法華義疏 1.142

1.142

「王舍城」者，第五、明住處。說必有處，故可信也。異彼外道或言空中授與，或言赤鳥𮕣來，皆無根本。就住處有二：一者、明通處；二者、明別處。至人形無定方，豈有其常處？但為成信義，故須委曲題之。又欲喧靜兼化，故山城兩舉。國名摩伽陀，此云不害，人雖犯罪無刑殺誅，故稱不害也。城名王舍，小國即國為城，如毘耶離國亦名毘耶離城。今是大國，所以國、城為異。具足外國語，應云羅悅祇摩訶伽羅。羅悅祇，此翻為王舍；摩訶言大；伽羅云城。十六大國及六大城中而此城最大，故稱王舍大城。《智度論》云「佛滅度後，阿闍世王以人民減少，捨本大城更造一小城，於諸城中猶尚為大，況本王舍城耶？」《善見毘婆沙》云「其城縱廣三百由旬，有八億萬戶，其屬王舍城者有八萬聚落也。」

"City of Rājagṛha" is fifth, clarifying the place of dwelling. The preaching necessarily had a place, and so it can be trusted. This differs from those outsiders who say it was bestowed from empty space, or say that a red bird flew in carrying it, which are all without basis. Regarding the place of dwelling, there are two aspects: first, clarifying the general place; second, clarifying the specific place. The ultimate person has no fixed location in physical form; how could he have a permanent place? It is only to establish the meaning of faith that it must be detailed meticulously. Furthermore, wishing to convert both the bustling and the quiet, both the mountain and the city are mentioned together. The country is named Magadha, translated here as "non-harming"; although people commit offenses, there is no execution or punitive killing, hence it is called non-harming. The city is named Rājagṛha (King's Abode). In a small country, the country itself is the city, as the country of Vaiśālī is also called the city of Vaiśālī. Here it is a large country, which is why country and city are distinct. In full foreign speech, it should be called *Luoyuezhi Mohegala* (Rājagṛha-mahānagara). *Luoyuezhi* is translated here as King's Abode; *mohe* means great; *gala* means city. Among the sixteen great countries and six great cities, this city is the greatest, hence it is called the Great City of Rājagṛha. The *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa* says: "After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, King Ajātaśatru, because the populace had dwindled, abandoned the original great city and built another small city, which was still great among all cities—how much more so the original city of Rājagṛha!" The *Samantapāsādikā* says: "That city was three hundred yojanas in length and breadth, with eighty million households, and there were eighty thousand villages belonging to Rājagṛha."