妙法蓮華經玄贊 6.48

6.48

The Commentary says: The seven and a half verses below pertain to this chaotic bustling of insects and demons. There are three [parts]: one and a half verses symbolize the calamities of the desire realm; three and a half verses symbolize the calamities of the form realm; two and a half verses symbolize the calamities of the formless realm. This is the first [part]. "All the demons and spirits" symbolizes the non-Buddhist renunciants and householders of the desire realm. "Oppressed by manifold sufferings, / they accordingly wailed and screamed loudly, and so on": "and so on" includes the insects and beasts. Therefore the Daśabhūmika-śāstra states: "Non-Buddhists know birth, old age, sickness, and death; giving rise to revulsion, they wail and scream loudly." Here it applies equally to householders. Furthermore, householders give rise to disputes of greed and the like, while non-Buddhists give rise to disputes over various views. "Wailing and screaming loudly" is the general statement. Due to giving rise to dull afflictions such as greed, [they are] like condors and vultures; due to giving rise to sharp and swift afflictions such as views, [they are] like kumbhāṇḍas and the like. These are the specific statements. Although oppressed by suffering, they wail and scream loudly: householders give rise to distress through delusion and attachment; non-Buddhist renunciants seek to abandon suffering through suffering. These are all called "in flustered terror, unable to get out on their own." "Zhouzhang" (周慞) means hurried, alarmed, and frightened. It is also written with the character zhang 章. Zhou 周 means to flow around; it is the condition of being restless with fear, circulating and pervading. The text below has huangbu 惶怖, so it should be zhouzhang 周章 [wandering in panic], because below it already uses zhouzhang for "running about frantically in despair." Here it should be zhang 慞, the essence of which is terror and panic. "Panic" (bu 怖) is being startled and frightened; hence, trembling with fear and dread. This is explained according to the initial "wailing and screaming loudly." If explained according to the latter, householders and non-Buddhists give rise to sharp and dull afflictions and constantly dispute; because of this, they are rushed in life-and-death and frantic from morning to night. How could they know to seek deliverance from the fire of delusions burning them and the poison of insects and demons harming them? Even if they wished to seek escape, there is no way they could attain it by themselves.