觀無量壽佛經疏 1.29

1.29

第三、流通。亦二：第一、明王宮流通；第二、「爾時世尊足步」下，明崛山流通。初有四：一、列名教持；二、「行此」下，明修有益勸人奉信；三、「告阿難」下，付囑令持；四、「說此」下，目連等聞歡喜。初中阿難先問。發「當何名」下，問經名字。上來所說言義非一，當於何義而名此經？「此法之要云何受持」，問受持法。佛答「名觀極樂無量壽佛觀音勢至，亦名淨業生諸佛前」，對其初問。「汝當受持無令忘失」，對其後問。次、明有益。行前十六觀門得大利益，現身得見彼佛菩薩。「善男子善女人聞名」下，明其念佛菩薩之益。但得聞名，除無量罪，何況憶念。明念佛菩薩有大利益，舉劣況勝。「念佛者人中分陀利華」，明其身勝。「觀音勢至為勝友」，伴勝。「當坐道場」，得道之場名曰道場。菩提樹下得道，故名為坐。依之得果，義說為坐。依之起行，名生佛家也。結名付囑，亦名觀無量壽佛，亦名滅除業障也。「歡喜」者，三義故喜：一、能說人清淨，佛無礙智無有錯謬，名為清淨。二、所說法清淨，能令眾生得證三昧。三、依法所得果清淨，依法修行滿足，身證清淨果也。耆山流通中，初、佛步空還耆闍崛山，為增物敬、奉順其言，故現此變。次、阿難及天龍等聞法歡喜，作禮而去也。

Third, the transmission. This also has two parts: first, explaining the transmission in the royal palace; second, from "At that time the World-Honoured One walked through the air" onwards, explaining the transmission on [Gṛdhrakūṭa] Mountain. The first part has four subdivisions: 1. Listing the titles and instructing [them] to uphold [the sūtra]; 2. From "Practicing this" onwards, explaining that cultivation brings benefit and exhorting people to believe and accept it; 3. From "[The Buddha] told Ānanda" onwards, entrusting [it] so as to have them uphold it; 4. From "Having spoken this" onwards, Maudgalyāyana and the others rejoice upon hearing it. In the first subdivision, Ānanda asks first. Beginning with "What should [this sūtra] be named?" onwards, he asks about the name of the sūtra. What has been spoken above involves more than one meaning; by which meaning should this sūtra be named? "How should the essentials of this Dharma be accepted and upheld?" asks about the method of accepting and upholding it. The Buddha replies, "It is named 'Contemplation of Sukhāvatī, the Buddha Amitāyus, Avalokiteśvara, and Mahāsthāmaprāpta', and also named 'Eliminating Karmic Obstacles and Being Born Before the Buddhas'", which answers his first question. "You should accept and uphold it, and never forget or lose it", which answers his subsequent question. Next, explaining that there is benefit. Practicing the preceding sixteen gates of contemplation brings great benefit: in one's present body one attains the vision of that Buddha and the bodhisattvas. From "good men and good women who hear the names" onwards, it explains the benefit of contemplating the Buddha and the bodhisattvas. Simply hearing the names eradicates immeasurable sins, how much more so recollecting them! This explains that contemplating the Buddha and the bodhisattvas has great benefit, citing the lesser to illustrate the superior. "One who is mindful of the Buddha is a puṇḍarīka among humans" explains the superiority of their person. "Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta will be excellent friends" [explains] the superiority of companions. "Will sit in the bodhimaṇḍa": the place where the Way is attained is called the bodhimaṇḍa. Attaining the Way beneath the bodhi tree is therefore called "sitting". Attaining the fruit in reliance upon it is metaphorically called "sitting". Initiating practice in reliance upon it is called being born into the house of the Buddha. Concluding the titles and entrusting [the sūtra]: it is also named "Contemplation of the Buddha Amitāyus", and also named "Eradicating Karmic Obstacles". As for "rejoiced", they rejoiced for three reasons: 1. The teacher is pure: the Buddha's unimpeded wisdom is free from error, which is called pure. 2. The Dharma spoken is pure: it enables sentient beings to realize samādhi. 3. The fruit attained in accordance with the Dharma is pure: practicing to completion in accordance with the Dharma, one personally realizes the pure fruit. In the transmission on Gṛdhrakūṭa Mountain, first, the Buddha walked through the air back to Gṛdhrakūṭa; in order to increase the beings' reverence so that they would follow his words, he manifested this transformation. Next, Ānanda, the devas, nāgas, and others rejoiced upon hearing the Dharma, bowed in reverence, and departed.