大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 29.45

29.45

As for the commentary's statement, "If calculated according to the small scale, there are ten thousand billions (yi)": the "small scale" is the lower grade where the changes proceed by tens. That is to say, ten small-thousand [worlds] make a myriad (wan; ten thousand), one hundred small-thousand make an yi (one hundred thousand), and one thousand small-thousand make a medium-thousand [world-system], which already amounts to ten yi (one million). Further, one thousand medium-thousand [world-systems] make one great-thousand [world-system]; thus, one thousand medium-thousand has a thousand times ten yi, which makes ten thousand yi. As for the commentary's statement, "Now, based on the medium scale": this means that from one thousand upwards, it changes by hundreds. That is to say, one hundred small-thousand first makes one myriad (ten thousand); one thousand small-thousand makes a medium-thousand, which first makes one hundred thousand; ten medium-thousand first makes one million, which first makes one yi (ten million). Since ten medium-thousand make one yi, now having one thousand medium-thousand, there are consequently one hundred yi (one billion). The text from "Therefore the Tang Tripiṭaka Master..." downward secondly cites evidence. Since he translated "one hundred yi" as "one hundred koṭis", with koṭi retaining its Sanskrit term and yi being this [Chinese] language's term, the two meanings are therefore the same. Next, it cites Master Ce's three kinds of koṭis to prove that one hundred yi is one hundred koṭis. The phrase "sometimes reaching the number of a hundred" refers to the three-thousand [great-thousand world-system] having one hundred yi, because ten million is taken as a koṭi. "Sometimes reaching the number of a thousand" refers to taking one million as a koṭi, which is counting by the small scale. In a medium-thousand there are one million small-thousand, which only then makes one yi; now the great-thousand has one thousand medium-thousand, so it makes one thousand yi. "Sometimes reaching one hundred thousand" refers to taking one hundred thousand as one koṭi; thus a medium-thousand already has one hundred koṭis, and only one thousand medium-thousand makes a great-thousand, so a great-thousand then has one hundred thousand koṭis. Therefore the commentary says that what the Tang Tripiṭaka Master translated takes ten million as a koṭi, and so the three-thousand [great-thousand world-system] has one hundred koṭis; a koṭi is simply an yi. The text from the commentary's "Furthermore, according to the Kośa..." downward thirdly reconciles and explains the differences regarding koṭis. The statement "The Kośa translates lakṣa as yi" also comes from the eleventh fascicle of the treatise explaining the water circle: "Above that, the water circle is eleven yi and twenty thousand [yojanas] deep; below, eight lakṣas are water, and the remainder condenses to form gold." The first part uses the Tang language to say "eleven yi and twenty thousand yojanas," while the lower clause uses the Sanskrit term to say "the lower eight lakṣas are water"; thus, eight yi yojanas are water, and three yi and twenty thousand yojanas are gold. From this, we know that lakṣa is translated as yi. Below, in the "Asaṃkhyeya Chapter," it says, "One hundred lakṣas make one koṭi"; thus the meaning of koṭi corresponds to a zhao (trillion). Because there are indeed three grades of koṭi, the Kośa's calling a lakṣa an yi corresponds to calling one hundred thousand an yi. When it says below that one hundred lakṣas make one koṭi, it corresponds to calling ten million an yi.