阿彌陀經疏 1.54

1.54

四、奇妙雜鳥莊嚴，又二：一、正明；二、釋疑。初文凡有四意：一、舉類；二、列名；三、演音；四、顯益。白鶴者，《相鶴經》曰：體尚潔故其色白，聲聞天故其頂赤，食於水故其啄長，軒於前故後指短，棲於陸故足高而尾凋，翔於空故毛豐而肉疎，大喉以吐故，修頸以納新，故生天壽不可量。鸚鵡者，《山海經》云：黃山有鳥如鴞，青羽赤啄人舌能言，名曰鸚䳇。郭璞注云：有白者。舍利者，此云春鶯或翻鶖鷺。迦陵頻伽，此云妙聲，在㲉中其音已超眾鳥故。共命之鳥者，兩首一身，異神識、同報命、故名共命。《法華》云命命，《天王》云生，《涅槃》云耆婆耆婆，悉此鳥耳。耆婆梵語，此翻活或翻生或翻命，故知。雅音，者雅正也。演暢者，演廣也，暢通也。五根謂信、進、念、定、慧也。能生曰根。增進堪任非障曰五力。七菩提分者，云覺分亦支也，諸經云七覺支是也。七者謂念、擇、進、喜、輕安、定、捨，前一兼定慧，次三是慧，後三是定。八聖道分者，諸經謂八正道是也。八者：正見、正思惟、正語、正業、正精進、正定、正念、正命。聞是音已下，顯益也。念佛如醫王，念法如良藥，念僧如瞻視人，三者既備則煩惱之病可差也，此念別想三寶耳。又反觀自心寂而常照則諸相炳然念佛，照而常寂則無法可得，名念法，寂照不二即存亡亡存和合，名念僧，此念同體三寶也。眾鳥一音演說，眾生隨類各解，故約別相同體兩義釋之。

Fourth, the adornment of rare and wondrous varied birds, which also has two parts: first, explaining directly; second, resolving doubts. The first text has four main points: first, adducing their classes; second, listing their names; third, expounding the sounds; fourth, demonstrating the benefits. As for the white crane, the Xianghe jing states: "Because its constitution prizes purity, its colour is white; because its cry reaches heaven, its crown is red; because it feeds on water, its beak is long; because it is prominent in front, its rear digits are short; because it roosts on land, its legs are tall and its tail sparse; because it soars in the sky, its feathers are abundant and its flesh lean. With a large throat it expels the old; with an elongated neck it inhales the new; therefore it is born in heaven and its lifespan cannot be measured." As for the parrot, the Shanhai jing states: "Mount Huang has a bird like an owl, with blue-green feathers, a red beak, and a human tongue that can speak, called the parrot." Guo Pu's commentary states: "There are white ones." As for śāri, here it is called "spring oriole" or translated as "egret." Kalaviṅka translates here as "wondrous sound," because while still in the egg its sound already surpasses that of other birds. As for "the bird of shared life" (jivājīvaka), it has two heads and one body, different mental consciousnesses but the same karmic life, hence it is called "shared life." The Lotus Sūtra calls it mingming ("life-life"), the Tianwang [jing] calls it sheng ("life"), and the Nirvāṇa Sūtra calls it jīva-jīva; all refer to this bird. Jīva is Sanskrit, translated here as "living," "life," or "destiny"; hence one knows this. As for "elegant sound," it means elegant and upright. "Expounding and proclaiming": "expounding" means expounding broadly, and "proclaiming" means flowing freely through. The five roots refer to faith, vigour, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. That which is capable of generating [good dharmas] is called a "root." That which increases progress, is capable, and is not hindered is called the "five powers." The seven limbs of bodhi: "factors of enlightenment" also means branches; this is what the sūtras call the seven limbs of enlightenment. The seven refer to mindfulness, investigation of dharmas, vigour, joy, pliancy, concentration, and equanimity: the first combines concentration and wisdom, the next three are wisdom, and the latter three are concentration. The eight limbs of the noble path: this is what the sūtras call the eightfold noble path. The eight are: right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. From "having heard these sounds" onward demonstrates the benefits. Being mindful of the Buddha is like [relying on] a king of physicians; being mindful of the Dharma is like good medicine; being mindful of the Saṃgha is like an attendant nurse. When these three are complete, the disease of afflictions can be cured; this is being mindful of the differentiated-aspect Three Jewels. Furthermore, reflecting inward upon one's own mind: when it is quiescent yet ever illuminating, all marks are clearly evident, which is called being mindful of the Buddha; when it is illuminating yet ever quiescent, no dharma can be grasped, which is called being mindful of the Dharma; when quiescence and illumination are non-dual, that is, when existence and non-existence are harmoniously integrated, this is called being mindful of the Saṃgha. This is being mindful of the identical-essence Three Jewels. The birds expound with a single voice, and sentient beings understand each according to their kind; hence it is explained according to the two meanings of differentiated aspects and identical essence.