金剛經纂要刊定記 3.14

3.14

五、化事者。此釋經中乞食兩字。頭陀下。或曰：「佛為教主何須乞食？」故疏釋也。頭陀此云抖擻，抖擻煩惱故。然頭陀有十二種事。謂：常乞食、阿蘭若乃至樹下坐，露地、塚間坐等，今則一也。若行此事獲大功德，佛現斯軌令人效之。頭陀既獲功德，放逸足明尤過。世尊尚自乞食，餘人豈合懈怠，慚恥愧悚自然行之。

5. "The activity of teaching": this explains the two characters "begging for food" in the sūtra. Under "Dhūta...": someone may ask, "Since the Buddha is the master of the teaching, why does he need to beg for food?" Hence the commentary explains it. *Dhūta* is translated here as shaking off, because it shakes off afflictions. Now, dhūtas consist of twelve practices: namely, always begging for alms, dwelling in an araṇya, up to sitting beneath trees, sitting in the open, sitting among graves, and so forth; here, it is one of them. If one practices this matter, one obtains great merit; the Buddha manifested this model to cause people to emulate it. Since dhūta obtains merit, heedlessness is fully clear as an error. If the World-Honoured One himself still begged for food, how could other people be indolent? Feeling ashamed and apprehensive, they naturally practice it.