大般涅槃經義記 5.97

5.97

次觀老苦，於中初問，次辯，後結。辯中，初略，「譬如池」下廣。略中三句：一明老所為，「能為咳逆上氣」等事；二明所壞，「能壞勇」等八種之事，「進」謂精進，「持」謂持戒，亦可憶持；三明所作，「能作背僂、懈怠、懶」等三種之事。廣中，合有十五譬喻共顯老過。結中，初言「以如是喻及餘無量當知老苦」結前所觀，「菩薩修」等結前能觀。

Next is the contemplation of the suffering of old age, wherein there is first an interrogation, next an explanation, and finally a conclusion. Within the explanation, it is first brief, and from 'Like a pond' downward it is detailed. Within the brief part there are three clauses: First, it clarifies what old age causes: it can cause matters such as 'coughing, panting, and shortness of breath'. Second, it clarifies what it ruins: it can ruin eight kinds of things such as 'valour'; 'advance' refers to vigor, and 'upholding' refers to upholding the precepts, or it may also mean retaining in memory. Third, it clarifies what it produces: it can produce three kinds of things, such as 'bent back, indolence, and laziness'. In the detailed part, altogether there are fifteen similes that jointly reveal the faults of old age. In the conclusion, the opening words, 'Through such similes and countless others, one should know the suffering of old age', conclude what was contemplated previously; 'When a bodhisattva cultivates' and so forth concludes that which is capable of contemplation previously.