大般涅槃經義記 1.61

1.61

列尼眾中，先實後權。實中三分，與比丘同。就初段中，先列其眾，列名舉數，辯眾可知。下歎其德。「一切亦是大阿羅漢」，是總歎也。「諸漏」已下是別歎也。別中准上，文少不足。前比丘中先歎德備，後歎眾純，今此略，無歎眾之文。就歎德中，准歎比丘，末後少一，逮得己利。通其所少，文亦八句，所歎四知與上無別。「諸漏盡」者，煩惱連注，其猶瘡漏，故名為漏。漏別有三：所謂欲、有、無明漏等，下當具辯。三漏非一，是故言諸。無學斷竟，名之為盡。餘如前釋。「亦於晨」下，覩相增悲。「亦欲利」下，雲集佛所。文如上說。明權眾中，「於尼眾中復有諸尼，皆是菩薩」，拂權顯實。「人中龍」下，就實歎德。先歎自德。人中之龍，彰其人尊。龍是一切畜生中上，此諸尼等人中最勝，與龍相似，約喻名人，名人中龍。「位階」已下，明其位極。「位階十住」，簡異前九。「安住不動」，簡異初住。下歎利他。「為化現女」是化他身，「常修無量」是化他心，四無量義下當別論。「得自在力能化作佛」是化他能，通力自在故能作佛。

In listing the bhikṣuṇī assembly, the real comes first and the provisional comes after. In the real, the three parts are the same as with the bhikṣus. In the first section, first the assembly is listed, listing names and citing numbers; distinguishing the assembly can be known. Below, their virtues are praised. 'All were also great arhats' is the general praise. From 'all outflows' onward is the specific praise. In the specific, drawing on the above, the text is deficient and incomplete. Earlier, among the bhikṣus, first complete virtue was praised, and after that the purity of the assembly was praised; here it is abbreviated, lacking text praising the assembly. In praising virtue, drawing on the praise of the bhikṣus, at the very end it lacks one phrase, 'attaining their own benefit'. Supplying what is missing, the text also has eight phrases, and the four knowledges praised are no different from above. As for 'exhaustion of all outflows', afflictions flow continuously like a discharging sore, hence called outflows (*āsrava*). Outflows are of three kinds: namely, the outflows of desire, existence, and ignorance, which will be fully distinguished below. The three outflows are not just one, which is why it says 'all'. For an *aśaikṣa*, they are cut off completely, which is called 'exhausted'. The rest is as explained before. From 'also in the morning' onward, beholding the signs and increasing in sorrow. From 'also wishing to benefit' onward, gathering like clouds at the Buddha's place. The text is as explained above. In clarifying the provisional assembly, 'among the bhikṣuṇī assembly there were further various bhikṣuṇīs who were all bodhisattvas' sweeps away the provisional to reveal the real. From 'dragons among men' onward, their virtue is praised with respect to the real. First, their own virtues are praised. 'Dragons among men' reveals that these persons are venerable: a dragon is the highest among all animals; these bhikṣuṇīs are the most supreme among humans, resembling dragons, so by analogy to the persons they are called 'dragons among men'. From 'their stage ranked' onward clarifies that their stage was the ultimate: 'their stage ranked in the ten abodes' differentiates them from the preceding nine; 'peacefully dwelling and immovable' differentiates them from the first abode. Below, benefiting others is praised: 'for the sake of transformation manifesting as women' is transforming others' bodies; 'constantly cultivating the immeasurables' is transforming others' minds—the meaning of the four immeasurables will be discussed separately below; 'attaining mastery of power and able to manifest as buddhas' is the capacity to transform others: through mastery of supernatural powers, they are able to become buddhas.