courses of the stars and the coming of winds and rains all fall out of season.
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“Three faults then arise: the true Dharma begins to disappear, sentient beings lose their radiance, and the fertility of the earth sinks and declines.
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“Because evil persons are honored and good persons slighted, three further faults arise: frost and hail fall out of season, while famine and epidemic suffering spread.
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“The flavors of grain and all fruits diminish, and sentient beings within that realm suffer many illnesses.
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“The trees of the realm that once bore sweet and delicious fruit all decline, leaving only bitter and astringent fruit without flavor.
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“Lovely parks that were once delightful places of recreation suddenly wither and decay, and everyone who sees them becomes distressed.
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“The fine flavors of rice, wheat, and the various fruits gradually disappear. If food brings no joy when eaten, how can it nourish the body’s great elements?
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“The radiance of sentient beings declines, and all their strength grows feeble. Even if they eat much, they cannot become full.
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“All kinds of beings within that realm possess little strength and no vigor; they are unable to bear the work they undertake.
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“The people suffer many illnesses, with many pains oppressing their bodies. Spirits circulate everywhere, and afflictions from rākṣasas arise in every place.
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“When a king acts contrary to Dharma and draws near to evil persons, he causes the three kinds of world to decline.
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“Such measureless and boundless faults appear throughout the realm because evil persons are seen, yet their evil deeds are left aside without discipline or expulsion.
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“A king becomes king only through the gods’ protection, yet he does not guard his borders through the true Dharma.
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“Those who perform wholesome deeds will be born in heaven; those who perform evil deeds will fall into the three evil paths after death.
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“When the king sees the people of his realm committing faults and indulges them, the gods of the Thirty-Three all give rise to burning distress.
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“Such a person neither follows the gods’ teaching nor obeys the instruction of his parents. He acts contrary to Dharma, is unworthy to be called a king, and is not a filial son.
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“If one sees within one’s own realm a person acting contrary to Dharma, that person should be punished according to Dharma and must not be abandoned without inquiry.
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“Because a king can eliminate evil ways and cultivate roots of goodness, the multitude of gods all protect that king.
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“The king certainly experiences manifest results in this very life. By accepting and rejecting in accord with good and evil actions, he guides sentient beings.
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“The king shows sentient beings good and bad results and therefore becomes their human ruler. The gods protect him together, and all sentient beings rejoice.
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“A king who governs through the true Dharma benefits himself and others. When he sees flattering and deceitful persons, he should deal with them according to Dharma.
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“Even when faced with losing the throne or conditions threatening his life, he must never act through evil ways and must not see evil conduct and leave it unattended.
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“Among all harms, none is graver than losing the royal position. These harms are all caused by flattering and deceitful persons, who should therefore be punished.
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“If crooked and deceitful persons are present, the king will lose his throne. They damage the royal government as an elephant damages a flower garden.
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“All the lords of the gods become angry, as do the asuras, because although that person is a human king, he does not govern the realm through the true Dharma.
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“The king should therefore punish evil persons according to Dharma, instruct sentient beings through wholesome Dharma, and never follow what is contrary to Dharma.
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“He should rather give up his own body and life than follow friends who act contrary to Dharma. When rewarding or punishing those near to him and those not near, he should regard everyone equally.
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“When a king practices the true Dharma, there are no partial factions within the realm. The name of this Dharma king is heard throughout the three realms.
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“The gods of the Thirty-Three say joyfully: ‘That king in Jambudvīpa who practices the Dharma is my child.
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“‘He instructs sentient beings through wholesome Dharma, governs the realm through the true Dharma, and encourages people to practice it, causing them to be born in my heavenly palace.’
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“The gods, their divine sons, and the hosts of suras constantly give rise to joy because the king teaches through the true Dharma.
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“The multitude of gods all rejoice and protect the human king together. The stars move according to their stations, while the sun and moon never depart from their regular courses.
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“Gentle winds always accord with the seasons, and sweet rains fall at the proper times. Crops and fruits all ripen well, and no one among the people suffers famine.
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“All the gods fill their heavenly palaces. Therefore, human king, even at the cost of your body and life, you must propagate the true Dharma.
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“You should honor the jewel of the true Dharma, through which sentient beings obtain happiness. You should constantly draw near to the true Dharma and adorn yourself with its qualities.
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“Your retinue will constantly rejoice and be able to remain far from evil conduct. The king instructs sentient beings through the true Dharma and causes them always to dwell securely.
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“Cause all the people to practice the ten wholesome actions. The entire realm will then remain abundant and happy, and the land will dwell in peace.
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“The king instructs his people through the true Dharma and skillfully disciplines their evil conduct. He constantly obtains a good name and brings happiness to sentient beings.”
The Assembly Accepts the Teaching in Faith
At that time, all the human kings upon the earth and the entire assembly heard the Buddha explain this essential ancient teaching for human kings governing their realms. They gained an experience they had never known before, rejoiced greatly, and accepted the teaching in faith and practice.
一、地神所問，不只是王位如何長久
本品從堅牢地神女的請問開始。祂所關心的有三件事：國家如何治理，眾生如何安養，國王如何長居勝位。三件事並沒有被拆成彼此無關的目標。若沒有正法，國家不能治，眾生不能安養，王位也不能久住；若人王聞法後依所說修行，以正法教化世間，勝位才可能安寧，人民也才同受利益。
因此，經文不是先承諾一個穩固的王位，再要求國王額外行善。王位的安穩從一開始就與眾生是否得養、教化是否合正法連在一起。堅牢地神女請問的是治國之要，世尊的回答卻不從權術、財富或兵力說起，而從一部父子相傳的正論說起。這使治理的根本回到行為是否依法，而不是力量是否足以維持自己。
地神女請佛宣說，也表示這部正論不是人王自說自是的尺度。王不能只因自己居於尊位，就把自己的好惡稱作正法。經中另有一個先於當下國王、又可反過來衡量國王的準則。人王要先聽，然後依所聽修行；他既是教化者，也首先是受教者。
世尊沒有直接列出抽象條目，而是講一段過去的故事。故事使正法落在受位、傳承、選擇與後果之中。聽者不只知道應當做什麼，也看見非法如何一步步顯現，終成整個國土共同承受的苦；又看見依法行事如何從一個人的取捨，延伸為人民、天眾與自然時序的安穩。
二、受位不久，仍先受一個不能逾越的尺度
過去的力尊幢王，在兒子妙幢受灌頂位不久之時，把王法正論傳給他。這一安排極有分量：妙幢已受王位，卻仍須聽父王告誡；灌頂使他成為國主，並不使他天然就等同正法。權位已交付，行為仍須受法衡量。
力尊幢王又說，這部論不是他臨時想出來的。他自己的父王智力尊幢曾在他受位時傳授給他；他依論治國二萬年，不曾憶起一念以非法行事。如今，他要求妙幢也照樣而行，不可用非法治國。父傳子、子再傳子的重點，不只是保存一段言辭，而是兩位受位者在擁有權力時，都重新接受同一尺度的約束。
經文把二萬歲善治與『不曾憶起一念心行於非法』放在同一句自述之中：長時的安治，與心念上不曾行於非法，相互映照。國土的盛衰會在外部顯現，其緣起卻分列在後文多處——王捨不禁制、以惡法化人、愛敬非法者、親近惡人——各有其位。
力尊幢王說此論是『天主教法』，隨後以妙伽他宣說。這個名稱把人間的統治放在更大的護持與果報關係中。人王不是獨立的權力中心；他的王位由過去善業而得，又受諸天加護。既然所得不是全由自己，所行便不能只為自己。受位意味著承擔一項使有情捨惡修善的責任。
三、為何名王、名天、名天子
頌文先把問題追到名稱的根上：一個生在人間的人，為何可以稱天、稱天子、稱人主？梵天的回答並不把名稱歸於血統的榮耀。由先前善業之力，生天者得作天王；生在人間而統領國土者，稱作人主。人王入胎前後受諸天守護，所以又稱天子；他在人世而居尊勝，故得天名。
但名稱同時帶來行為要求。三十三天之主與一切諸天分力資助人王，使他得自在之力；這份力量所要完成的，是除滅非法，使惡業不生，教導有情修善，使他們得生天上。若把自在之力轉成偏私與縱惡，名稱便只剩外殼，失去它所指向的作用。
經文還列出人、蘇羅眾、揵闥婆等，以及羅剎栴茶羅與父母，都各資半力。經文逐一列舉這些名目，顯示人王所受的助力並非單一來源。諸天共同護持，向人顯示善報；若造惡業，諸天在現世不護，也由此顯示惡報。護持不是讓國王免於一切後果，而是使善惡之報得以被看見。
因此，天子之名不是免責之名，反而是受護而須護人之名。人王受諸天之力，應當使國人能辨善惡、捨惡修善。當他不做這件事，諸天的忿怒並不是一場無因的報復，而是人王已背離其受力之用：他領受護持，卻不以正法守護國界。
四、全品最先追究的，是見惡而不遮
經文論國家衰敗，第一個落點不是外敵，而是國人造惡時，國王放任而不禁止。這件事不順正理，應當依法治擯。若見惡不遮，非法便會滋長，姦詐一日多過一日。於是，原本可以制止的一件惡行，成為國內普遍的行事方式。
這裡的關鍵不只在國王自己有沒有直接造惡。即使他沒有親手侵奪，只要看見惡行卻棄而不問，便已使非法得到生長的空間。經文一次又一次重說『見惡不遮』『見惡而捨棄』，正是把不作為也納入王的責任。能治而不治，不是中立；它實際上讓惡人得到許可，讓善人失去依憑。
後果首先進入人與人的關係：諂偽流行，外敵侵國，家宅資具與積財散失，彼此侵奪。經以象踏蓮池形容國人破散。蓮池本有秩序與生機，大象一踏，並不是只壞一朵蓮花，而是整片池中都受擾亂。國王因正法得位而不行正法，所傷也不只是一項政令，而是國人共同生活的根基。
再往外，惡風無常、暴雨非時、妖星變怪、日月失光，五穀花果不能成熟，飢饉隨之而來。經文把人間賞罰、國家盛衰與天地時序連成一幅圖。它所反覆指出的起點仍然相同：王捨正法，或見惡不遮。巨大的災變並沒有遮掉最初那個可辨認、可改變的選擇。
五、國王自己的非法，會沿臣民與國土層層擴大
若國王不只縱惡，更以惡法教化人民，諸天見了便生憂惱。他親附惡黨，王位不能久安，國家走向敗亡。非法在國內流行，鬪諍、姦偽、疾疫與眾苦同時增長；其餘諸天捨離，國王自身受苦，父母、妻子、兄弟、姊妹也遭愛別離，乃至身亡。
經文逐條列出敗亡之相：流星墮落，二日同出，外賊侵入，國人喪亂；重臣枉死，象馬散失，處處兵戈，惡鬼入國，疾疫遍行。這份列舉把王行非法所牽動的各個層面一一攤開。從親族到臣佐，從財物到生命，沒有哪一處能永遠被隔在國王的選擇之外。
尤其嚴重的是臣佐與賞罰的倒置。最大臣與輔相懷諂侫、行非法，國王卻愛敬他們；行善法的人反受苦楚治罰。此時，善惡不只沒有得到相應的對待，反而被公開顛倒。人們所看見的將是諂侫可得親近、善行反招苦罰。國王的偏愛遂成為全國學習的方向。
經文於是再列兩組過失。先是正法隱沒、眾生失去光色、地肥下沈；又有非時霜雹、飢疫流行、穀果滋味減損、眾生多病。甘美果實變得苦澁，妙園林忽然枯悴；稻麥果實失去美味，食物不能資養諸大。人即使多食也不得飽足，光色、勢力與勇健都衰退，所作不能承當，鬼魅與羅剎之患隨處而生。
最後，經文以『三種世間』總攝這種衰損，卻沒有在本品內另行拆解名目。經中可以確定的是，衰損繫於王作非法、親近惡人；至於『三種』各指何者，本品沒有自行定出三項。
六、依法治罰，不是隨王好惡而罰
經文既責見惡不遮，便正面說：在自己國中見到行非法者，應當依法治罰，不應棄置。『依法』二字使治罰也受同一尺度約束。國王不能一面說要制止惡行，一面愛敬惡人、苦罰善人；前文已明言這樣的顛倒會使國土衰損，任何顛倒善惡的治罰，本身就是非法。
諸天之所以護持依法治罰的王，是因為他能滅惡、修善根。王在現世招感相應之報，又依善業與惡業作取捨，勸導眾生，向眾生顯示善報與惡報。治罰在此不是為了顯示王的威勢，而是使善惡不被混淆，使國人知道何者應捨、何者應修。
經文也把這件事放在自利與利他之中。以正法治國，既利自己，也利他人；見諂侫者，應當依法處治。即使可能失去王位，乃至面臨害命的因緣，也不得因此轉而行惡，更不可見惡便捨。國位本來是為護持國土與眾生而有；若為保位而親附諂侫，反會由諂侫者失去國位。
第二個象喻因此出現：諂誑之人損害王政，如象進入花園。前一象喻是國人如蓮池受踏，此處則是王政如花園受損。兩處都顯示，一個龐大的偏向進入細密秩序時，破壞不會停在單點。國王若不依法治惡，天主與阿蘇羅都生忿怒，因為他雖名為人王，卻沒有以法治國。
七、平等觀一切，不讓親疏改變正法
正向的轉折由三件事連續展開：以善教化眾生，不順非法；寧捨身命，不隨非法之友；對親近與不親近的人，平等觀待一切。三者都把國王帶回同一要求：非法不可因關係親近而變成可以順從之事。
『親』是最容易讓尺度彎曲的地方。前文已說國王愛著、親附惡黨會使非法流行；此處便以不隨非法友回應。朋友仍可能是朋友，親人仍可能是親人，但只要行為非法，關係親近就不可成為停止依法判斷的理由。對非親者也不可因疏遠而另用一套尺度。親與非親都受正法衡量，國內才沒有偏黨。
經文甚至說，寧可捨身命，也不隨非法之友。這使正法不成為保住王位後才行的裝飾。當正法與位置衝突時，應守的是正法；當正法與性命衝突時，仍不以非法換取安全。人王若為保位而縱惡，最後正會失位；若願以身命護法，才與受位時所承擔的責任相應。
這樣的王被稱為正法王。國內沒有偏黨，他的名稱普聞三界。三十三天眾歡喜地視贍部洲法王如子，因為他以善教化眾生，以正法治國，勸人行正法，使人得生天宮。王與天的關係又回到本品開頭：人王因天護而得名天子，現在他以正法教化，使天眾充滿；所受的護持，經由他的行為轉成更多眾生的善行。
八、王位的安穩，最後落在眾生安樂
當人王以正法教化，天、天子與蘇羅眾常生歡喜，共同護持人王。群星依位運行，日月不失常度，和風應節，甘雨順時，苗實成熟，人民沒有飢饉。一切天眾充滿自己的宮殿。前文非法所帶來的失序，在此逐項轉成正法所護持的安穩。
經文隨即勸人王，即使捨棄身命，也要弘揚正法；應尊重法寶，使眾生由此安樂；常常親近正法，以功德莊嚴自己。自利與利他在此沒有斷開：親法使自己成就功德，弘法使眾生得到安穩；眷屬歡喜、遠離諸惡，也與人民修行十善、國土豐樂同時出現。
最後的治理圖景很簡明：以法化人，善調惡行，得到好名，使眾生安樂。好名不是先求的獎賞，而是依法化人之後自然隨來；國土安寧也不是只保護王宮，而是舉國豐樂、人民無飢、眾生得安。堅牢地神女起初所問的三件事，到這裡重新合在一起：正法治國，眾生得養，王位才安。
結尾並未只說妙幢一人領受。大地上一切人王與所有大眾，聽佛宣說古昔人王治國要法，都得未曾有，歡喜信受奉行。往昔父子相傳的正論，因世尊在當會宣說而成為一切人王與大眾共同聽受之法。真正的收束不是『知道了』，而是『奉行』：把所聽見的正法，落在每一次不縱惡、不偏親、勸修善的選擇上。
以唯識之眼：同一部正論，如何照見心與境
以下是古德之鏡，不是經文自說。慧沼先把品文分為地神陳請、世尊為說、大眾喜行，又把七十三頌細分為勅聽、正論以及違法招禍、依法得福。這種科判幫助讀者看清經文的轉折；段名屬疏，不屬經。
在本品來意上，慧沼並存兩路：一從全經流通次第判本品為舉昔勸今；另一把〈四天王護國品〉尊人重法、諸天擁護之義接到本品，說此處舉昔人王正行弘經以勸時會。對妙幢身分，他又並錄『即今妙幢』與『即釋迦佛』二說，明言兩說都無文遮許。這些都是鏡中異解。
慧沼解天主教法時，以世主為梵王，並以慈悲拔苦與樂說其教法所起；解頌中勸聽天主、人王時，一答長行略而頌中廣，又一答正為誡子而論義廣益。解人神護持，又說可作共護自益，也可能兼益他。每一處都顯示，同一句經可以在不改經字的前提下，容納不止一條解路。
對『三種世間』，慧沼一解作三界，說依法則增益人天、非法則三界衰損；另一解作人、畜、百穀，以人疫、畜損、百穀不熟相配。兩解都由疏家提出，經自身只出「三種世間」之名。對『何能長諸大』，他以食不資大說外果衰微如何轉成內報減退。
慧沼的牒文也留下兩處可見的傳寫差：底本說『亡身弘正法』，疏中牒作『忘身弘正法』；底本末頌說『常得好名稱』，疏牒則作『當得好名稱』。兩書於此各見其字：經本作『亡』與『常得』，疏牒作『忘』與『當得』，異讀由是可見。
慧沼在依法治罰處又引古經補足界線：治罰須先有慈心，以真實、合時、有義、柔語、慈悲而行；目的在使惡行者改悔，不是以惡心棄捨眾生；並明言不可斷命、不可壞根。這些限制在本品經句中沒有逐條展開，是慧沼引古經所補。它提醒讀者：遮惡與慈心不是兩條相反道路，關鍵在治罰究竟為改惡從善，還是為私忿傷人。
對經中相連的三個半頌，慧沼又分別判為以善化人而不順非法、修政而不隨非法之友、賞罰不簡親與非親。這是疏家把平等落到賞罰的細科；經自身則直說以善化人、不隨非法友、平等觀一切。
智顗以四悉檀、六種王義與金光明本末讀舊譯；知禮《文句記》再逐句承記，說一人兼立人、天二稱，以顯正論通世間與出世間；吉藏則把親疏平等連於般若大悲。慧沼依新譯七十三頌別立細科。諸家所依譯本、卷次、頌數、科文與觀門各異。這正是本品的承衍：同一條不縱惡、不偏親、以法安人的正論，在各家之鏡中各顯其光。
1. The Earth Goddess Asks More Than How a Throne May Last
The chapter begins with a request from the earth goddess Firm and Steadfast. She is concerned with three matters: how a country is governed, how sentient beings are supported in peace, and how a king may long remain in an excellent position. These are not divided into unrelated goals. Without the true Dharma, the country cannot be governed, sentient beings cannot be supported, and the royal position cannot endure. Only when a human king hears the Dharma, practices what is taught, and instructs the world through the true Dharma can the honored position remain secure and the people share its benefit.
The scripture therefore does not first promise a stable throne and then ask a king to perform extra good deeds. From the beginning, the throne’s security is connected with whether sentient beings receive support and whether instruction accords with the true Dharma. The earth goddess asks for the essentials of government, yet the World-Honored One begins his answer not with strategy, wealth, or military force, but with a right treatise transmitted from father to son. This returns the root of government to whether conduct accords with Dharma, not whether power is sufficient to preserve itself.
The earth goddess’s request that the Buddha explain it also means that the right treatise is not a standard by which a human king simply declares himself right. A king cannot call his own preferences the true Dharma merely because he occupies an honored position. The scripture holds a standard prior to the present king that can in turn measure him. The human king must first listen and then practice what he has heard. He is an instructor, yet first he is one who receives instruction.
The World-Honored One does not directly list abstract principles, but tells a story from the past. The story places the true Dharma within consecration, transmission, choice, and consequence. Listeners learn not only what should be done. They see how what is contrary to Dharma appears step by step until it becomes suffering borne by the entire realm, and how acting according to Dharma extends from one person’s choices into peace among the people, the gods, and the rhythms of the natural world.
2. Soon after Receiving the Throne, He Still Receives a Measure He Cannot Transgress
In the past, King Power-Honored Banner transmitted the Right Treatise on Royal Dharma to his son Wonderful Banner not long after the son received consecration. This arrangement carries weight. Wonderful Banner has already received the throne, yet must still listen to his father’s admonition. Consecration makes him the ruler of the realm; it does not make him naturally identical with the true Dharma. Authority has been entrusted to him, but his conduct must still be measured by Dharma.
King Power-Honored Banner also says that he did not invent the treatise for the occasion. His own father, King Wisdom-Power Honored Banner, transmitted it to him when he received his position. He governed the realm according to it for twenty thousand years and 『不曾憶起一念心行於非法』—“never once recalled even a single thought of acting contrary to Dharma.” He now requires Wonderful Banner to do likewise and not govern through what is contrary to Dharma. The point of father transmitting to son and son transmitting again is not merely to preserve words. It is for two people who have received power to accept the restraint of the same measure anew.
The scripture places twenty thousand years of good government and “never once recalling even a single thought of acting contrary to Dharma” within the same account. Long-lasting peace and the mind’s refusal to act contrary to Dharma illuminate one another. The realm’s flourishing and decline become visible outside, while the causes and conditions are distributed through what follows: the king abandons evil without restraint, instructs the people through harmful ways, loves and honors those acting contrary to Dharma, and draws near to evil persons. Each has its own place.
King Power-Honored Banner calls this treatise 『天主教法』—“The Teaching of the Lord of Gods”—then explains it in wondrous gāthās. The name situates human rule within a larger relationship of protection and results. The human king is not an independent center of power. His throne is obtained through past wholesome actions and protected by the gods. Because what he has received does not come from himself alone, what he does cannot serve himself alone. Receiving the throne means accepting responsibility for causing sentient beings to abandon evil and cultivate good.
3. Why One Is Called King, God, and Son of the Gods
The verses first pursue the question to the roots of these names. Why can someone born among human beings be called a god, a son of the gods, or a human ruler? Brahmā’s answer does not attribute the names to the glory of bloodline. Through the power of prior wholesome actions, one born in heaven becomes a heavenly king; one born among human beings and governing a realm is called a human ruler. Because the gods guard the human king before and after he enters the womb, he is also called a son of the gods. Though dwelling in the human world, he receives the name god because of his exalted position.
But the names also impose demands upon conduct. The lord of the Thirty-Three and all the gods apportion their power to support the human king and give him mastery. This power is intended to eliminate what is contrary to Dharma so evil actions will not arise, and to teach sentient beings to cultivate goodness so they may be born in heaven. If he turns the power of mastery into partiality and indulgence of evil, the names become empty shells deprived of the functions toward which they point.
The scripture also lists human beings, hosts of suras, gandharvas, rākṣasas, caṇḍālas, and parents as each contributing half their power. Its item-by-item enumeration shows that the assistance received by the human king does not have a single source. The gods protect together and show people the good results of goodness. If evil is done, the gods withdraw protection in this very life and thereby show its bad results. Protection does not exempt a king from every consequence; it allows the results of good and evil to be seen.
The title “son of the gods” is therefore not a name of exemption but the name of one who, having been protected, must protect others. The human king receives the gods’ power and should enable the people to distinguish good and evil, abandon evil, and cultivate good. When he fails to do this, the gods’ anger is not retaliation without cause. The human king has departed from the purpose of the power he received: he receives protection but does not guard the borders through the true Dharma.
4. What the Entire Chapter Investigates First Is Seeing Evil and Not Checking It
When the scripture discusses the ruin of a country, its first point is not a foreign enemy. It is the king permitting the people’s evil deeds without restraint. This does not accord with right principle; they should be disciplined and expelled according to Dharma. If evil is seen but not checked, what is contrary to Dharma flourishes and deception increases day by day. An evil act that could originally have been stopped then becomes a prevalent way of acting throughout the realm.
The key is not only whether the king personally does evil. Even if he never plunders anyone with his own hands, seeing evil and abandoning it without inquiry already gives what is contrary to Dharma room to grow. The scripture repeats 『見惡不遮』—“seeing evil and not checking it”—and 『見惡而捨棄』—“seeing evil and abandoning it.” In doing so, it places inaction within the king’s responsibility. To possess the power to discipline and yet not do so is not neutral. It effectively gives evil persons permission and deprives good persons of support.
The consequences first enter human relationships: flattery and deceit spread, foreign enemies invade, homes, resources, and accumulated wealth are scattered, and people plunder one another. The scripture compares the people’s dispersal to an elephant trampling a lotus pond. A lotus pond possesses order and life. When an elephant tramples it, more than one lotus is damaged; the entire pond is disturbed. A king obtains his position through the true Dharma and then fails to practice it. What is injured is not one decree, but the foundation of shared life among the people.
The effects then extend outward: harmful winds lose their regularity, violent rains fall out of season, strange stars display portents, the sun and moon lose their light, the five grains, flowers, and fruits fail to ripen, and famine follows. The scripture links human rewards and punishments, the flourishing or decline of the realm, and the rhythms of heaven and earth in one picture. Yet the starting point it repeats remains the same: the king abandons the true Dharma, or sees evil and fails to check it. Vast calamity does not conceal that first recognizable and changeable choice.
5. A King’s Own Conduct Contrary to Dharma Expands through Ministers, People, and Land
If a king not only indulges evil but instructs his people through harmful ways, the gods see it and become distressed. He attaches himself to evil companions, his throne cannot long remain secure, and his country approaches destruction. What is contrary to Dharma circulates through the realm, while conflict, deceit, epidemic disease, and suffering increase together. The other gods depart, the king himself suffers, and parents, wife, brothers, and sisters encounter separation from what they love, even unto death.
The scripture lists the signs of ruin one by one: meteors fall, two suns appear, foreign bandits invade, and the people suffer death and disorder; important ministers die untimely deaths, elephants and horses are lost, weapons appear everywhere, evil ghosts enter the borders, and epidemics spread. The list opens every level affected by a king’s conduct contrary to Dharma. From kin to officials and from property to life, no part can forever remain isolated from his choices.
Especially grave is the reversal among ministers, rewards, and punishments. Great ministers and counselors harbor flattery and act contrary to Dharma; the king loves and honors them, while those who practice wholesome Dharma receive painful punishment. Good and evil not only fail to receive their corresponding treatment, but are publicly reversed. People see that flattery brings intimacy and goodness brings suffering. The king’s partial affection thus becomes the direction learned by the whole country.
The scripture next lists two groups of faults. First, the true Dharma disappears, sentient beings lose their radiance, and the earth’s fertility sinks. Then frost and hail fall out of season, famine and epidemics spread, the flavor of crops and fruits declines, and beings suffer many illnesses. Sweet fruit turns bitter and astringent, and lovely parks suddenly wither. Rice, wheat, and fruits lose their flavor, and food cannot nourish the great elements. Even when people eat much, they are not full; their radiance, strength, and vigor decline; they cannot bear their tasks; and spirits and rākṣasas appear throughout the realm.
Finally, the scripture gathers this decline under 『三種世間』—“the three kinds of world”—without separately defining them in this chapter. What the scripture itself establishes is that the decline is connected to a king acting contrary to Dharma and drawing near to evil persons. As for what each of the 『三種』—“three kinds”—denotes, the chapter does not itself fix three items.
6. Punishment According to Dharma Is Not Punishment According to the King’s Preferences
Having condemned the failure to check evil, the scripture states positively that a person acting contrary to Dharma within one’s realm should be punished according to Dharma and not abandoned. The words 『依法』—“according to Dharma”—subject punishment to the same measure. A king cannot claim to stop evil while loving evil persons and painfully punishing the good. The preceding passage has already said that this reversal causes the realm to decline. Any punishment that reverses good and evil is itself contrary to Dharma.
The gods protect a king who punishes according to Dharma because he can extinguish evil and cultivate roots of goodness. The king experiences corresponding results in this very life, accepts and rejects in accord with good and evil actions, instructs sentient beings, and shows them good and bad results. Punishment here does not display royal might. It prevents good and evil from being confused and lets people know what should be abandoned and what should be cultivated.
The scripture also places this within benefit for oneself and others. A king governing through the true Dharma benefits himself and others; when he sees flatterers, he should deal with them according to Dharma. Even if he may lose his throne or face circumstances threatening his life, he must not turn to evil or see evil and abandon it. A throne exists to protect the realm and its beings. If a king attaches himself to flatterers in order to preserve it, those very flatterers cause him to lose it.
The second elephant simile therefore appears. Flatterers and deceivers damage royal government like an elephant entering a flower garden. The first simile showed the people as a trampled lotus pond; here the government is a damaged garden. Both show that when a massive partiality enters a fine-grained order, the destruction does not remain at one point. When the king fails to punish evil according to Dharma, the lords of the gods and the asuras become angry, because although he is called a human king, he does not govern through Dharma.
7. Regard Everyone Equally; Do Not Let Intimacy Alter the True Dharma
The positive turn unfolds in three continuous instructions: transform sentient beings through goodness and do not follow what is contrary to Dharma; rather give up one’s body and life than follow a friend acting contrary to Dharma; and regard the intimate and the distant equally in reward and punishment. All three return the king to the same demand: intimacy cannot make what is contrary to Dharma something permissible to follow.
『親』—“the intimate”—is the place where standards bend most easily. The preceding passage says that a king’s attachment to evil companions causes what is contrary to Dharma to spread; the present instruction answers it by refusing to follow a friend who acts contrary to Dharma. Friends may remain friends and family remain family, but once conduct is contrary to Dharma, intimacy cannot become a reason to stop judging according to Dharma. Nor may a distant person be judged by a different measure merely because of distance. Only when intimate and distant are both measured by Dharma can the realm remain free of partial factions.
The scripture even says one should rather give up body and life than follow such a friend. The true Dharma is not decoration to be practiced only after the throne has been secured. When Dharma conflicts with position, Dharma is what must be guarded; when it conflicts with life, safety is still not to be purchased through what is contrary to Dharma. A human king who indulges evil to preserve his throne will lose it. One who is willing to guard Dharma with body and life corresponds to the responsibility accepted at consecration.
Such a king is called a king of the true Dharma. The realm has no partial factions, and his name is heard throughout the three realms. The gods of the Thirty-Three joyfully regard the Dharma king in Jambudvīpa as their child, because he instructs beings through goodness, governs through the true Dharma, and encourages its practice so that people are born in heaven. The relation between king and gods returns to the chapter’s opening. A human king is called a son of the gods because they protect him; now his instruction through Dharma fills the heavens. The protection he received becomes, through his conduct, the wholesome action of still more sentient beings.
8. The Throne’s Security Finally Rests in the Happiness of Sentient Beings
When a human king instructs through the true Dharma, gods, divine sons, and hosts of suras constantly rejoice and protect him together. The stars move according to their stations, the sun and moon do not lose their regular courses, gentle winds accord with the seasons, sweet rains fall at the proper time, crops and fruits ripen, and the people know no famine. All the gods fill their palaces. The disorder caused by what is contrary to Dharma is here transformed, item by item, into the security protected by the true Dharma.
The scripture immediately exhorts the human king to propagate the true Dharma even at the cost of body and life, to honor the jewel of Dharma through which sentient beings become happy, and constantly to draw near to Dharma and adorn himself with its qualities. Benefit for oneself and others is not severed. Drawing near to Dharma perfects his own qualities, while propagating Dharma gives beings security. The retinue’s joy and departure from evil appear together with the people’s practice of the ten wholesome actions and the realm’s abundance and peace.
The final picture of government is simple: instruct people through Dharma, skillfully discipline evil conduct, obtain a good name, and bring sentient beings happiness. A good name is not a reward sought first, but follows naturally upon instruction through Dharma. The realm’s security does not merely protect the palace; the whole country is abundant, the people know no famine, and beings dwell at ease. The three matters in Firm and Steadfast’s opening question now join again: govern through the true Dharma, support sentient beings, and only then can the throne be secure.
The conclusion does not say only that Wonderful Banner received the teaching. All human kings upon the earth and the entire assembly hear the Buddha explain this essential ancient teaching on government, gain what they have never known before, rejoice, and accept it in faith and practice. Because the World-Honored One teaches it in the present assembly, a right treatise once transmitted from father to son becomes a Dharma received by all human kings and the whole assembly. The true conclusion is not 『知道了』—“knowing it”—but 『奉行』—“putting it into practice”: placing the true Dharma one has heard within every choice not to indulge evil, not to favor the intimate, and to encourage goodness.
Through the Eye of Consciousness-Only: How One Right Treatise Illuminates Mind and World
What follows is a mirror of the ancient masters, not the scripture speaking about itself. Huizhao first divides the chapter into the earth goddess’s request, the World-Honored One’s explanation, and the assembly’s joyful practice. He then subdivides the seventy-three stanzas into the command to listen, the right treatise itself, disaster resulting from departure from Dharma, and blessings obtained by acting according to Dharma. Such divisions help readers see the scripture’s turns; the names of the sections belong to the commentary, not the scripture.
On the reason for the chapter’s coming, Huizhao preserves two paths. One reads the chapter within the circulation sequence of the whole sūtra as raising the past to exhort the present. The other connects the honoring of persons and Dharma and the gods’ protection in “The Four Heavenly Kings Protect the Realm” with this chapter, saying that the present passage raises a past human king’s right conduct and propagation of the sūtra to exhort the current assembly. Concerning Wonderful Banner’s identity, he records both 『即今妙幢』—“the Wonderful Banner of the present”—and 『即釋迦佛』—“Śākyamuni Buddha”—and says explicitly that the text neither blocks nor permits a choice between them. These are different explanations within the mirror.
When explaining The Teaching of the Lord of Gods, Huizhao identifies the lord of the world with Brahmā and explains that the teaching arises from compassion that removes suffering and gives happiness. When explaining the verse exhorting lords of gods and human kings to listen, he offers one answer based on the prose being brief and the verses extensive, and another in which the immediate admonition is addressed to the son while the doctrine benefits many. In explaining the protection given by human and nonhuman beings, he says it can be read as joint protection for one’s own benefit or as also benefiting others. Each case shows that one scriptural statement can hold more than one interpretive path without altering a word of the scripture.
For 『三種世間』—“the three kinds of world”—Huizhao gives one explanation as the three realms: acting according to Dharma benefits human beings and gods, while acting contrary to Dharma diminishes all three realms. A second explanation takes them as human beings, animals, and the hundred grains, corresponding to human epidemics, harm to animals, and failure of crops to ripen. Both explanations are proposed by the commentator; the scripture itself gives only the expression 「三種世間」. For 『何能長諸大』—“how can it nourish the great elements?”—he explains that food failing to nourish them shows how decline in external results becomes decline in internal recompense.
Huizhao’s quoted text also preserves two visible differences of transmission. The base scripture reads 『亡身弘正法』, while the commentary quotes 『忘身弘正法』; the base scripture’s final verse reads 『常得好名稱』, while the commentary quotes 『當得好名稱』. Each work displays its own graph: the scripture has 『亡』 and 『常得』, while the commentary has 『忘』 and 『當得』. The differing readings can therefore be seen without being collapsed.
At the passage on punishment according to Dharma, Huizhao also cites an older scripture to supply boundaries. Punishment must begin with a compassionate mind and be undertaken truthfully, at the proper time, meaningfully, gently, and compassionately. Its purpose is to cause one who acts badly to repent and change, not to abandon sentient beings with a harmful mind. He explicitly says life must not be cut off and the faculties must not be damaged. These restrictions are not unfolded item by item in this chapter’s scriptural sentences; Huizhao supplies them by citing the older scripture. They remind the reader that checking evil and compassion are not opposing paths. The question is whether punishment aims at abandoning evil and following good, or at injuring others through private anger.
For three and a half connected stanzas, Huizhao further distinguishes transformation through goodness without following what is contrary to Dharma, ordering government without following friends who act contrary to Dharma, and rewarding and punishing without selecting between the intimate and the distant. This is the commentator’s fine-grained division of equality in reward and punishment. The scripture itself directly says to transform through goodness, not follow friends acting contrary to Dharma, and regard everyone equally.
Zhiyi reads the older translation through the four siddhāntas, six meanings of kingship, and the root and branches of Golden Light. Zhili’s Record of the Words and Phrases comments upon it line by line and says that one person bears both the human and divine titles, showing that the right treatise extends through the worldly and transmundane. Jizang connects equality toward intimate and distant with prajñā and great compassion. Huizhao establishes a separate detailed division based on the seventy-three stanzas of the new translation. The masters differ in their recensions, fascicle divisions, stanza counts, textual divisions, and contemplative approaches. This is precisely the chapter’s carrying forward: the same right treatise—not indulging evil, not favoring the intimate, and bringing peace through Dharma—reveals a distinct radiance in each master’s mirror.
考據Apparatus
本篇以《金光明最勝王經》T16n0665 品身 0442a15–0444a08 為底本；對讀 T16n0663〈正論品第十一〉、T16n0664〈正論品第十六〉，並錄智顗《金光明經文句》、知禮《金光明經文句記》、吉藏《金光明經疏》與慧沼《金光明最勝王經疏》。三譯分合、人名與諸家判釋，皆誌其所存，不判孰勝。
一、科判定位
1. 品身與敘事次第
底本品題為「金光明最勝王經王法正論品第二十」〔T16n0665 0442a14〕，品身自「爾時，此大地神女，名曰堅牢」〔T16n0665 0442a15〕起，至「奉行。」〔T16n0665 0444a08〕止，共一千七百七十一個漢字。其後 0444a09 是卷八尾題，0444a12 是卷九首題，0444a14 是譯者署記，0444a15 方入下一品，均不屬本品。
經文先敘堅牢地神女起座、禮足、合掌請說治國之要；佛遂舉過去力尊幢王傳法於妙幢太子的往事。力尊幢王又追述其父智力尊幢王所傳之論，然後以七十三個四句頌說明王名、天護、善惡賞罰、國土盛衰與依法化民，末以大地一切人王及諸大眾聞法歡喜、信受奉行作結。
2. 慧沼科判只置考據
慧沼先總判：「此之品文，大分為三：初地神陳請、次世尊為說、後大眾喜行。」〔T39n1788 0314a22〕又於偈前判「下正陳彼說，有七十三行頌」〔T39n1788 0314b26〕，與底本七十三頌相合。此二科判出於疏家，故只供本篇考據與義疏鏡義使用，不倒寫為經自說；本品正文不另插科號。
慧沼對本品來意並列二路：先以全經流通位次判本品為持學之中、舉昔之初；又連讀〈四天王護國品〉尊人重法、天等擁護之說，視本品為舉昔人王正行弘經以勸當會。其原文末段為「又解：以〈四天王護國品〉說人王若能尊人重法，正行弘經，天等擁護；若不如是，天等捨離。故今此品舉昔人王正行弘經，勸勉時會，有此品起。」〔T39n1788 0313c28〕二路並存，不取一廢一。
二、異譯對勘
1. 三本品題、品身與首段
| 本 | 品題 | 品身 | 首段結構 |
|---|---|---|---|
| T16n0663 | 「金光明經正論品第十一」〔0346c23〕 | 0346c24–0348a26 | 佛直接告地神堅牢，入力尊相王與信相太子往事。 |
| T16n0664 | 「金光明經正論品第十六」〔0389c28〕 | 0390a01–0391b02 | 佛直接告地神堅牢，入力尊相王與信相太子往事。 |
| T16n0665 | 「金光明最勝王經王法正論品第二十」〔0442a14〕 | 0442a15–0444a08 | 堅牢地神女先請說王法正論治國之要，佛然後舉往事。 |
T665 的請問明載「惟願世尊慈悲哀愍，當為我說王法正論治國之要」〔T16n0665 0442a18〕；T663、T664 此處都直接入佛告往事。這是首段分合之別，只誌對位，不判孰增孰刪，也不由此推論來源。
2. 人名異譯
| 身分 | T665 | T663 | T664 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 過去父王 | 「過去有王，名力尊幢」〔0442a24〕 | 「過去有王名力尊相」〔0346c24〕 | 「過去有王，名力尊相」〔0390a01〕 |
| 將受位之王子 | 「其王有子，名曰妙幢」〔0442a24〕 | 「其王有子名曰信相」〔0346c24〕 | 「其王有子，名曰信相」〔0390a01〕 |
| 更早傳論之父王 | 「我之父王，名智力尊幢」〔0442a27〕 | 只稱父王 | 只稱父王 |
T665 全書不見『力尊相』『信相』二串；T663 的『力尊相』二見、『信相』十八見，T664 的『力尊相』二見、『信相』二十二見。三本各守本名，不以 T663、T664 的人名回改 T665。妙幢與信相之異譯，亦與本帙其他品已並載之名對相應。
3. 全偈段連續對位
T665 有七十三頌；T663、T664 各有八十二頌。下表十三段連續覆蓋三本全部偈段，僅誌分合與對位，不把頌數不同改寫成來源判斷。
| 段 | 共同義節 | T665 | T663 | T664 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | 勅聽與論益 | 頌一至二；0442b05–0442b08 | 頌一至二；0347a04–0347a06 | 頌一至二；0390a09–0390a11 |
| 二 | 金剛山集會與請問 | 頌三至四；0442b09–0442b12 | 頌三至四；0347a06–0347a09 | 頌三至四；0390a11–0390a14 |
| 三 | 王、天、天子之問 | 頌五至六；0442b13–0442b16 | 頌五至六；0347a09–0347a11 | 頌五至六；0390a14–0390a16 |
| 四 | 護世問已、梵王許說、先業作王 | 頌七至九；0442b17–0442b22 | 頌七至九；0347a12–0347a15 | 頌七至九；0390a17–0390a20 |
| 五 | 入胎護持、天力與王之教化 | 頌十至十六；0442b23–0442c07 | 頌十至十八；0347a16–0347a27 | 頌十至十八；0390a21–0390b03 |
| 六 | 縱惡不治、正法敗與災異 | 頌十七至二十五；0442c08–0442c25 | 頌十九至二十七；0347a28–0347b10 | 頌十九至二十七；0390b04–0390b15 |
| 七 | 諸天共議、國敗與眾苦 | 頌二十六至三十三；0442c26–0443a12 | 頌二十八至三十七；0347b11–0347b24 | 頌二十八至三十七；0390b16–0390b29 |
| 八 | 惡臣、倒置賞罰、外果與內報衰損 | 頌三十四至四十七；0443a13–0443b11 | 頌三十八至五十三；0347b24–0347c16 | 頌三十八至五十三；0390b29–0390c21 |
| 九 | 善惡生處、縱罪非王 | 頌四十八至五十一；0443b12–0443b19 | 頌五十四至五十七；0347c16–0347c21 | 頌五十四至五十七；0390c21–0390c26 |
| 十 | 依法治罰、天護、示善惡報 | 頌五十二至五十五；0443b20–0443b27 | 頌五十八至六十；0347c22–0347c25 | 頌五十八至六十；0390c27–0391a01 |
| 十一 | 自他利、諂侫與依法治惡 | 頌五十六至六十一；0443b28–0443c10 | 頌六十一至六十六；0347c26–0348a04 | 頌六十一至六十六；0391a02–0391a09 |
| 十二 | 親疏平等、正法王與天護國豐 | 頌六十二至六十八；0443c11–0443c24 | 頌六十七至七十四；0348a05–0348a15 | 頌六十七至七十四；0391a10–0391a20 |
| 十三 | 尊法、化民、國安與名稱 | 頌六十九至七十三；0443c25–0444a05 | 頌七十五至八十二；0348a15–0348a26 | 頌七十五至八十二；0391a20–0391b02 |
4. T663、T664 長行原字異存
| 位置 | T663 | T664 |
|---|---|---|
| 父告子 | 「告其大子信相」〔0346c26〕 | 「告其太子信相」〔0390a03〕 |
| 父王自敘 | 「曾為大子」〔0346c27〕 | 「曾為太子」〔0390a04〕 |
| 偈序 | 「信相大子，說是偈言：」〔0347a03〕 | 「信相太子說是偈言：」〔0390a08〕 |
5. T663、T664 偈中原字異存全表
下表列二十三頌、二十九個原字差分；同頌二處差分分列，以保存每一字的錨。標點異存另由兩本逐文保存，本表不作歸一化。
| 頌 | T663 原字 | T663 錨 | T664 原字 | T664 錨 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 九 | 「暢」 | 0347a14 | 「說」 | 0390a19 |
| 十九 | 「趣」 | 0347a29 | 「聚」 | 0390b05 |
| 二十 | 「姦」 | 0347a29 | 「奸」 | 0390b05 |
| 二十一之一 | 「正」 | 0347b02 | 「惡」 | 0390b07 |
| 二十一之二 | 「姦」 | 0347b02 | 「奸」 | 0390b07 |
| 二十三 | 「來」 | 0347b04 | 「相」 | 0390b09 |
| 二十四之一 | 「踏」 | 0347b06 | 「蹋」 | 0390b11 |
| 二十四之二 | 「花」 | 0347b06 | 「華」 | 0390b11 |
| 二十六之一 | 「正」 | 0347b09 | 「政」 | 0390b14 |
| 二十六之二 | 「饑」 | 0347b09 | 「飢」 | 0390b14 |
| 二十七 | 「虐」 | 0347b10 | 「瘧」 | 0390b15 |
| 二十八 | 「諸」 | 0347b11 | 「時」 | 0390b16 |
| 三十 | 「姦」 | 0347b14 | 「奸」 | 0390b19 |
| 三十四 | 「餓」 | 0347b19 | 「饉」 | 0390b24 |
| 三十九 | 「滅」 | 0347b26 | 「減」 | 0390c02 |
| 四十三 | 「病」 | 0347c02 | 「死」 | 0390c07 |
| 四十七 | 「肥」 | 0347c07 | 「肌」 | 0390c12 |
| 四十九之一 | 「嬾」 | 0347c10 | 「懶」 | 0390c15 |
| 四十九之二 | 「病」 | 0347c10 | 「疾」 | 0390c15 |
| 五十五 | 「焦」 | 0347c19 | 「燋」 | 0390c24 |
| 五十六 | 「治」 | 0347c19 | 「理」 | 0390c24 |
| 五十七 | 「姦」 | 0347c21 | 「奸」 | 0390c26 |
| 五十九之一 | 「習」 | 0347c23 | 「集」 | 0390c28 |
| 五十九之二 | 「故」 | 0347c23 | 「根」 | 0390c28 |
| 六十三 | 「能」 | 0347c29 | 「應」 | 0391a05 |
| 六十四之一 | 「姦」 | 0348a01 | 「奸」 | 0391a06 |
| 六十四之二 | 「姦」 | 0348a01 | 「奸」 | 0391a06 |
| 六十六 | 「世」 | 0348a04 | 「惡」 | 0391a09 |
| 七十六 | 「受」 | 0348a18 | 「愛」 | 0391a23 |
其中『正／惡』『虐／瘧』『病／死』等皆按本並列，不以語意順逆裁一舍一。
三、唯識義之經據
1. 品名與論旨
底本稱「有王法正論，名天主教法」〔T16n0665 0442a26〕，把正論置於父子相傳、依法治國的故事中。慧沼從王、法、正、論四字分釋：王是能行法人，正法是所論，論是能論；又以依主釋說王之正法、正法之論。此為疏家釋名，不是經中自列的語源。
經文所直接建立的尺度，是見惡須遮、依法治擯、勸善示報、親與非親平等。王若縱惡、親惡、罰善，災變、饑疫、相侵與國敗相續而起；王若依法平等化人，則日月星宿不失常度、風雨順時、國土豐樂。這一正反相照都在本經頌文中明說。
2. 慧沼同疏內部異解全錄
| 議題 | 並列之解 | 錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 本品來意 | 一解依全經流通位次，判為持學中舉昔之初；又解連讀〈四天王護國品〉，以舉昔人王正行弘經勸勉時會。 | 0313c24、0313c28 |
| 妙幢身分 | 「有釋妙幢即今妙幢。又云：即釋迦佛。詳此二釋無文遮許，取捨任情。」〔T39n1788 0314a19〕 | 0314a19 |
| 頌中勸聽對象 | 一答長行略而頌中廣；又解正為誡子，但此論廣益，故天主、人王皆應歡喜聽說。 | 0314b26 |
| 人神護持之益 | 「共護自益，或亦是益他。由人神助力，令王化他捨惡修善，共護自益。」〔T39n1788 0315b03〕 | 0315b03 |
| 三種世間 | 「三種世間者，即三界。由王依法，增益人天；行非法故；三界衰損。或人畜百穀為三世間；人疫畜損、百穀不熟。廣如上辨。」〔T39n1788 0316a28〕 | 0316a28 |
以上『一解』『又解』『或亦』『或』均照疏並存，不代慧沼擇定，也不把任一解灌入經文層。
3. 難句與牒文異讀
| 經句 | 慧沼所釋或所牒 | 處理 |
|---|---|---|
| 「何能長諸大。」〔T16n0665 0443b01〕 | 慧沼以『食不資大』攝其義〔T39n1788 0316a22〕 | 只取食物不能資養諸大之義，不另添生理說。 |
| 「是故汝人王，亡身弘正法。」〔T16n0665 0443c26〕 | 慧沼牒作『忘身弘正法』〔T39n1788 0318a03〕 | 經本『亡』與疏牒『忘』並錄，不互改。 |
| 「常得好名稱」〔T16n0665 0444a05〕 | 慧沼牒作『當得好名稱』〔T39n1788 0318a07〕 | 經本『常得』與疏牒『當得』並錄，不互改。 |
| 「羅剎栴茶羅」〔T16n0665 0442c03〕 | 慧沼作『羅剎旃荼羅』，並釋旃荼羅為嚴幟執守惡者〔T39n1788 0315b04〕 | T665『栴茶羅』、T1788『旃荼羅』各守本字。 |
慧沼疏中凡冠『經』之牒文，屬 T1788 的傳寫事件；本篇若直接徵引 T665，仍回繫 T665 本身，不以疏牒代替經錨。
四、諸家異釋
1. 智顗《金光明經文句》T39n1785
智顗逐文段自 0078b07 至 0079a23，下一品題在 0079a24。其七段功能連續如下：
| 段 | 功能 | 錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 一 | 以世聖、出世聖與四悉檀釋『正論』，並述先王世世相傳。 | 0078b07 |
| 二 | 判流通位置，分長行說事本與八十二行偈，列四問。 | 0078b24 |
| 三 | 依護胎、分德、力加等義答天、天子與人王之問。 | 0078c06 |
| 四 | 以執樂、遮惡、父母等六義釋王名與天護。 | 0078c21 |
| 五 | 以六義俱失釋縱惡時不得名天、不得名王。 | 0079a03 |
| 六 | 以六義復成釋正治時父母、天子、魁膾、執樂、示因果、分德。 | 0079a10 |
| 七 | 以金、光、明三義回釋正論本末。 | 0079a16 |
其首段明說「此品是先王舊法，世世相傳」〔T39n1785 0078b08〕；末段則問金光明何以為正論之本，建立本末相關的觀解。原段所傳五個『云云』夾註，分布於 0078c06、0079a10、0079a16、0079a19，校錄時均須作〔云云〕保留，不得刪作空白。
2. 知禮《金光明經文句記》T39n1786
知禮此書是釋《文句》的逐文記，不能與其釋《玄義》的 T1784 混為一書。本品科題明見「〈正論品〉」〔T39n1786 0146c27〕，逐文記由此續至 0148b10，下一科始轉入〈善集品〉。
知禮承接《文句》所立問答與六義：於天護、入胎、分德、力加等處逐句消釋，又在段末說「經於一人而立人天兩種之稱，意顯此論通世出世也。」〔T39n1786 0148b09〕其所記是智顗《文句》的解釋層，並非 T665 經文的直接自說。
3. 知禮《金光明經玄義拾遺記》T39n1784
T1784 是釋《玄義》的玄義層。全書未見〈正論品〉逐文疏，只在總論經力時間接提及：「得經力用，還護於經。以至下文正論治病、救魚飼虎，皆是此經生善滅惡力用功德。」〔T39n1784 0045a01〕因此只記為玄義層的間接互見，不把 0045a01 冒作本品逐句科題，更不與 T1786 的《文句記》合併。
4. 吉藏《金光明經疏》T39n1787
吉藏逐文段自 0169b25 至 0170c03。其八段功能連續如下：
| 段 | 功能 | 錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 一 | 判七品位置，以四王與梵天問答、治化正法釋品名。 | 0169b25 |
| 二 | 分緣起、論說、誡許、請問與釋答。 | 0169c05 |
| 三 | 以統領國土、胎內外天護、天德分與、滅惡生善略答。 | 0169c17 |
| 四 | 釋半名人王、執樂、羅剎、魁膾、父母及二疑。 | 0170a01 |
| 五 | 總分縱惡國敗、修善土豐、結勸捨惡從善。 | 0170a20 |
| 六 | 細分王、臣起惡與苦報。 | 0170b01 |
| 七 | 釋王修善、治惡所得國豐樂。 | 0170b20 |
| 八 | 結勸捨惡從善。 | 0170c01 |
吉藏以「治化之德即是般若大悲平等之心」〔T39n1787 0169c03〕回答世間治國正法何以關涉弘經；又把親與非親平等連於依經修行。此是吉藏的判釋，不倒作經文已自行宣稱的宗義。
5. 慧沼《金光明最勝王經疏》T39n1788
慧沼本品正疏自 0313c23 起，至 0318a15 止；0318a16 是卷五末終題，0318a19 是卷六首題，0318a22 是卷六慧沼署名，皆不屬本品正疏。慧沼依 T665 的七十三頌，先分地神陳請、世尊為說、大眾喜行，再細判違正法之禍與依正法之福；並於難句處保存多解與牒文異讀。其判釋均歸疏家層，不下灌為經直說。
6. 並錄不判
智顗依四悉檀、六稱與金光明三義開釋；知禮《文句記》承記其科義；吉藏依弘經人得益、般若大悲平等與治化開釋；慧沼依 T665 品次、七十三頌及王法科判開釋；知禮《玄義拾遺記》只作玄義層間接互見。五條解釋線分書標層，並錄其差，不判宗義高下。
五、術語
| 術語 | 經據與疏解 | 本篇取法 |
|---|---|---|
| 王法正論 | 「有王法正論，名天主教法」〔T16n0665 0442a26〕；慧沼分王、法、正、論而作依主釋〔T39n1788 0314a02〕。 | 白話只說王所應依循的正法之論；分字義留在鏡義。 |
| 世主 | 「世主即梵王，修四無量方為世主，明教慈悲起必能拔苦與樂。」〔T39n1788 0314b15〕 | 依古德明指梵王；慈悲拔苦與樂署為慧沼判。 |
| 妙伽他 | 「爾時力尊幢王，即為其子以妙伽他說正論曰」〔T16n0665 0442b03〕 | 保留音寫，不擅改字形。 |
| 蘇羅、揵闥婆、羅剎、栴茶羅 | 經列「人及蘇羅眾，并揵闥婆等；羅剎栴茶羅，悉皆資半力。」〔T16n0665 0442c02〕 | 四名依 T665 原字保留；不以 T1788 的『旃荼羅』回改。 |
| 治擯 | 「治擯當如法」〔T16n0665 0442c09〕 | 依法制止、處治；不縮成任意暴力。 |
| 三種世間 | 「令三種世間，因斯受衰損。」〔T16n0665 0443b09〕 | 白話保留此名；鏡義並列慧沼『三界』與『人、畜、百穀』二解。 |
| 諸大 | 「何能長諸大。」〔T16n0665 0443b01〕 | 依慧沼『食不資大』，只說食物不能資養諸大。 |
| 亡身 | 「是故汝人王，亡身弘正法。」〔T16n0665 0443c26〕 | 依經本作捨身弘法；另誌疏牒『忘身』，不互校。 |
六、譬喻與修辭
1. 象踏蓮池
經以「國人皆破散，如象踏蓮池。」〔T16n0665 0442c19〕說王得位於正法而不行正法，國人遂如蓮池受象踐踏般破散。譬喻所對是失法後的崩散，不宜擴作經外的制度比附。
2. 象入華園
後文又說「若有諂誑人，當失於國位；由斯損王政，如象入花園。」〔T16n0665 0443c05〕將諂誑損政、導致失位之患以象入花園顯示。兩象喻前後呼應：一處繫國人破散，一處繫王政受損，對象不可互換。
3. 正反成組
全頌以成組反覆推進：遮惡與縱惡、親善與親惡、罰惡與罰善、天護與天捨、風雨順時與非時、國土豐樂與敗亡。末段「率土常豐樂，國土得安寧。王以法化人，善調於惡行；」〔T16n0665 0444a03〕收束正向一端，使前述災變不成孤立的恐懼清單，而回到依法化人的勸誡。
4. 父子傳論
佛告堅牢地神女，力尊幢王告妙幢太子，力尊幢又追述智力尊幢王昔日傳論，形成層層回敘。這一敘法把正論安置在受位教誡與傳承中（T665 作受位未久，T663／T664 作受位之前）；末尾再回到當會人王與大眾信受奉行，完成往昔與現在的照應。
七、互讀與承衍
1. 與本經諸品互讀
慧沼把〈四天王護國品〉所說尊人重法、天等擁護，與本品舉昔人王正行弘經相連〔T39n1788 0313c28〕。這是疏家的品間互讀：前品著重護國之緣，本品以父子傳論展開人王如何遮惡勸善。又，本品妙幢之名與本帙其他品所見信相異譯相應，故人名只宜並錄，不宜跨本改字。
2. 三家承讀舊譯
智顗、知禮《文句記》與吉藏所釋皆承 T663、T664 系統的八十二頌與力尊相、信相人名；慧沼則逐文疏 T665 的七十三頌與力尊幢、妙幢。頌數、科判、人名隨所依經本而異，這是承讀脈絡，不是互相校正的命令。
3. 承衍
智顗由世間正論開出四悉檀、六義與金光明本末；知禮逐記其問答，使人天二稱通於世、出世；吉藏以般若大悲平等說親疏無擇；慧沼則以品次、七十三頌及正反得失細科 T665。後來的解釋由同一父子傳論，各自展開名義、弘經與治化之鏡。承衍之道正在分書存其所見：經是經，疏是疏；異譯與異解都完整並列，而不替古德裁一舍一。
八、校本定位
- 底本：T16n0665《金光明最勝王經》卷八，品題 0442a14，品身 0442a15–0444a08。正文一千七百七十一個漢字；0444a09 以後卷題、首題、署記均排除。
- 對校本：T16n0663〈正論品第十一〉，品身 0346c24–0348a26；T16n0664〈正論品第十六〉，品身 0390a01–0391b02。二本八十二頌，T665 七十三頌。
- 慧沼疏：T39n1788 正疏 0313c23–0318a15。所依卷之慧沼署名在 0286b13，為全書第五見；0318a22 是下一卷署名，不得誤作本品卷署記。
- 智顗《金光明經文句》：T39n1785 品題 0078b06，逐文段 0078b07–0079a23；署名在 0078b04。夾註〔云云〕照所傳保留。
- 知禮《金光明經文句記》：T39n1786 科題 0146c27，逐文記續至 0148b10；此為《文句》解釋層。
- 知禮《金光明經玄義拾遺記》：T39n1784 未見本品逐文疏；0045a01 只有玄義層間接提及。
- 吉藏《金光明經疏》：T39n1787 逐文段 0169b25–0170c03；署名在 0160a27。
- 本品標記只見長行與偈頌，未見陀羅尼或呪段；因此不存在可移入白話層的呪文。『妙伽他』『蘇羅』『揵闥婆』『羅剎』『栴茶羅』『阿蘇羅』等傳本音寫，均按底本字形保留，不正字化。
- 凡引文之錨，均取引文首字前最近行標；範圍只在首錨真實、引文落於域內時使用。疏中牒經與底本經文分書繫錨。
This apparatus takes the chapter body at 0442a15–0444a08 in T16n0665, The Sūtra of Golden Light, the Supreme King, as its base text; it is collated against “The Right Treatise,” Chapter 11, in T16n0663 and “The Right Treatise,” Chapter 16, in T16n0664, and records Zhiyi’s Words and Phrases of the Sūtra of Golden Light, Zhili’s Record of the Words and Phrases of the Sūtra of Golden Light, Jizang’s Commentary on the Sūtra of Golden Light, and Huizhao’s Commentary on the Sūtra of Golden Light, the Supreme King. The divisions among the three translations, personal names, and the masters’ interpretive judgments are all recorded as transmitted, without adjudicating which is superior.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
1. Chapter Body and Narrative Sequence
The base text gives the chapter title as 「金光明最勝王經王法正論品第二十」—“The Sūtra of Golden Light, the Supreme King: The Right Treatise on Royal Dharma, Chapter 20” 〔T16n0665 0442a14〕. The chapter body begins with 「爾時，此大地神女，名曰堅牢」—“At that time, this earth goddess was named Firm and Steadfast” 〔T16n0665 0442a15〕 and ends with 「奉行。」—“put it into practice” 〔T16n0665 0444a08〕, totaling 1,771 Chinese characters. The fascicle-eight end title at 0444a09, fascicle-nine opening title at 0444a12, and translator attribution at 0444a14 all follow it; the next chapter does not begin until 0444a15. None belongs to the present chapter.
The sūtra first narrates how the earth goddess Firm and Steadfast rises from her seat, bows at the Buddha’s feet, joins her palms, and asks him to explain the essentials of governing a realm. The Buddha then recounts a past event in which King Power-Honored Banner transmitted the Dharma to Crown Prince Wonderful Banner. King Power-Honored Banner in turn recalls the treatise transmitted to him by his father, King Wisdom-Power Honored Banner, and then explains in seventy-three four-line stanzas the names of a king, divine protection, reward and punishment for good and evil, the flourishing and decline of a realm, and the instruction of the people according to Dharma. It closes with all the human kings upon the earth and the whole assembly hearing the Dharma, rejoicing, and accepting it in faith and practice.
2. Huizhao’s Doctrinal Outline Is Kept Only in the Apparatus
Huizhao first gives the overall judgment: 「此之品文，大分為三：初地神陳請、次世尊為說、後大眾喜行。」—“The text of this chapter is broadly divided into three: first, the earth goddess presents her request; next, the World-Honored One explains; and last, the assembly rejoices and practices” 〔T39n1788 0314a22〕. Before the stanzas he further says, 「下正陳彼說，有七十三行頌」—“Below, in formally presenting that teaching, there are seventy-three stanzas” 〔T39n1788 0314b26〕, matching the base text’s seventy-three stanzas. Because these two divisions come from a commentator, they are used only in this apparatus and in the mirror of meanings in the exposition; they are not written back as statements made by the sūtra itself. No separate outline numbers are inserted into the chapter text.
Huizhao gives two approaches to the reason for this chapter’s coming. First, within the circulation sequence of the entire sūtra, he places it inside upholding and learning and at the beginning of raising events from the past. He also reads it together with the teaching in “The Four Heavenly Kings Protect the Realm” that honors persons and esteems the Dharma and that receives the protection of gods and others, taking the present chapter as an account of a past human king’s right conduct and propagation of the sūtra, offered to exhort the current assembly. His final wording is: 「又解：以〈四天王護國品〉說人王若能尊人重法，正行弘經，天等擁護；若不如是，天等捨離。故今此品舉昔人王正行弘經，勸勉時會，有此品起。」—“Another explanation: ‘The Four Heavenly Kings Protect the Realm’ says that if a human king can honor persons, esteem the Dharma, conduct himself rightly, and propagate the sūtra, the gods and others will protect him; if he does not do so, the gods and others will abandon him. Therefore this chapter now raises a past human king’s right conduct and propagation of the sūtra to exhort the present assembly, and so this chapter arises” 〔T39n1788 0313c28〕. Both approaches are preserved; neither is adopted to the exclusion of the other.
II. Alternate Translations · Collation of the Three Translations
1. Chapter Titles, Chapter Bodies, and Opening Structures in the Three Recensions
| Recension | Chapter title | Chapter body | Opening structure |
|---|---|---|---|
| T16n0663 | 「金光明經正論品第十一」—“The Sūtra of Golden Light: The Right Treatise, Chapter 11” 〔0346c23〕 | 0346c24–0348a26 | The Buddha directly addresses the earth goddess Firm and Steadfast and enters the past event involving King Power-Honored Mark and Crown Prince Faith-Mark. |
| T16n0664 | 「金光明經正論品第十六」—“The Sūtra of Golden Light: The Right Treatise, Chapter 16” 〔0389c28〕 | 0390a01–0391b02 | The Buddha directly addresses the earth goddess Firm and Steadfast and enters the past event involving King Power-Honored Mark and Crown Prince Faith-Mark. |
| T16n0665 | 「金光明最勝王經王法正論品第二十」—“The Sūtra of Golden Light, the Supreme King: The Right Treatise on Royal Dharma, Chapter 20” 〔0442a14〕 | 0442a15–0444a08 | The earth goddess Firm and Steadfast first asks for the essentials of governing a realm within the Right Treatise on Royal Dharma; the Buddha then recounts the past event. |
T665 expressly records the request, 「惟願世尊慈悲哀愍，當為我說王法正論治國之要」—“I only pray that the World-Honored One, in compassion and pity, will explain for me the essentials of governing a realm within the Right Treatise on Royal Dharma” 〔T16n0665 0442a18〕. T663 and T664 both enter the Buddha’s account of the past directly at this point. This is a difference in the division of the opening passage. The aligned positions alone are recorded; no judgment is made about which text adds or omits material, and no conclusion about textual origin is drawn from it.
2. Alternate Translations of Personal Names
| Identity | T665 | T663 | T664 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Past father-king | 「過去有王，名力尊幢」—“In the past there was a king named Power-Honored Banner” 〔0442a24〕 | 「過去有王名力尊相」—“In the past there was a king named Power-Honored Mark” 〔0346c24〕 | 「過去有王，名力尊相」—“In the past there was a king named Power-Honored Mark” 〔0390a01〕 |
| Prince about to receive the throne | 「其王有子，名曰妙幢」—“That king had a son named Wonderful Banner” 〔0442a24〕 | 「其王有子名曰信相」—“That king had a son named Faith-Mark” 〔0346c24〕 | 「其王有子，名曰信相」—“That king had a son named Faith-Mark” 〔0390a01〕 |
| Earlier father-king who transmitted the treatise | 「我之父王，名智力尊幢」—“My father the king was named Wisdom-Power Honored Banner” 〔0442a27〕 | Identified only as the father-king | Identified only as the father-king |
The strings 『力尊相』 and 『信相』 do not occur anywhere in T665. In T663, 『力尊相』 occurs twice and 『信相』 eighteen times; in T664, 『力尊相』 occurs twice and 『信相』 twenty-two times. Each recension retains its own names, and the personal names in T663 and T664 are not used to alter T665. The alternate translations Wonderful Banner and Faith-Mark also correspond to the aligned names already recorded in other chapters of this edition.
3. Continuous Alignment of the Entire Stanza Sections
T665 has seventy-three stanzas; T663 and T664 each have eighty-two. The thirteen segments below continuously cover the complete stanza sections of all three recensions. They record only division and alignment and do not turn the different stanza totals into a judgment about textual origin.
| Segment | Shared thematic section | T665 | T663 | T664 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Command to listen and benefit of the treatise | Stanzas 1–2; 0442b05–0442b08 | Stanzas 1–2; 0347a04–0347a06 | Stanzas 1–2; 0390a09–0390a11 |
| 2 | Assembly on Vajra Mountain and the request | Stanzas 3–4; 0442b09–0442b12 | Stanzas 3–4; 0347a06–0347a09 | Stanzas 3–4; 0390a11–0390a14 |
| 3 | Questions about king, god, and son of the gods | Stanzas 5–6; 0442b13–0442b16 | Stanzas 5–6; 0347a09–0347a11 | Stanzas 5–6; 0390a14–0390a16 |
| 4 | The world-protectors complete their questions; Brahmā promises to explain; past actions lead to kingship | Stanzas 7–9; 0442b17–0442b22 | Stanzas 7–9; 0347a12–0347a15 | Stanzas 7–9; 0390a17–0390a20 |
| 5 | Protection upon entering the womb, divine power, and the king’s instruction | Stanzas 10–16; 0442b23–0442c07 | Stanzas 10–18; 0347a16–0347a27 | Stanzas 10–18; 0390a21–0390b03 |
| 6 | Indulging evil without discipline, the ruin of the true Dharma, and calamities | Stanzas 17–25; 0442c08–0442c25 | Stanzas 19–27; 0347a28–0347b10 | Stanzas 19–27; 0390b04–0390b15 |
| 7 | The gods deliberate together, the realm is ruined, and the multitude suffers | Stanzas 26–33; 0442c26–0443a12 | Stanzas 28–37; 0347b11–0347b24 | Stanzas 28–37; 0390b16–0390b29 |
| 8 | Evil ministers, inverted reward and punishment, and decline in external results and internal recompense | Stanzas 34–47; 0443a13–0443b11 | Stanzas 38–53; 0347b24–0347c16 | Stanzas 38–53; 0390b29–0390c21 |
| 9 | Destinations of good and evil; one who indulges offenses is no king | Stanzas 48–51; 0443b12–0443b19 | Stanzas 54–57; 0347c16–0347c21 | Stanzas 54–57; 0390c21–0390c26 |
| 10 | Punishment according to Dharma, divine protection, and showing the results of good and evil | Stanzas 52–55; 0443b20–0443b27 | Stanzas 58–60; 0347c22–0347c25 | Stanzas 58–60; 0390c27–0391a01 |
| 11 | Benefit for self and others, flatterers, and governing evil according to Dharma | Stanzas 56–61; 0443b28–0443c10 | Stanzas 61–66; 0347c26–0348a04 | Stanzas 61–66; 0391a02–0391a09 |
| 12 | Equality toward intimate and distant, the Dharma king, and divine protection with abundance in the realm | Stanzas 62–68; 0443c11–0443c24 | Stanzas 67–74; 0348a05–0348a15 | Stanzas 67–74; 0391a10–0391a20 |
| 13 | Honoring Dharma, instructing the people, security of the realm, and good renown | Stanzas 69–73; 0443c25–0444a05 | Stanzas 75–82; 0348a15–0348a26 | Stanzas 75–82; 0391a20–0391b02 |
4. Distinct Original Graphs in the Prose of T663 and T664
| Position | T663 | T664 |
|---|---|---|
| Father addresses son | 「告其大子信相」—“addressed his elder son Faith-Mark” 〔0346c26〕 | 「告其太子信相」—“addressed Crown Prince Faith-Mark” 〔0390a03〕 |
| Father-king’s account of himself | 「曾為大子」—“I was once the elder son” 〔0346c27〕 | 「曾為太子」—“I was once the crown prince” 〔0390a04〕 |
| Introduction to the stanzas | 「信相大子，說是偈言：」—“The elder son Faith-Mark spoke these stanzas” 〔0347a03〕 | 「信相太子說是偈言：」—“Crown Prince Faith-Mark spoke these stanzas” 〔0390a08〕 |
5. Complete Table of Distinct Original Graphs in the Stanzas of T663 and T664
The following table lists twenty-three stanzas and twenty-nine differences in original graphs. Where one stanza has two differences, they are listed separately so that the anchor for each graph remains explicit. Punctuation differences are preserved independently in the complete texts of the two recensions and are not normalized in this table.
| Stanza | Original graph in T663 | T663 anchor | Original graph in T664 | T664 anchor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 「暢」—“expound” | 0347a14 | 「說」—“explain” | 0390a19 |
| 19 | 「趣」—“tendency” | 0347a29 | 「聚」—“gather” | 0390b05 |
| 20 | 「姦」—“deceit” | 0347a29 | 「奸」—“deceit” | 0390b05 |
| 21, first | 「正」—“right” | 0347b02 | 「惡」—“evil” | 0390b07 |
| 21, second | 「姦」—“deceit” | 0347b02 | 「奸」—“deceit” | 0390b07 |
| 23 | 「來」—“come” | 0347b04 | 「相」—“marks” | 0390b09 |
| 24, first | 「踏」—“tread” | 0347b06 | 「蹋」—“trample” | 0390b11 |
| 24, second | 「花」—“flower” | 0347b06 | 「華」—“flower” | 0390b11 |
| 26, first | 「正」—“right” | 0347b09 | 「政」—“government” | 0390b14 |
| 26, second | 「饑」—“famine” | 0347b09 | 「飢」—“famine” | 0390b14 |
| 27 | 「虐」—“cruel” | 0347b10 | 「瘧」—“malaria” | 0390b15 |
| 28 | 「諸」—“all” | 0347b11 | 「時」—“at that time” | 0390b16 |
| 30 | 「姦」—“deceit” | 0347b14 | 「奸」—“deceit” | 0390b19 |
| 34 | 「餓」—“hunger” | 0347b19 | 「饉」—“famine” | 0390b24 |
| 39 | 「滅」—“extinguish” | 0347b26 | 「減」—“diminish” | 0390c02 |
| 43 | 「病」—“illness” | 0347c02 | 「死」—“death” | 0390c07 |
| 47 | 「肥」—“fat” | 0347c07 | 「肌」—“flesh” | 0390c12 |
| 49, first | 「嬾」—“lazy” | 0347c10 | 「懶」—“lazy” | 0390c15 |
| 49, second | 「病」—“illness” | 0347c10 | 「疾」—“sickness” | 0390c15 |
| 55 | 「焦」—“scorched” | 0347c19 | 「燋」—“scorched” | 0390c24 |
| 56 | 「治」—“govern” | 0347c19 | 「理」—“order” | 0390c24 |
| 57 | 「姦」—“deceit” | 0347c21 | 「奸」—“deceit” | 0390c26 |
| 59, first | 「習」—“practice” | 0347c23 | 「集」—“accumulate” | 0390c28 |
| 59, second | 「故」—“cause” | 0347c23 | 「根」—“root” | 0390c28 |
| 63 | 「能」—“can” | 0347c29 | 「應」—“should” | 0391a05 |
| 64, first | 「姦」—“deceit” | 0348a01 | 「奸」—“deceit” | 0391a06 |
| 64, second | 「姦」—“deceit” | 0348a01 | 「奸」—“deceit” | 0391a06 |
| 66 | 「世」—“world” | 0348a04 | 「惡」—“evil” | 0391a09 |
| 76 | 「受」—“receive” | 0348a18 | 「愛」—“love” | 0391a23 |
Among them, pairs such as 『正／惡』, 『虐／瘧』, and 『病／死』 are set side by side according to their respective witnesses; no graph is chosen over another on the basis of semantic sequence.
III. Scriptural Grounds for the Consciousness-Only Meaning (the Point of the Eye)
1. Chapter Title and Purport of the Treatise
The base text says, 「有王法正論，名天主教法」—“There is a Right Treatise on Royal Dharma called The Teaching of the Lord of Gods” 〔T16n0665 0442a26〕, placing the right treatise within a story of transmission from father to son and government of a realm according to Dharma. Huizhao explains the four words king, Dharma, right, and treatise separately: the king is the person capable of practicing Dharma; right Dharma is what is discussed; and the treatise is what discusses it. He further applies the dependent determinative compound to “the king’s right Dharma” and “a treatise on right Dharma.” This is the commentator’s explanation of the title, not an etymology enumerated by the sūtra itself.
The standard directly established by the sūtra is that evil must be checked when seen, discipline and expulsion must accord with Dharma, goodness must be encouraged, its results must be shown, and the intimate and non-intimate must be treated equally. If a king indulges evil, draws near to evil, or punishes the good, calamities, famine, epidemics, mutual invasion, and the ruin of the realm arise in succession. If a king instructs people equally according to Dharma, the sun, moon, and stars do not depart from their regular courses, winds and rains accord with their seasons, and the realm abounds in happiness. These opposed sequences are both stated directly in the sūtra’s stanzas.
2. Every Internal Alternative in Huizhao’s Commentary
| Topic | Parallel explanations | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Reason for the chapter’s coming | One explanation follows the circulation sequence of the entire sūtra and takes the chapter as the beginning of raising the past within upholding and learning; another reads it together with “The Four Heavenly Kings Protect the Realm” and sees it as raising a past human king’s right conduct and propagation of the sūtra to exhort the present assembly. | 0313c24, 0313c28 |
| Identity of Wonderful Banner | 「有釋妙幢即今妙幢。又云：即釋迦佛。詳此二釋無文遮許，取捨任情。」—“One explanation says that Wonderful Banner is the Wonderful Banner of the present. Another says that he is Śākyamuni Buddha. On examining these two explanations, there is no textual warrant either blocking or permitting them; adopting or rejecting one is left to inclination” 〔T39n1788 0314a19〕 | 0314a19 |
| Audience exhorted to listen in the stanzas | One answer says that the prose is brief while the stanzas are extensive; another explanation says that the direct admonition is addressed to the son, but because this treatise benefits many, lords of gods and human kings should all listen joyfully. | 0314b26 |
| Benefit of protection by humans and spirits | 「共護自益，或亦是益他。由人神助力，令王化他捨惡修善，共護自益。」—“Their joint protection benefits oneself, or it may also benefit others. Through assistance from humans and spirits, the king causes others to abandon evil and cultivate goodness; their joint protection benefits oneself” 〔T39n1788 0315b03〕 | 0315b03 |
| Three kinds of world | 「三種世間者，即三界。由王依法，增益人天；行非法故；三界衰損。或人畜百穀為三世間；人疫畜損、百穀不熟。廣如上辨。」—“The three kinds of world are the three realms. Because the king acts according to Dharma, human beings and gods are benefited; because he acts contrary to Dharma, the three realms decline. Or human beings, animals, and the hundred grains are the three worlds: epidemics afflict humans, animals are harmed, and the hundred grains fail to ripen. This is extensively distinguished above” 〔T39n1788 0316a28〕 | 0316a28 |
All occurrences of “one explanation,” “another explanation,” “or it may also,” and “or” above are preserved in parallel as they stand in the commentary. No choice is made for Huizhao, and no explanation is inserted into the scriptural layer.
3. Difficult Phrases and Variant Readings in Commentarial Lemmata
| Sūtra phrase | Huizhao’s explanation or lemma | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| 「何能長諸大。」—“How can it nourish the great elements?” 〔T16n0665 0443b01〕 | Huizhao gathers its meaning under 『食不資大』—“food does not nourish the great elements” 〔T39n1788 0316a22〕 | Only the sense that food cannot nourish the great elements is taken; no further physiological explanation is added. |
| 「是故汝人王，亡身弘正法。」—“Therefore, human king, give up the body to propagate the true Dharma” 〔T16n0665 0443c26〕 | Huizhao’s lemma reads 『忘身弘正法』—“forget the body to propagate the true Dharma” 〔T39n1788 0318a03〕 | The sūtra’s 『亡』 and the commentary lemma’s 『忘』 are both recorded and are not used to alter one another. |
| 「常得好名稱」—“constantly obtain a good name” 〔T16n0665 0444a05〕 | Huizhao’s lemma reads 『當得好名稱』—“shall obtain a good name” 〔T39n1788 0318a07〕 | The sūtra’s 『常得』 and the commentary lemma’s 『當得』 are both recorded and are not used to alter one another. |
| 「羅剎栴茶羅」—“rākṣasas and caṇḍālas” 〔T16n0665 0442c03〕 | Huizhao has 『羅剎旃荼羅』—“rākṣasas and caṇḍālas,” explaining caṇḍālas as evil persons who wear a stern emblem and stand guard 〔T39n1788 0315b04〕 | T665’s 『栴茶羅』 and T1788’s 『旃荼羅』 each retain the graphs of their own witness. |
Every lemma in Huizhao’s commentary introduced by the word 『經』—“sūtra”—belongs to the transmission history of T1788. When this apparatus cites T665 directly, it still anchors the wording to T665 itself and does not substitute a commentarial lemma for a sūtra anchor.
IV. Explanations of Various Masters
1. Zhiyi’s Words and Phrases of the Sūtra of Golden Light T39n1785
Zhiyi’s line-by-line passage runs continuously from 0078b07 to 0079a23; the next chapter title stands at 0079a24. Its seven successive functional segments are as follows:
| Segment | Function | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Explains “right treatise” through worldly sages, transmundane sages, and the four siddhāntas; also describes its transmission from king to king through successive generations. | 0078b07 |
| 2 | Determines its position in circulation, divides the prose account of the root event from the eighty-two stanzas, and lists four questions. | 0078b24 |
| 3 | Answers the questions about gods, sons of gods, and human kings through protection of the fetus, sharing of virtue, bestowal of power, and related meanings. | 0078c06 |
| 4 | Explains the name “king” and divine protection through six meanings, including maintaining rites and music, checking evil, and serving as parents. | 0078c21 |
| 5 | Explains that when all six meanings are lost through indulgence of evil, one cannot be called a god and cannot be called a king. | 0079a03 |
| 6 | Explains that when all six meanings are restored through right government, the king acts as parents, son of the gods, commander who checks evil, maintainer of rites and music, revealer of cause and effect, and recipient of apportioned divine virtue. | 0079a10 |
| 7 | Uses the three meanings of gold, light, and brilliance to explain in return the root and branches of the right treatise. | 0079a16 |
Its opening segment expressly says, 「此品是先王舊法，世世相傳」—“This chapter is the old Dharma of former kings, transmitted from generation to generation” 〔T39n1785 0078b08〕. Its closing segment asks how Golden Light serves as the root of the right treatise and establishes a contemplative explanation relating root and branches. The original passage transmits five interlinear notes reading 『云云』—“and so forth”—distributed across 0078c06, 0079a10, 0079a16, and 0079a19. In collation, every one must be retained as 〔云云〕 and none may be deleted as if it were an empty space.
2. Zhili’s Record of the Words and Phrases of the Sūtra of Golden Light T39n1786
This work by Zhili is a line-by-line record explaining the Words and Phrases and must not be conflated with T1784, his explanation of the Profound Meaning. Its heading for the present chapter clearly reads 「〈正論品〉」—“‘The Right Treatise’ chapter” 〔T39n1786 0146c27〕. The line-by-line record continues from there through 0148b10, and only the following heading turns to “King Good-Collection.”
Zhili carries forward the question-and-answer structure and six meanings established by the Words and Phrases. He explains them phrase by phrase at passages on divine protection, entry into the womb, sharing of virtue, bestowal of power, and related points. At the end of the segment he says, 「經於一人而立人天兩種之稱，意顯此論通世出世也。」—“The sūtra establishes both the human and divine designations in a single person, intending to show that this treatise extends through the worldly and the transmundane” 〔T39n1786 0148b09〕. What he records is the interpretive layer of Zhiyi’s Words and Phrases, not a statement directly made by the T665 sūtra itself.
3. Zhili’s Supplementary Notes on the Profound Meaning of the Sūtra of Golden Light T39n1784
T1784 is a profound-meaning-level explanation of the Profound Meaning. The whole work has no line-by-line commentary on “The Right Treatise” chapter and refers to it only indirectly while discussing the power of the sūtra in general: 「得經力用，還護於經。以至下文正論治病、救魚飼虎，皆是此經生善滅惡力用功德。」—“Those who obtain the sūtra’s power and function in turn protect the sūtra. Down through the later passages on the Right Treatise, curing illness, saving the fish, and feeding the tiger, all are the meritorious power and function of this sūtra in producing good and extinguishing evil” 〔T39n1784 0045a01〕. It is therefore recorded only as an indirect cross-reference on the profound-meaning level. The passage at 0045a01 is not passed off as a line-by-line heading for this chapter, and the work is not merged with T1786’s Record of the Words and Phrases.
4. Jizang’s Commentary on the Sūtra of Golden Light T39n1787
Jizang’s line-by-line passage runs from 0169b25 through 0170c03. Its eight successive functional segments are as follows:
| Segment | Function | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Determines the position of the seven chapters and explains the chapter title through questions and answers involving the four heavenly kings and Brahmā and through the right Dharma of governance and transformation. | 0169b25 |
| 2 | Divides the conditions giving rise to the teaching, the explanation of the treatise, admonition and permission, request, and explanatory answer. | 0169c05 |
| 3 | Briefly answers through rulership over the realm, divine protection inside and outside the womb, divine virtue apportioned and bestowed, and the extinguishing of evil and production of good. | 0169c17 |
| 4 | Explains the designations “half,” “human king,” “maintainer of rites and music,” “rākṣasa,” “commander,” and “parents,” together with two doubts concerning punishment, divine protection, and karmic result. | 0170a01 |
| 5 | Broadly divides the ruin of the realm when evil is indulged, the abundance of the land when goodness is cultivated, and the concluding exhortation to abandon evil and follow good. | 0170a20 |
| 6 | Subdivides the evils produced by king and ministers and the painful results. | 0170b01 |
| 7 | Explains the abundance and happiness obtained in the realm when the king cultivates goodness and governs evil. | 0170b20 |
| 8 | Concluding exhortation to abandon evil and follow good. | 0170c01 |
In the two doubts of his fourth segment, Jizang first distinguishes punishment used to make wrongdoers fear the result of evil, without an evil mind on the king’s part, from malicious harm; he then says that present punitive suffering is not causeless, because good and evil actions bear results in the present and future. Jizang answers why the worldly right Dharma for governing a realm concerns propagation of the sūtra by saying, 「治化之德即是般若大悲平等之心」—“The virtue of governing and transforming is precisely the mind of prajñā, great compassion, and equality” 〔T39n1787 0169c03〕. He also connects equality toward the intimate and non-intimate with practice in accordance with the sūtra. This is Jizang’s interpretive judgment and is not written back as a doctrinal claim already made by the sūtra itself.
5. Huizhao’s Commentary on the Sūtra of Golden Light, the Supreme King T39n1788
Huizhao’s principal commentary on this chapter begins at 0313c23 and ends at 0318a15. The fascicle-five end title at 0318a16, fascicle-six opening title at 0318a19, and Huizhao attribution for fascicle six at 0318a22 do not belong to the principal commentary on this chapter. Following T665’s seventy-three stanzas, Huizhao first divides the chapter into the earth goddess’s request, the World-Honored One’s explanation, and the assembly’s joyful practice, and then further divides the misfortune of departing from right Dharma and the blessings of following right Dharma. His difficult phrases preserve multiple explanations and textual variants in the lemmata. All these judgments remain on the commentarial level and are not made into direct statements of the sūtra.
6. Recorded Without Adjudicating
Zhiyi explains the chapter through the four siddhāntas, six designations, and the three meanings of gold, light, and brilliance; Zhili’s Record of the Words and Phrases carries forward that outline; Jizang explains it through benefit received by the propagator of the sūtra, prajñā, great compassion and equality, and governance and transformation; Huizhao explains it through T665’s chapter sequence, seventy-three stanzas, and outline of royal Dharma; Zhili’s Supplementary Notes on the Profound Meaning supplies only an indirect cross-reference at the profound-meaning level. The five interpretive lines are identified by work and layer, and their differences are recorded without adjudicating doctrinal rank.
V. Terminology
| Term | Scriptural basis and commentarial explanation | Practice in this chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Right Treatise on Royal Dharma | 「有王法正論，名天主教法」—“There is a Right Treatise on Royal Dharma called The Teaching of the Lord of Gods” 〔T16n0665 0442a26〕; Huizhao separates king, Dharma, right, and treatise and applies the dependent determinative compound 〔T39n1788 0314a02〕. | The vernacular says only that this is a treatise on the right Dharma a king should follow; analysis of the individual words remains in the mirror of meanings. |
| Lord of the world | 「世主即梵王，修四無量方為世主，明教慈悲起必能拔苦與樂。」—“The lord of the world is Brahmā. Only by cultivating the four immeasurables does one become lord of the world; this shows that when the teaching arises from compassion it must be able to remove suffering and give happiness” 〔T39n1788 0314b15〕 | The ancient master explicitly identifies the figure as Brahmā; removing suffering and giving happiness through compassion is attributed to Huizhao’s judgment. |
| Wondrous gāthā | 「爾時力尊幢王，即為其子以妙伽他說正論曰」—“King Power-Honored Banner then proclaimed the right treatise to his son in wondrous gāthās” 〔T16n0665 0442b03〕 | The transcription is retained without silently altering its Chinese graph-form. |
| Suras, gandharvas, rākṣasas, and caṇḍālas | The sūtra lists, 「人及蘇羅眾，并揵闥婆等；羅剎栴茶羅，悉皆資半力。」—“Human beings, the hosts of suras, gandharvas, rākṣasas, and caṇḍālas each contribute half their power” 〔T16n0665 0442c02〕 | All four names retain the original graphs of T665; T1788’s 『旃荼羅』 is not used to alter them. |
| Discipline and expulsion | 「治擯當如法」—“discipline and expulsion must accord with Dharma” 〔T16n0665 0442c09〕 | They mean checking and dealing with wrongdoing according to Dharma and are not contracted into arbitrary violence. |
| Three kinds of world | 「令三種世間，因斯受衰損。」—“This therefore causes the three kinds of world to undergo decline” 〔T16n0665 0443b09〕 | The vernacular retains the expression; the exposition sets Huizhao’s two explanations—“the three realms” and “human beings, animals, and the hundred grains”—side by side. |
| Great elements | 「何能長諸大。」—“How can it nourish the great elements?” 〔T16n0665 0443b01〕 | Following Huizhao’s 『食不資大』—“food does not nourish the great elements,” it says only that food cannot nourish the great elements. |
| Give up the body | 「是故汝人王，亡身弘正法。」—“Therefore, human king, give up the body to propagate the true Dharma” 〔T16n0665 0443c26〕 | The sūtra’s wording is read as giving up the body to propagate Dharma; the commentarial lemma 『忘身』—“forget the body”—is recorded separately without altering either witness. |
VI. Similes · Rhetoric
1. An Elephant Tramples a Lotus Pond
The sūtra says, 「國人皆破散，如象踏蓮池。」—“The people of the realm are all scattered, like a lotus pond trampled by an elephant” 〔T16n0665 0442c19〕, describing how a king who has obtained his position through the true Dharma fails to practice it and the people are consequently dispersed. The simile applies to disintegration after the Dharma is lost and should not be expanded into an institutional analogy external to the sūtra.
2. An Elephant Enters a Flower Garden
Later it says, 「若有諂誑人，當失於國位；由斯損王政，如象入花園。」—“If crooked and deceitful persons are present, the king will lose his throne; through them the royal government is damaged, as by an elephant entering a flower garden” 〔T16n0665 0443c05〕. The elephant entering the flower garden shows the harm by which flatterers and deceivers damage government and lead to the loss of the throne. The two elephant similes answer one another: the first concerns the scattering of the people, and the second the damage to royal government. Their objects must not be interchanged.
3. Opposed Sequences
Throughout the stanzas, paired contrasts advance through repetition: checking evil and indulging evil, drawing near to the good and drawing near to the evil, punishing evil and punishing the good, protection and abandonment by the gods, winds and rains in season and out of season, and abundance and happiness in the realm and its ruin. The closing passage, 「率土常豐樂，國土得安寧。王以法化人，善調於惡行；」—“The entire realm will constantly remain abundant and happy, and the land will dwell in peace. The king instructs people through Dharma and skillfully disciplines evil conduct” 〔T16n0665 0444a03〕, gathers the positive sequence together. The preceding calamities thereby do not become an isolated catalogue of fear but return to the exhortation to instruct people according to Dharma.
4. Transmission of the Treatise from Father to Son
The Buddha addresses the earth goddess Firm and Steadfast; King Power-Honored Banner addresses Crown Prince Wonderful Banner; and King Power-Honored Banner in turn recalls King Wisdom-Power Honored Banner’s former transmission of the treatise. These nested retrospections place the right treatise within admonition upon receiving the throne and within transmission—in T665, not long after receiving the throne; in T663 and T664, before receiving it. The ending then returns to the human kings and assembly of the present who accept the teaching in faith and practice, completing the correspondence between past and present.
VII. Cross-Reading · Carrying Forward
1. Cross-Reading with Other Chapters of This Sūtra
Huizhao connects the honoring of persons and esteem for the Dharma and the protection of the gods in “The Four Heavenly Kings Protect the Realm” with this chapter’s account of a past human king’s right conduct and propagation of the sūtra 〔T39n1788 0313c28〕. This is the commentator’s cross-reading between chapters: the earlier chapter emphasizes the conditions for protecting the realm, while the present chapter unfolds through father-to-son transmission how a human king should check evil and encourage good. Moreover, the name Wonderful Banner in this chapter corresponds to the alternate translation Faith-Mark found elsewhere in this edition. The names should therefore be recorded side by side, not altered across recensions.
2. Three Masters’ Reception of the Older Translations
Zhiyi, Zhili’s Record of the Words and Phrases, and Jizang all comment on the T663–T664 recension-system with its eighty-two stanzas and the names Power-Honored Mark and Faith-Mark; Huizhao gives a line-by-line commentary on T665 with its seventy-three stanzas and the names Power-Honored Banner and Wonderful Banner. Stanza totals, doctrinal outlines, and names vary with the scriptural recension followed. This is a history of reception, not a command to correct one text against another.
3. Carrying Forward
Zhiyi unfolds the four siddhāntas, six meanings, and the root and branches of Golden Light from worldly right treatise; Zhili records those questions and answers one by one and makes the two designations human and divine extend through the worldly and transmundane; Jizang explains equality toward the intimate and distant through prajñā and great compassion; Huizhao gives a detailed outline of T665 according to its chapter sequence, seventy-three stanzas, and opposed sequences of loss and gain. From the same treatise transmitted from father to son, later interpretation separately unfolds mirrors of name and meaning, propagation of the sūtra, and governance and transformation. Its carrying forward lies precisely in preserving what each work sees: sūtra remains sūtra and commentary remains commentary; alternate translations and alternate explanations are both recorded in full, without choosing one ancient master over another.
VIII. Placement of the Editions
- Base text: T16n0665, The Sūtra of Golden Light, the Supreme King, fascicle eight; chapter title 0442a14 and chapter body 0442a15–0444a08. The body totals 1,771 Chinese characters. The fascicle title, opening title, and translator attribution from 0444a09 onward are excluded.
- Collation witness: “The Right Treatise,” Chapter 11, in T16n0663, chapter body 0346c24–0348a26; and “The Right Treatise,” Chapter 16, in T16n0664, chapter body 0390a01–0391b02. Both have eighty-two stanzas, while T665 has seventy-three.
- Huizhao’s commentary: principal commentary in T39n1788 at 0313c23–0318a15. The Huizhao attribution for the fascicle followed is at 0286b13, the fifth occurrence in the complete work; 0318a22 is the attribution for the next fascicle and must not be mistaken for the fascicle attribution of this chapter.
- Zhiyi’s Words and Phrases of the Sūtra of Golden Light: T39n1785, chapter title 0078b06 and line-by-line passage 0078b07–0079a23; the attribution stands at 0078b04. The interlinear notes 〔云云〕 are retained as transmitted.
- Zhili’s Record of the Words and Phrases of the Sūtra of Golden Light: T39n1786, chapter heading 0146c27 and line-by-line record continuing through 0148b10. This is the interpretive layer explaining the Words and Phrases.
- Zhili’s Supplementary Notes on the Profound Meaning of the Sūtra of Golden Light: T39n1784 has no line-by-line commentary on this chapter; 0045a01 contains only an indirect mention on the profound-meaning level.
- Jizang’s Commentary on the Sūtra of Golden Light: line-by-line passage in T39n1787 at 0169b25–0170c03; the attribution stands at 0160a27.
- The chapter’s markup contains only prose and stanzas, with no dhāraṇī or spell section. The transmitted transcriptions 『妙伽他』, 『蘇羅』, 『揵闥婆』, 『羅剎』, 『栴茶羅』, and 『阿蘇羅』 therefore retain the graphs of the base text and are not normalized.
- Every quotation anchor is the nearest line marker preceding the first character of the quotation. A range is used only when its opening anchor is accurate and the quotation lies within that range. Scriptural lemmata in the commentaries and the wording of the base-text sūtra are assigned separately to their respective witnesses.