大般涅槃經義記 4.245

4.245

The above concerned urging the offering. In the second [part], regarding accepting [the offerings], there are four separate clauses: 1. to fulfill the hopes of the assembly, the Tathāgata transforms into immeasurable bodies to accept the offerings of the entire assembly; 2. Śākyamuni accepts Cunda's offering in his own body; 3. Cunda and the assembly, seeing the Buddha's supernatural transformations, give rise to joy in their minds; 4. the assembly, contemplating that the Buddha will pass into extinction after accepting the offering, harbor both sorrow and joy in their minds. The first section is self-evident. In the second section, it first clarifies that Śākyamuni accepts the offering in his own body; next, it clarifies the amount of Cunda's offering: Cunda had the ability and could indeed offer much, but to manifest the Buddha's power and cause the assembly to revere him, he offered only this. Below, it clarifies that the Buddha's power is sufficient for all. According to other sūtras, a buddha has three bodies: first, the true body (zhengshen), which refers to the dharma[kāya] and the reward [body]; second, the response body (yingshen), which responds and manifests by receiving a form, cultivating the path, and attaining buddhahood; third, the transformation body (huashen), which gives rise to transformations based on the response [body]. However, in the present text, the transformation bodies accepting the offerings are the transformation body; Śākyamuni accepting the offering is the response body; and what is spoken in the verses below regarding the true body's eternal abidance is the true body. This concludes the second [section]. In the third section, Cunda rejoices first, and the assembly is subsequently subsumed under this. In the fourth section, as for "bearing the Buddha's holy intention, they formed this thought", because this sorrowful thought broadly gives rise [to teachings], they therefore bore the holy intention to give rise to this thought. "Intention" (zhi) means intention (yi). Contemplating that after accepting [the offering] the Buddha will enter nirvāṇa, they therefore gave rise to sorrow; rejoicing at receiving his acceptance of their offering, they were therefore delighted. This concludes the second [section].