阿彌陀經通贊疏 1.52

1.52

Moreover, the first, the assembly eminent in the practice of the Path, is divided into three: first, specifying the category and stating the number; second, praising their virtues; third, listing their names. This is the first. 'Together with' has the meaning of combining, uniting, and extending to. Nāgārjuna explains 'great' through five meanings: first, great in number, because there are one thousand two hundred and fifty people; second, great in abandonment, because great hindrances have been severed; third, great in status, because they are great arhats; fourth, great in reputation, because their renown is heard far and wide; fifth, great in recognition, because they are known and recognized by great men and great assemblies. In Sanskrit it is *bhikṣu*, erroneously called *biqiu*; because it possesses five meanings, it is not translated: first, 'terrifying Māra,' because when one first leaves home, Māra's palace trembles; second, 'almsman,' because having left home, one maintains oneself by begging for food; third, 'purely upholding precepts,' because gradually entering the ranks of the Saṅgha, one must uphold the precepts; fourth, 'pure livelihood,' because having received the precepts, the threefold karma that one gives rise to is motivated by non-greed, not relying on greed for wrongful livelihood; fifth, 'destroying evil,' because gradually relying on the noble path, one destroys the errors of affliction. Furthermore, the name is established based on a grass, using the five-virtued grass as an analogy, hence called *bhikṣu*. 'Community' is the Saṅgha. Harmony in principle and harmony in practice confer the name 'community,' for three or more persons receive the name of Saṅgha. 'One thousand two hundred and fifty in all' means they came together to the Jeta Grove.