仁王護國般若經疏 4.30

4.30

From "At that time, a million..." onward is the second major chapter, Candraprabha's verse eulogy. The text has three parts: first, the assembly making offerings; second, Candraprabha praising the Buddha; third, the great assembly obtaining benefit. The first also has two parts: first, offering wealth to the Buddha; from "pressing palms together..." onward, next, offering the Dharma, and so forth. From "Now before the Buddha..." onward is the second [part], Candraprabha's actual eulogy. The text has two parts: first, clarifying the place of praise; from "World-Honored One, Leader..." onward, second, uttering the words of praise. 'Verse' (gāthā) means exhaustion (jie); because it exhausts and encompasses the meaning, it is called a verse. Four lines constitute a verse, with lines having variations of three, four, five, seven [characters], and so on. In the Brahmā language, thirty-two syllables constitute a śloka verse, which takes eight syllables as a quarter-verse (pāda), and so on. The fifty-nine verses are divided broadly into three: first, six verses summarize the above meaning; second, forty-five verses specifically praise the fourteen patiences; third, eight verses summarize and praise the five patiences.