妙法蓮華經玄贊 3.41

3.41

Commentary: This is the second phrase. The treatise calls it 'accomplishment of speech'. Because the Buddha has attained five kinds of exquisite sounds to explain the various phenomena. The *Da zhidu lun* says that five kinds of sounds emerge from the Buddha's mouth: first, deep and profound like thunder; second, clear, penetrating, and heard far off, gladdening those who hear it; third, entering the heart to evoke veneration and love; fourth, thoroughly clear and easy to understand; fifth, unwearying to listeners, capable of discerning the meanings of defiled, undefiled, and so forth. 'Deep and profound like thunder' refers to 'variously distinguishing the various phenomena'; 'thoroughly clear and easy to understand' refers to 'skillfully expounding the various phenomena'—the words 'the various phenomena' carry over to the preceding 'distinguishing'; 'compassionately mindful, unwearying to listeners' refers to 'gentle and soft words'; 'clear, penetrating, and heard far off, gladdening those who hear it' and 'entering the heart to evoke veneration and love' refer to 'gladdening the hearts of the multitude'. The first three [clauses of the sūtra] each correspond to one [sound], and the last one subsumes two.