金剛經纂要刊定記 1.97

1.97

豈徒然哉者。豈者可也。徒者空也。意云可空如此也。意謂此經句偈隱略有趣深微，尋波討源卒難得意，儻悟玄理隨分受持，得福德多不可思議。既若如此，非聖智不能造其源，常情之流豈合措意。此文意含兩勢：一驗凡心不曉，二驗持者福多也。

"How could it be in vain?": "how" means could it be; "in vain" means empty. The meaning is: could it be empty like this? It means that the phrases and verses of this sūtra are hidden and brief, with a deeply subtle purport; tracing the waves and searching out the source, it is difficult to quickly grasp its meaning. If one awakens to the profound principle and upholds it according to one's capacity, the merit obtained is manifold and inconceivable. Since it is like this, unless one has sage wisdom, one cannot reach its source; how could ordinary minds be fit to apply their thoughts to it? The meaning of this text contains two aspects: first, verifying that ordinary minds cannot understand it; second, verifying that the merit of one who upholds it is vast.