阿彌陀經疏 1.149

1.149

經曰：「晝夜六時雨曼陀羅華」，次釋第五時華迴舞。《無量壽論》云：雨莊嚴也。依《莊嚴論》，雨華意為嚴飾地。故《無量壽經》云：其華覆地厚四寸餘，隨色次第而不雜亂，光澤香軟，足蹈上行纔下四寸，舉足還起。若更雨新華之時，舊華即漸漸地裂受之，故華沒盡新華已滿，或雨寶衣遍覆其地，人踐上行。《稱讚淨土經》云：見此華者心雖適悅而不貪著，更增眾生殊勝功德。曼陀羅者，此云赤圓蓮華，亦云如意華，《正法華經》名適意華大適意華，曼殊沙華名為柔軟華。《大品經》中帝釋雨曼陀羅華供養般若波羅蜜，須菩提言：「此華從心樹生，即如心所欲而雨。」釋之者，華之所生從其心生，然華之色貌終是赤圓，次第六羽駕遊方。

The sūtra says: "Raining down māndārava flowers during the six periods of the day and night." Next, this explains the fifth: seasonal flowers swirling and dancing. The *Treatise on the Sūtra of Immeasurable Life* calls it the adornment of rain. According to the *Alaṃkāra-śāstra*, the intention behind the raining of flowers is to adorn the ground. Therefore, the *Sūtra of Immeasurable Life* states: the flowers cover the ground more than four inches thick, arranged in sequence according to their colors without being disordered, lustrous, fragrant, and soft; when stepped on, they sink merely four inches, and when the foot is lifted, they rise back up; when new flowers rain down again, the ground gradually opens to receive the old flowers, so that just as the old flowers have completely disappeared, the new flowers have already filled the space; or jewel garments rain down, covering the ground completely, and people walk upon them. The Praises of the Pure Land Sūtra states: those who see these flowers, though delighted in mind, do not become greedily attached, and their extraordinary merit is further increased. As for 'māndārava', here it is called 'red circular lotus flower' and is also called 'as-you-wish flower'; the *Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra* calls it 'agreeable flower' and 'great agreeable flower'; and the mañjūṣaka flower is called 'soft flower'. In the *Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra*, Śakra rains down māndārava flowers to make offerings to the prajñāpāramitā, and Subhūti says: "These flowers are born from the wish-tree—that is, they rain down according to what is wished in the mind." Those who explain this say: the arising of the flowers is born from his mind, yet the appearance of the flowers is ultimately red and circular. Next, the sixth is feathered chariots roaming in foreign directions.