大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 28.38

28.38

Second, concerning Mañjuśrī's verbal answer: regarding the Commentary's stating, "Because Mañjuśrī manifested birth in this land, and at birth there were ten portents," and so forth: this explains the intent behind Mañjuśrī's speaking. Above, it was clarified that he is the host bodhisattva. Master Yuan of Mount Lu merely said: "Mañjuśrī is a great being who wanders through various regions; seeing only one sūtra, one beholds only a single trace." Now, setting it forth fully: he is both host and guest, both fruition and cause, fully unfathomable. The phrase "manifested birth in this land" refers to the Mañjuśrī-parinirvāṇa-sūtra, which says: "The Buddha told Bhadrapāla: 'This Mañjuśrī has great compassion; he was born in this land, in the village of Tala, in the house of the brāhmaṇa Brahmadevrata. At the time of his birth, the rooms inside the house transformed into lotus flowers, and he was born from his mother's right side, his body of purple-gold color; falling to the ground, he was immediately able to speak, like a celestial youth. Seven-jeweled canopies followed and covered him from above.'" The explanation says: "This land" refers to Śrāvastī, because the Buddha was speaking precisely there. That same sūtra further says: "Mañjuśrī is endowed with the thirty-two major marks and the eighty minor signs," thus his marks and signs are identical to a Buddha's. Another sūtra states: "At his birth there were ten portents, all of which were auspicious: first, light filled the room; second, sweet dew descended in the courtyard; third, seven precious treasures welled up from the earth; fourth, spirits opened hidden treasuries; fifth, hens gave birth to phoenix chicks; sixth, pigs gave birth to dragon piglets; seventh, horses gave birth to qilin; eighth, cows gave birth to baize; ninth, storehouses turned into golden grain; tenth, elephants were endowed with six tusks. On account of this, he gained the name Wondrous Auspiciousness (Mañjuśrī)."