分別功德論 4.43

4.43

所以稱滿願子說法第一者，有三事得稱第一：餘比丘亦說法，無有三事可記，故不言第一。滿願子說法時，先以辯才唱發妙音，使眾座歡喜僉然傾仰，次以苦楚之言責切其心，使令內腐肅悚興難遭之想，終以明慧空無之教，聞者結解使恬智交養。世尊演法初中竟善，滿願子亦然，三事俱善，自捨如來莫能先者。身子自誓：「從旦至中，要度一人令至道迹。」目連比丘亦誓度人，於四向之中課進一階然後乃食。其餘比丘皆亦度人，比滿願子百不當一。滿願子從成道至涅槃，度九萬九千人，於聲聞之中度人最多，故稱說法第一也。

The reason why Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra is proclaimed foremost in preaching the Dharma is due to three matters that warrant this title of foremost. Other monks also preach the Dharma, but they lack these three noteworthy matters, so they are not called foremost. When Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra preaches the Dharma, he first uses his eloquence to sound forth a wonderful voice, causing the entire assembly to rejoice and look up to him with admiration; next, with bitter and piercing words, he reprimands their minds, causing them to rot within, to tremble in awe, and to realize how rare this encounter is; finally, with teachings on luminous wisdom and emptiness, the fetters of his hearers are loosed, allowing tranquility and wisdom to nourish each other. When the World-Honoured One expounds the Dharma, it is good in the beginning, the middle, and the end. Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra is also like this: all three aspects are good. Setting aside the Tathāgata, no one can surpass him. Śāriputra made a vow: 'From morning to noon, I must liberate one person to reach the path of vision.' The monk Maudgalyāyana also vowed to liberate people, advancing them by one stage among the four results before he would take his meal. The other monks also liberated people, but compared to Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra, they did not amount to one in a hundred. From his attainment of the Path to his nirvāṇa, Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra liberated 99,000 people. Among the śrāvakas, he liberated the most people, which is why he is proclaimed foremost in preaching the Dharma.