[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [維摩經略疏](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1778) › 4.12 # 維摩經略疏 4.12 維摩經略疏 4.12 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [4.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1778.4.12) 問：若十德互長從長標稱者，如身子持衣帶，目連盡其神力三千皆動而不能動身子之帶。目連以事白佛，佛言：「佛入禪定，身子不知其名。身子入定，目連不知其名。」若目連神足不長於身子，餘八未必各有所長。答：或是偏長或非偏長。何者？形他未必定有所長，就其十德自有偏長，故稱第一。但佛為法王，所置法臣如世國臣，雖各諸能，而八座卿各有所掌。十大弟子雖各有所兼，不可一人獨當二事，故分十德各屬一人，助佛宣揚十種教門令物慕仰，故各稱第一。隨彼根緣歸心有在，雖各助宣終歸一道。 > Question: If the ten virtues represent mutual strengths and they are designated according to their strengths, then as when Śāriputra held his robe sash and Maudgalyāyana exhausted all his supernatural power shaking the three thousand \[worlds\] yet could not move Śāriputra's sash, Maudgalyāyana reported the matter to the Buddha, and the Buddha said, 'When the Buddha enters meditative absorption, Śāriputra does not know its name; when Śāriputra enters absorption, Maudgalyāyana does not know its name.' If Maudgalyāyana's supernatural power was not superior to Śāriputra's, the remaining eight might not each have had a particular strength. Answer: It was either a specific strength or not a specific strength. Why? In comparison to others, one might not definitely have a superior strength, but with respect to these ten virtues, they each had a specific strength, and therefore were called foremost. Moreover, the Buddha is the Dharma King, and the Dharma ministers he established are like the ministers of a worldly state: although each has various abilities, the ministers of the eight seats each have their separate responsibilities. Although the ten great disciples each possessed combined virtues, one person could not take charge of two functions alone; therefore the ten virtues were divided and assigned to each person, helping the Buddha proclaim ten kinds of doctrinal gateways to cause beings to look up to them in admiration, and thus each was called foremost. According to their faculties and conditions, their minds found refuge; although each helped to proclaim \[a different method\], ultimately they return to the one Way. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 4.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1778.4.11) - [Next: 4.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1778.4.13) - [Up: 4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1778.4) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1778~en-mt.4.12) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1778.4.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1778.4.12) · Pramāṇa