妙法蓮華經玄贊 5.40

5.40

The commentary says: The marks of excellence and [the special qualities] are unshared virtues. Regarding the eighty minor marks of excellence, the Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra says: “Subhūti! What are the eighty secondary marks of the Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha? Subhūti! First, the fingernails and toenails of the Bhagavat are narrow, long, thin, moist, luminous, fresh, and clean, like red copper in bloom. Second, the Bhagavat’s fingers and toes are rounded, slender, long, straight, soft, and their joint-bones are not prominent. Third, the Bhagavat’s hands and feet are each equal without discrepancy, and between all the fingers and toes they are completely plump and dense. Fourth, the Bhagavat’s hands and feet are rounded as desired, soft, pure, lustrous, and coloured like a lotus flower. Fifth, the Bhagavat’s tendons and veins are coiled and firm, deep and hidden, not appearing externally. Sixth, the Bhagavat’s two anklebones are both hidden and not prominent. Seventh, the Bhagavat’s gait is straight forward, dignified, and orderly like the king of dragons and elephants. Eighth, the Bhagavat’s gait has a solemn and majestic demeanor like a lion king. Ninth, the Bhagavat’s gait is calm, even, orderly, neither excessive nor deficient, like a bull king. Tenth, the Bhagavat’s gait in walking and pausing has an elegant bearing like a swan king. Eleventh, whenever the Bhagavat turns to look back, he always turns to the right like a dragon and elephant king, his whole body turning together. Twelfth, the Bhagavat’s limbs and joints are progressively rounded, well and beautifully arranged. Thirteenth, the Bhagavat’s bone-joints are interlocked without gaps, like a coiling dragon. Fourteenth, the Bhagavat’s kneecaps are well and beautifully arranged, firm, and fully rounded. Fifteenth, the Bhagavat’s hidden part has patterns that are subtle and beautiful, endowed with majesty, fully rounded and pure. Sixteenth, the Bhagavat’s bodily limbs are moist, smooth, soft, lustrous, fresh, and clean, unstained by dust and dirt. Seventeenth, the Bhagavat’s physical bearing is grave and solemn, fearless, and never timid or weak. Eighteenth, the Bhagavat’s bodily limbs are firm, dense, and well joined together. Nineteenth, the Bhagavat’s bodily limbs are stable, grave, and weighty, never agitated, rounded and indestructible. Twentieth, the Bhagavat’s bodily marks are like an ascetic king, completely upright and dignified, luminous, pure, and free of blemish. Twenty-first, the Bhagavat’s body has an all-around circular radiance that constantly shines of itself when walking and so forth. Twenty-second, the Bhagavat’s abdomen is square and upright, without deficiency, soft, not showing folds, and adorned with multiple marks. Twenty-third, the Bhagavat’s navel is deep, dextrorotatory, round, wondrous, pure, and lustrous. Twenty-fourth, the Bhagavat’s navel is thick, neither sunken nor protruding, and wondrously beautiful all around. Twenty-fifth, the Bhagavat’s skin is free of scabies and rashes, and also without defects such as black spots, warts, and moles. Twenty-sixth, the Bhagavat’s palms are full and soft, and the soles of his feet are flat and stable. Twenty-seventh, the lines on the Bhagavat’s hands are deep, long, clear, straight, moist, and unbroken. Twenty-eighth, the Bhagavat’s lip colour is lustrous with a cinnabar glow, like a bimba fruit, with upper and lower matching each other. Twenty-ninth, the Bhagavat’s face is neither long nor short, neither large nor small, upright and dignified in proper proportion. Thirtieth, the Bhagavat’s tongue is soft, thin, broad, and long, coloured like red copper. Thirty-first, the Bhagavat’s voice resounds with awe, deep and far-reaching like the roar of an elephant king, clear and limpid. Thirty-second, the Bhagavat’s melodic cadence is exquisite and complete, like the echo in a deep valley. Thirty-third, the Bhagavat’s nose is high, long, and straight, with nostrils not exposed. Thirty-fourth, the Bhagavat’s teeth are square, neat, fresh, and white. Thirty-fifth, the Bhagavat’s canine teeth are round, white, lustrous, and progressively sharp. Thirty-sixth, the Bhagavat’s eyes are pure, with the blue and white distinctly separated. Thirty-seventh, the Bhagavat’s eyes are long and wide, like the petals of a blue lotus, exceedingly lovely. Thirty-eighth, the Bhagavat’s eyelashes, upper and lower, are even, dense, and not white. Thirty-ninth, the Bhagavat’s eyebrows are long and not white, dense, fine, and soft. Fortieth, the Bhagavat’s eyebrows are delicate, smoothly following their course, and the colour of dark lapis lazuli. Forty-first, the Bhagavat’s eyebrows are high, prominent, luminous, and shaped like the crescent moon. Forty-second, the Bhagavat’s ears are thick, broad, long, with fully developed lobes. Forty-third, the Bhagavat’s two ears are elegant, even, and free of all flaws. Forty-fourth, the Bhagavat’s bearing causes those who see it to suffer no harm and no defilement, and all give rise to affection and reverence. Forty-fifth, the Bhagavat’s forehead is broad, round, flat, and upright, with an exquisite shape. Forty-sixth, the upper half of the Bhagavat’s body is fully rounded like a lion king, majestically dignified without peer. Forty-seventh, the hair on the Bhagavat’s head is long, dark blue, dense, and not white. Forty-eighth, the hair on the Bhagavat’s head is fragrant, clean, fine, soft, moist, and curling. Forty-ninth, the hair on the Bhagavat’s head is neat, unruffled, and not tangled. Fiftieth, the hair on the Bhagavat’s head is strong and unbroken, never falling out. Fifty-first, the hair on the Bhagavat’s head is smooth, exquisite, and unstained by dust and dirt. Fifty-second, the Bhagavat’s body is solid, firm, and surpasses Nārāyaṇa. Fifty-third, the Bhagavat’s body is tall, large, upright, and straight. Fifty-fourth, the Bhagavat’s orifices are pure, rounded, and fine. Fifty-fifth, the strength of the Bhagavat’s bodily limbs is pre-eminent, with none to equal it. Fifty-sixth, the Bhagavat’s bodily marks are delightsome for all to behold, never causing satiety. Fifty-seventh, the Bhagavat’s facial disk is well-proportioned in length and breadth, bright and pure like the autumn full moon. Fifty-eighth, the Bhagavat’s facial countenance is relaxed and serene, radiant, smiling with gentle speech, always turned toward others and never turned away. Fifty-ninth, the Bhagavat’s facial expression is lustrous and joyful, free of frowning, lividness, or redness. Sixtieth, the Bhagavat’s bodily limbs are pure and stainless, constantly free of foul odor. Sixty-first, from all the Bhagavat’s pores there constantly issues a wondrous fragrance that fulfills desires. Sixty-second, from the Bhagavat’s mouth there constantly issues a supreme, exquisite fragrance. Sixty-third, the Bhagavat’s head is completely round and wondrous, like a madana fruit or a heavenly parasol. Sixty-fourth, the Bhagavat’s body hair is dark blue, bright, and pure like a peacock’s neck, with a red glow and fine adornment, coloured like red copper. Sixty-fifth, the Bhagavat’s Dharma voice accords with the size of the assembly, neither increasing nor decreasing, conforming to principle without discrepancy. Sixty-sixth, the Bhagavat’s usṇīṣa is invisible to all. Sixty-seventh, the markings on the Bhagavat’s fingers and toes are distinct, well-adorned, and coloured like red copper. Sixty-eighth, when walking, the Bhagavat’s feet are four fingers’ breadth above the ground, yet leave imprinted marks. Sixty-ninth, the Bhagavat maintains himself without waiting for others to guard him; his body does not tilt or sway, nor does he meander. Seventieth, the Bhagavat’s majestic virtue resounds afar; those with evil minds rejoice upon seeing him, and those who are terrified find peace upon seeing him. Seventy-first, the Bhagavat’s voice is neither high nor low; he speaks gently and pleasantly according to the minds of the assembly. Seventy-second, the Bhagavat is able to preach the Dharma according to the speech, sounds, and inclinations of all sentient beings. Seventy-third, with a single sound, the Bhagavat proclaims the true Dharma, enabling each kind of sentient being to attain understanding according to its capacity. Seventy-fourth, the Bhagavat’s preaching of the Dharma always follows proper sequence and is invariably based on causes and conditions; his words are never other than wholesome. Seventy-fifth, the Bhagavat looks upon all sentient beings with impartiality, praising the good and censuring the evil without attachment or aversion. Seventy-sixth, in all he does, he first observes and then acts, fully possessing standards of conduct, causing consciousness to be wholesome and pure. Seventy-seventh, no sentient being is able to exhaustively contemplate all his physical marks and signs. Seventy-eighth, the cranial bone of the Bhagavat is solid and fully rounded. Seventy-ninth, the Bhagavat’s countenance is ever youthful and never ages, and he delights in revisiting familiar places. Eightieth, on the Bhagavat’s hands, feet, and chest there are svastika-like signs of auspicious joy, patterned like brocade and coloured like cinnabar. Subhūti! These are called the eighty secondary marks. Subhūti! Because the Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha accomplishes such marks and signs, his bodily light naturally illuminates the trichiliocosm completely without exception; and when he directs his mind, it can universally illuminate measureless, boundless, and countless worlds. However, out of compassion for sentient beings, he restrains the light so that it constantly illuminates one fathom on every side. If he were to unleash the bodily light, the light of the sun, moon, and so forth would never appear, and sentient beings would not know day and night, fortnights, months, seasons, or years, and the work they undertake could not be accomplished. The Buddha’s voice naturally pervades the trichiliocosm, and when he directs his mind, it can pervade measureless, boundless, and countless worlds; however, for the benefit and joy of sentient beings, the voice accords with the size of the assembly, neither decreasing nor increasing. Subhūti! Such benefits and pre-eminence of merit were already accomplished when I formerly was in the bodhisattva stage practicing the perfection of wisdom; therefore, now my marks and signs are fully rounded and adorned, and all sentient beings who see them praise them with joy, obtaining pre-eminent benefits, peace, and joy. Thus, Subhūti! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practices the deep perfection of wisdom, he can gather sentient beings through the two kinds of giving—material wealth and Dharma; this is an exceedingly wonderful and rare teaching.” The thirty-two marks are realized through practicing the five cultivations: first, generating the mind; second, long duration; third, without interruption; fourth, earnestness; fifth, without remainder; as expounded in the thirty-seventh fascicle of the Yogācārabhūmi.