仁王護國般若波羅蜜多經疏 2.67

2.67

Exposition: The real mark that is realized and the contemplating [wisdom] that realizes—these two prajñās must have an expressing medium. Yet regarding what expresses them, buddha-lands differ. As the Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: "Some by fragrant food, some by radiance, some by groves and gardens, or some without speech." In this Sahā world, it is through the sound and letters of literal prajñā that the buddha-work is performed, because this text exists. With respect to "letters" (wenzi), the Sanskrit is vyañjana; this is translated as "letters," and wen is simply zi (grapheme/phoneme). For example, saying aḥ or a, which are manifested based on sound—these are characters belonging to the saṃskāra-skandha of conditioned factors not associated with mind, not characters written in ink. With respect to "sentences and phrases" (zhangju), the Sanskrit is pada; correctly translated, it means "footstep/track," and translated by its meaning, it is "sentence/verse." A ju is a zhang (statement), which expresses a meaning to completion, just like the verses and phrases in the sūtras such as "all conditioned phenomena are impermanent." Correctly calling it "track" refers to an elephant's track: an elephant has four tracks, and by tracing the tracks one finds the elephant; a gāthā has four lines, and by tracing the lines one grasps the meaning. The essence of literal prajñā comprises four dharmas: name, phrase, syllable, and voice. A name expresses self-nature, as when calling "matter" and so forth, because the self-nature of each dharma like matter is distinct. A phrase expresses distinction, speaking of "impermanence" and the like, because of the distinct dharmas of suffering, emptiness, and non-self. A syllable is the letter, because it reveals names and phrases. Voice is sound, because it is heard by the ear. Names, phrases, and syllables are spoken based on the modulations of voice; although these three have no distinct substance apart from voice, nominal and real differ. Nor are they combined directly with voice to form prajñā, because they are the cause of liberation. One must not say that the letters of this sūtra were spoken solely by the World-Honoured One alone, for they were spoken together by hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of all buddhas. Next is the second: the supremacy of faithful reception. This is divided into two: first, explaining the inferiority of material generosity.