妙法蓮華經玄贊 2.226

2.226

贊曰：下有八因總為二文：初長行，後偈頌。長行分二：初七因指陳別事答，後一因古今相即答。初文分三：初一讚揚希有答，次一顯後勝妙答，後五委陳同事答。初讚揚希有答，論名現見希有因，無量時不可得故。於中有四：一讚時久遠希，二讚佛名號希，三讚法勝妙希，四讚生利答希。此即初也。論云：「不可思議不可稱不可量者，示現過彼阿僧祇劫不可得故。」梵云阿僧企耶，訛云阿僧祇，言無數也。《俱舍論》說：「第五十二數，從一積十至此數極，名阿僧祇，本數六十，餘八傳忘。」《華嚴經》說百二十數，此乃第一百一十二。劫臘波略名為劫，此云分別，時分分別之義。「不可思議」者，過情計之境。「不可稱」者，過言議境。「不可量」者，非喻算境。今經云「無量」者，過算分喻分。「無邊」者，過時分。「不思議」者，過情計分；即同《般若》過四分也。〈菩薩地〉說劫有二種：「一日夜年數，二阿僧祇劫」。《瑜伽》復說：「或說一增減為一劫，謂飢饉、疫病、刀兵；或有二十劫為一劫，謂梵眾天；或四十為一劫，謂梵輔天；或此六十為一劫，謂大梵天；或此八十為一劫，謂火災劫，少光天數此壽命二劫；或七火方一水災劫，謂極光淨天；或八七火、一七水災方一風災劫，謂遍淨天。數此至不可數為一阿僧祇。」凡經此三大阿僧祇劫修因方得作佛，並賢劫等合有十類劫之差別。古《攝論》文或地前分三，十地各分三，合成三十三阿僧祇劫，七地已前為小，八九十地為中，地前為大。雖有此等劫量不同，今依本論，法華一會所說諸劫多依五種：一夜、二晝、三月、四時、五年。今依無量無邊不可思議之阿僧祇年，非餘大劫也，欲顯諸佛無數大劫時一出故，文殊所見極大遠故。

Commentary: Below there are eight causes, divided overall into two textual sections: first the prose, and later the verses. The prose is divided into two: first, seven causes providing an answer by pointing out distinct matters; later, one cause providing an answer on the mutual identity of past and present. The first section is divided into three: first, one answering by praising the rare; next, one answering by revealing subsequent supremacy and wonder; finally, five answering by detailing shared matters. First, answering by praising the rare: the treatise calls this the cause of directly perceiving what is rare, because it cannot be attained over immeasurable time. Within this there are four: first, praising the rarity of the time's great distance; second, praising the rarity of the Buddha's names and epithets; third, praising the rarity of the Dharma's supremacy and wonder; fourth, praising the rarity of answering with benefits for sentient beings. This is the first. The treatise states: “Inconceivable, incalculable, and immeasurable: this indicates that passing beyond those asamkhyeya kalpas cannot be attained.” In Sanskrit it is asaṃkhyeya; corrupted, it is said as asengqi, which means “innumerable.” The Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya states: “It is the fifty-second number; accumulating from one by tens up to this number is the ultimate, called an asaṃkhyeya; originally there were sixty numbers, the remaining eight were forgotten in transmission.” The Avataṃsaka-sūtra speaks of one hundred and twenty numbers; this is the one hundred and twelfth. Kalpa (jiélàpó), abbreviated as jie, is translated here as “distinction,” with the meaning of the distinction of periods of time. “Inconceivable” means passing beyond the sphere of conceptual calculation. “Incalculable” means passing beyond the sphere of words and discussion. “Immeasurable” means not being a sphere of analogy or calculation. Now the sūtra says “immeasurable,” which surpasses the fraction of calculation and the fraction of analogy. “Boundless” surpasses the fraction of time. “Inconceivable” surpasses the fraction of conceptual calculation; this is identical to the Prajñā's surpassing the four fractions. The “Bodhisattvabhūmi” states that there are two kinds of kalpas: “first, numbers of days, nights, and years; second, asamkhyeya kalpas.” The Yogācārabhūmi further states: “Or it is said that one period of increase and decrease is one kalpa—namely, [the periods of] famine, pestilence, and weapons; or twenty kalpas make one kalpa, namely for the Brahmā-pāriṣadya devas; or forty make one kalpa, namely for the Brahmā-purohita devas; or sixty of these make one kalpa, namely for the Mahābrahmā devas; or eighty of these make one kalpa, namely the kalpa of the fire destruction, the devas of Limited Light counting their lifespan as two such kalpas; or after seven fires there is one water destruction kalpa, namely for the devas of Utmost Light and Purity; or eight times seven fires and one times seven waters are followed by one wind destruction kalpa, namely for the devas of Vast Purity. Counting these until uncountable makes one asamkhyeya.” Only by undergoing these three great asamkhyeya kalpas cultivating causes can one become a buddha; together with the Bhadrakalpa and so forth, there are ten classes of distinctions of kalpas. In the old text of the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, it is divided into three before the bhūmis, and three within each of the ten bhūmis, making thirty-three asamkhyeya kalpas: before the seventh bhūmi is small, the eighth, ninth, and tenth bhūmis are medium, and before the bhūmis is great. Although there are such different measures of kalpas, now relying on the root treatise, the kalpas spoken of in the single assembly of the Lotus Sūtra mostly rely on five kinds: first, nights; second, days; third, months; fourth, seasons; fifth, years. Here, it relies on immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable asamkhyeya years, not the other great kalpas, wishing to show that buddhas appear only once in innumerable great kalpas, and that what Mañjuśrī saw was exceedingly distant.