分別功德論 4.43

4.43

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.