無量壽經連義述文贊 2.94

2.94

經曰「設我得佛」至「不取正覺」者，述云：此後、正申己願也。然法藏發願，三代經本頭數開合次第不同故。今將彼帛謙二十四對此法護四十八願，略製以釋名。弘誓之文，帛謙兩本經皆二十四，其意各異。帛延選此經中前二十四願，足寶鉢願為二十四願。支謙亦抄四十八中二十五願，更加寶鉢、彼佛眼耳神境三通，及以智辨為二十四故。又彼二經既抄出於四十八願，故次第亦異。此經第七、第十四、第十二、第十三、第十九、第二十二、第二十五，如次帛延第九、第十二、第十三、第十四、第十八、第二十、第二十四，故開合亦不同。合此二十三四為第二十二，七寶鉢願為第二十三，略無此第十八，彼第二十願此中無故。支謙二十四次第亦異。此經三十五、三十八、二十七、二十、十八、十九、三十二、十六、二十一、二十五、十三、十四、十五、二十八、三十三，如其次第，即彼前八、第十、第十一、第十五、第六、第十九、第二十、第二十一、第二十二、第二十三、第二十四，故開合亦異。合此二十三、二十四為第十三，合五、六、七為第二十二，故有無亦異。彼第十四寶鉢、第十七三通、第十八智辨，此經中無。此第二願，彼中無故。所以有此參差者，蓋梵本有備闕，故傳譯逐而脫落也。義推言之，即法護經應為指南。問：諸佛本誓為同為異？異即違《華嚴》云「一切諸佛悉具一切願滿，方得成佛」故。若同者，亦違藥師十二本願、彌陀四十八願故。答：無有一佛少一願行而成道者，故悉同也。然以對所化之機緣熟不同故，藥師佛於此土眾生十二大願救現在苦。緣既熟故，不說有四十八願。彌陀如來四十八願與未來樂，緣熟故不說有十二願。由此諸佛所有誓願雖有未必遂果，而法藏菩薩所發之願皆有成辦故。四十八願，略有三意：一、求佛身願也。二、求佛土願，即三十一、第三十二願也。三、利眾生願，即餘四十三也。以此三意釋四十八願之文，有七：一、初十一願，願攝眾生。二、次二願，願攝佛身。三、次三願，願攝眾生。四、次一願，願攝佛身。五、次十三願，願攝眾生。六、次二願，願攝佛土。七、後十六願，願攝眾生。初又有二：初之二願願離苦，後之九願願得樂。初又有二：此初、願無苦苦也。汎言願者，即悕求義，所謂設我得佛等。又言誓者，即邀制義，不取正覺是也。諸願若不滿，終不成佛故。假使願不滿而得成者，誓終不取故。所餘諸願皆有此二，應如理思。

On the passage from the sūtra beginning "If, when I attain Buddhahood" down to "may I not attain perfect enlightenment": The commentary says: Hereafter is the second [part], formally presenting his own vows. Now, regarding Dharmākara's making of the vows, because the number of items, divisions, combinations, and order differ across the sūtra editions of the three periods, we now compare the twenty-four [vows] of Bai [Yan] and [Zhi] Qian against these forty-eight vows of Dharmarakṣa, briefly outlining them to explain their designations. In the texts of the great vows, both editions of Bai and Qian have twenty-four vows, yet their contents differ from each other. Bai Yan selected the first twenty-four vows in this sūtra and added the vow of the precious bowl to make twenty-four vows. Zhi Qian also extracted twenty-five vows from among the forty-eight, further adding the precious bowl, the three superknowledges of that Buddha's eyes, ears, and psychic power, as well as wisdom and eloquence, to make twenty-four. Moreover, since both of those two sūtras were extracted from the forty-eight vows, their sequence also differs. The seventh, fourteenth, twelfth, thirteenth, nineteenth, twenty-second, and twenty-fifth vows of this sūtra correspond respectively to Bai Yan's ninth, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, eighteenth, twentieth, and twenty-fourth vows; thus their divisions and combinations also differ. Bai combines the twenty-third and twenty-fourth vows of this sūtra into the twenty-second vow, makes the vow of the seven-jeweled bowl the twenty-third, omits the eighteenth vow of this sūtra, and his twentieth vow is absent from this [sūtra]. The sequence of Zhi Qian's twenty-four vows also differs. The thirty-fifth, thirty-eighth, twenty-seventh, twentieth, eighteenth, nineteenth, thirty-second, sixteenth, twenty-first, twenty-fifth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, twenty-eighth, and thirty-third vows of this sūtra correspond in that order to his first eight, tenth, eleventh, fifteenth, sixth, nineteenth, twentieth, twenty-first, twenty-second, twenty-third, and twenty-fourth vows; thus the divisions and combinations also differ. He combines the twenty-third and twenty-fourth vows of this sūtra into the thirteenth, and combines the fifth, sixth, and seventh into the twenty-second; hence their presence and absence also differ. His fourteenth vow (precious bowl), seventeenth (three superknowledges), and eighteenth (wisdom and eloquence) are absent from this sūtra. The second vow of this sūtra is absent from his version. The reason for these discrepancies is simply that the Sanskrit manuscripts had redundancies and omissions, and in the transmission and translation parts were subsequently dropped. Deducing it by doctrinal principle, Dharmarakṣa's sūtra should be taken as the guide. Question: Are the original vows of all Buddhas identical or different? If different, it would contradict the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, which says: "Only when all Buddhas have completely fulfilled all vows do they attain Buddhahood." If identical, it would also contradict the twelve original vows of Bhaiṣajyaguru and the forty-eight vows of Amitābha. Answer: No Buddha achieves the Way lacking even a single vow or practice; therefore they are entirely identical. However, because the conditions of the beings to be transformed ripen differently, the Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguru made twelve great vows for the sentient beings of this land to rescue them from present suffering. Since those conditions were ripe, it was not said that he had forty-eight vows. Amitābha Tathāgata made forty-eight vows to bestow future joy; because those conditions were ripe, it was not said that he had twelve vows. While the vows of all Buddhas may not necessarily all yield their results [in this manner], all the vows made by Bodhisattva Dharmākara are fully accomplished. The forty-eight vows briefly have three intentions: first, vows seeking the Buddha's body; second, vows seeking the Buddha land, which are the thirty-first and thirty-second vows; third, vows benefiting sentient beings, which are the remaining forty-three. Using these three intentions to explain the text of the forty-eight vows, there are seven [sections]: 1. The first eleven vows are vows gathering sentient beings. 2. The next two vows are vows gathering the Buddha's body. 3. The next three vows are vows gathering sentient beings. 4. The next one vow is a vow gathering the Buddha's body. 5. The next thirteen vows are vows gathering sentient beings. 6. The next two vows are vows gathering the Buddha land. 7. The final sixteen vows are vows gathering sentient beings. The first [section] also has two parts: the first two vows are vows to be free from suffering; the subsequent nine vows are vows to attain joy. The first [part] also has two: here the first is the vow to be free from the suffering of pain (duḥkha-duḥkhatā). Generically speaking, a "vow" (praṇidhāna) means aspiration, namely, "If, when I attain Buddhahood..." and so forth. Furthermore, a "pledge" (pratijñā) means determination and commitment, which is "may I not attain perfect enlightenment." For if the vows are not fulfilled, he will never attain Buddhahood. Even supposing that he could attain it without fulfilling the vows, by pledge he would never accept it. All the remaining vows have these two aspects, and should be contemplated in accordance with reason.