妙法蓮華經文句 10.116

10.116

此翻總持，總持惡不起、善不失（其一）。又翻能遮能持，能持善、能遮惡（其二。其三）此能遮邊惡、能持中善。（其四）眾經開遮不同，或專用治病，如那達居士；或專護法，如此文；或專用滅罪，如方等；或通用治病滅罪護經，如《請觀音》，或大明呪無上明呪無等等明呪，則非治病、非滅罪、非護經，若通方者亦應兼，若論別者幸須依經勿乖教（云云）。諸師或說呪者，是鬼神王名，稱其王名，部落敬主不敢為非，故能降伏一切鬼魅（其一）。或云呪者如軍中之密號，唱號相應無所訶問，若不相應即執治罪，若不順呪者頭破七分，若順呪者則無過失（其二）。或云呪者，密默治惡惡自休息，譬如微賤，從此國逃彼國，訛稱王子，彼國以公主妻之，多瞋難事。有一明人從其國來，主往說之，其人語主，若當瞋時說偈，偈云「無親遊他國，欺誑一切人，麁食是常事，何勞復作瞋。」說是偈時默然瞋歇後不復瞋，是主及一切人但聞斯偈，皆不知意。呪亦如是，密默遮惡餘無識者（其三）。或云呪者，是諸佛密語，如王索先陀婆，一切群下無有能識，唯有智臣乃能知之。呪亦如是，秖是一法遍有諸力，病愈罪除善生道合（其四）。為此義故皆存本音，譯人不翻意在此也。惡世弘經喜多惱難，以呪護之使道流通也。

This translates as "total retention" (dhāraṇī): totally retaining so that evil does not arise and good is not lost (first). It also translates as "able to ward off and able to retain": able to retain the good and able to ward off the evil (second, third). It is able to ward off one-sided evil and able to retain Middle [Way] goodness. (Fourth) Across the various sūtras, opening and warding off differ: some are used exclusively to cure illnesses, as with the householder Nanda; some exclusively protect the Dharma, as in this text; some are used exclusively to extinguish offenses, as in the Fangdeng [sūtras]; some are used universally to cure illnesses, extinguish offenses, and protect sūtras, as in the Qing Guanyin [jing]; or the great bright spell, the unsurpassed bright spell, the unequaled-equaling bright spell, which are neither for curing illnesses, nor for extinguishing offenses, nor for protecting sūtras. If one treats them comprehensively, they should encompass these; if one treats them specifically, one must rely on the sūtras and not diverge from the teaching (and so forth). Various masters say spells are the names of spirit-and-ghost kings: by reciting the names of their kings, the retinues revere their masters and dare not do wrong; therefore they can subdue all demonic apparitions (first). Some say spells are like secret passwords in an army: when one calls out the password and it matches, there is no interrogation; if it does not match, one is arrested and punished. If one does not comply with the spell, one's head splits into seven pieces; if one complies with the spell, one incurs no fault (second). Some say that with spells, evil is pacified secretly and silently, and evil subsides of itself. For example, a person of lowly station fled from this country to that country, falsely claiming to be a prince; that country gave him a princess as his wife, but he was prone to anger and difficult to serve. A wise man came from his home country, and the master went and spoke to him. That man told the master, "When he is angry, recite this verse: / 'With no kin, wandering in another country, / Deceiving all people, / Coarse food is your usual lot; / Why bother getting angry again?'" When this verse was spoken, he fell silent, his anger ceased, and thereafter he was never angry again. The master and all the people merely heard this verse and none understood its meaning. Spells are also like this: they secretly and silently ward off evil while others do not recognize how (third). Some say spells are the secret words of the Buddhas, like a king asking for saindhava: none of the retainers can understand, and only a wise minister is able to know it. Spells are also like this: being just one dharma, they universally possess all powers—curing illness, eliminating offenses, generating goodness, and according with the Way (fourth). For this reason, the original sounds are preserved; that the translators did not translate them was with this intention. In an evil age, propagating the sūtras is prone to many afflictions and difficulties; protecting it with spells causes the Way to be transmitted.