大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 83.30

83.30

The commentary's 'Fourth, sentient beings of the five turbidities all have heavy sins, down to: also as explained there': That is, the later text of that sūtra says: 'Furthermore, at that time, in order to transform the five men, the Bodhisattva manifested his own karmic retribution, causing others—whether knowing or not knowing karmic retributions of suffering and pleasure—to think: "He disparaged Kāśyapa Buddha with a single word, yet that Bodhisattva attained liberation. How much more so for us who make evil statements out of ignorance! Therefore, I must now repent and eradicate all past transgressions, and never commit them again."' Explanation: However, while the meaning of transforming the five men is clearly stated, the intent behind manifesting six years is not yet explicitly stated; it is perhaps that the five men together with himself make six. Those five men seem to correspond to the five companions (Pañcavargīya). The sūtra text also says: 'To subdue the non-Buddhists, he ate one hemp seed and one grain of wheat a day. Furthermore, to transform five thousand two hundred coarse-practicing devas, external spirits and ṛṣis, and coarse-practicing bodhisattvas—this is called the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva practicing skillful means.'