大般若波羅蜜多經般若理趣分述讚 2.25

2.25

The Explanation says: Below, the names are listed. Here there are eight individuals, citing the preeminent ones. As for 'Bodhisattva Mahāsattva', bodhi means awakening, which is omniscience. Sattva means a sentient being, that is, a sentient being who seeks bodhi. This applies generally across the three vehicles. Mahā means great, and sattva is as before; to distinguish and take what is great, it says 'mahāsattva'. Furthermore, bodhi is the fruit sought, the objective realm of wisdom; sattva is the sentient being to be rescued, the objective realm of compassion. These are the two virtues of benefiting oneself and benefiting others. Furthermore, sattva means courageous: courageously striving to seek great bodhi, hence called bodhisattva. These latter two explanations are accepted as applying to both ordinary beings and noble ones. Here, taking those of the tenth, adamantine mind, it therefore further speaks of 'mahāsattva'. As for 'Vajrapāṇi', 'hand' (pāṇi) has the sense of grasping and holding: because one constantly raises the hand of faith to grasp all virtues, and raises the hand of wisdom to hold and preserve the adamantine fundamental dharma-nature. Furthermore, the two hands of faith and wisdom are indestructible like a vajra, because they cannot be broken by corrupt friends. As for 'Avalokiteśvara', it is Guanshiyin. 'Avalokita' means observing: when observing sentient beings undergoing suffering and misfortune in their physical, verbal, and mental natures, or when they pray and call upon him, he goes to rescue and protect them in accordance with the occasion, hence called Avalokiteśvara ('Regarder of Sovereignty'), because his spiritual applications are unfathomable and he has attained sovereignty. As for 'Ākāśagarbha', it takes space as a womb/treasury, storing all rare jewels. Seeing that sentient beings are impoverished without wealth and treasures, he rains down various treasures from space to bestow on the poor, hence the name. As for 'Vajramuṣṭi', 'fist' (muṣṭi) is the capability of crushing and shattering: raising the fist of steadfast wisdom, he shatters the afflictions and karmas of birth-and-death, just as one shatters objects with a vajra fist, hence named after this. As for 'Mañjuśrī', formerly rendered as 'Wondrous Virtue'. 'Wondrous' means good: because he is well able to accomplish superior tasks of welfare and benefit sentient beings, he is named Mañjuśrī ('Wondrous Auspiciousness'). As for 'Mahāśūnyatāgarbha', 'great emptiness' pervades the dharma-realm, taking the empty principle of suchness as its treasury. Expounding the teaching of great emptiness for sentient beings, he enables them through this gift of Dharma to obtain various treasures of noble dharmas, hence called Mahāśūnyatāgarbha. As for 'Sahacittotpādadharmacakrapravartin' ('Turning the Wheel of Dharma upon Generating the Aspiration'), 'wheel' has the meaning of crushing and turning, and 'dharma' refers to the teaching, as explained in the chapter on the wheel of Dharma. From his initial aspiration up to the tenth ground, in whatever physical, verbal, and mental actions this great bodhisattva performs, he always expounds the profound and wondrous principle and turns the great wheel of Dharma for sentient beings, practicing benefaction. As for 'Sarvamārapramardin' ('Subduing All Foes of Māra'), māra refers to the four māras, as previously explained. These four can ruin the good deeds of sentient beings, being the foes of sentient beings. Residing in the adamantine mind, this great bodhisattva is free from samsāric death and all afflictions, and is therefore able to subdue all foes of Māra. Among these eight names, Vajrapāṇi's wisdom takes the grasping of goodness as its name; Avalokiteśvara's compassion takes the removal of suffering as its title; Ākāśagarbha takes relieving poverty as his designation; Vajramuṣṭi takes destroying evil as his capability; Mañjuśrī takes performing good as his appellation; Mahāśūnyatāgarbha takes revealing reality as his title; Turning the Wheel of Dharma takes expounding the Dharma as benefit; and Subduing the Foes of Māra takes slaying bandits as benefaction. Or, they form a pair of wisdom and compassion; or a pair of revealing reality and revealing delusion, as the fist resembles illusory phenomena; or a pair of revealing conditioned and unconditioned good dharmas; or a pair of advancing good and destroying evil. According to what is appropriate, understand their meaning based on their names.