金剛般若經贊述 2.195

2.195

The commentary states: This is the third, the Tathāgata's establishing. 'If merit had reality' means: it says that if practicing giving for the sake of prajñā were really existent, like practicing giving for one's own self, then the Buddha would not speak of obtaining much merit. Because one practices giving with the three factors fundamentally empty, unlike practicing giving with attachment to retribution and the like, the Tathāgata says the merit is much. By inferring from this, one knows that when previously giving wealth, life, and so forth was compared as inferior to receiving and upholding this sūtra, it was because one could not eliminate characteristics and did not seek bodhi. That is, when relinquishing body and life, it benefits only a very few starving sentient beings and cannot broadly benefit; if one upholds prajñā, one will attain Buddhahood and aid and benefit exceedingly many, and therefore its virtue is superior. If spoken of horizontally, relinquishing the body is extremely painful; if spoken of vertically, it does not match upholding the sūtra.