維摩經略疏 9.100

9.100

是中明諸菩薩各各說，備有五千，何但三十三，經家不具存耳，或梵本不盡。若用三十三對四十二地者，五千並說，復對何等？答：一地之中無量法門，何況五千，多說何妨。

In this context, it is explained that all the bodhisattvas spoke individually; fully there were five thousand—why only thirty-three? The compilers of the sūtra simply did not preserve them all, or the Sanskrit text was incomplete. If one uses the thirty-three to correspond to the forty-two stages, then when five thousand speak together, to what would they correspond? Answer: Within a single stage there are immeasurable Dharma-gates, not to mention five thousand; what harm is there in speaking manifoldly?