維摩經義疏 2.4.1

2.4.1

「爾時一切大眾覩佛神力，嘆未曾有，合掌禮佛，瞻仰尊顏目不暫捨」。 此下第三時眾喜嘆。 以信樂之誠發內，故瞻嘆之相現於外也。 「長者子寶積即於佛前以偈頌曰」。 上通序大眾歡喜，此別明寶積稱嘆而說偈。 凡有二意：一以略言攝佛眾德、二令辭巧聞者悅心。 莫問言數少多，要備四句方乃成偈。 偈是梵音，頌是此說，兩合明也。 所以偈嘆者，有四因緣：一者奉蓋，為明財供； 說偈讚嘆，辨法供也。 二者上以身業恭敬，今以口業供養。 三者前明形敬，不足以寫心； 今以心思妙言詠之於口，則具三業。 四者如來說法現通，大眾雖復喜敬交集，而未達其所由，故說偈讚釋，令時會領悟。 偈有五章：一嘆本德、二美迹用、三重嘆本、四重美迹、五總結嘆。 「目淨修廣如青蓮」。 此句嘆佛形也。 形有五相，目為其首，就初而嘆。 又世俗常云：七尺之身不如一尺之面，一尺之面不如一寸之眼。 故頭為一身之最，目為一面之標，就勝而嘆。 又佛以慈眼等視眾生，慈為德本，故就本而嘆。 又寶積瞻顏作頌，故嘆眼也。 《智度論》云「陸生須曼為最，水生青蓮第一。 」天竺有青蓮花，其葉脩而曠，青白分明，有大人眼相，故借以喻焉。 「心淨已度諸禪定」。 目淨所以嘆形，心淨所以嘆德。 目為五情之初，心為萬德之本，故嘆心也。 又心淨則目明，舉心以證目。 禪定深曠喻如大海，唯佛淨心乃窮其岸，故稱為度。 「久積淨業稱無量」。 形德所以俱妙者，必由久淨三業，此舉因行釋果德也。 因果既妙，則十號外聞，故云稱無量也。 「導眾以寂故稽首」。 以德樹名流，故能導物。 導眾之法謂寂滅無為，如《法華》云「究竟涅槃，常寂滅相」。 蓋是諸法實體，故偏說之。 此一嘆訖，所以稽首。 又上口業，今身業敬也。 此偈始終合有五對，謂形心、因果、德名、自他、讚敬也。 「既見大聖以神變，普現十方無量土，其中諸佛演說法，於是一切悉見聞」。 此第二歎迹。 以形德為本、神通之用為迹，故初歎德本，今美迹用。 《正觀論》云「聖有三種：一外道五通、二羅漢緣覺、三法身大士。 」佛於三聖獨尊故稱為大，不測為神，改質稱變。 既見合蓋之神變，而復現十方國土，及以諸佛等演教門，此三為應。 眾會見聞，即是感也。 「法王法力超群生，常以法財施一切」。 此第三重嘆本德。 就此文內凡有五嘆：一法王嘆、二法海嘆、三山王嘆、四虛空嘆、五人寶嘆。 法王嘆者，前嘆神通，今美說法。 神通令物殖福，說法使其生慧。 又神通發其信心，說法生其慧解。 俗王以俗力勝民，故能澤及一國； 法王以法力超眾，故能道濟無疆。 「能善分別諸法相，於第一義而不動」。 上標法王，今釋之也。 法乃無窮，而不離二諦，故就二諦以釋法王善分別俗而不違真，稱為不動。 「已於諸法得自在，是故稽首此法王」。 嘆法王三門：初標、次釋，今是結也。 俗王則自在於民，法王則自在於法。 以法無定相，隨物辨之，而普順理應機，故稱自在。 又即上說俗不動真、談真不乖俗，即是自在也。 二句嘆訖，所以稽首。 「說法不有亦不無」，前嘆說俗不違真。 此明言會中道，有三：一即上二諦合為中道，以俗諦故不可為無、真諦故不可為有。 如來立二諦，為破有無二見，故論主釋《大品》「菩薩住二諦中為眾生說法，為著有者說無、為著無者說有。 」即其事也。 二者以有無二諦為明非有無中道。 如《華嚴》（五卷）云「一切有無法，了達非有無」也。 三者單就二諦各明中道。 俗諦是因緣假有，假有不可定有、假無不可定無，非有非無即是中道。 真諦亦爾，假有不可定有、假無不可定無，即是中道。 今言說法不有亦不無，含此諸意也。 釋僧肇云「欲言其有，有不自生； 欲言其無，緣會則形。 會形非謂無，非無非謂有。

"At that time, seeing the Buddha's spiritual power, the entire great assembly marveled at what they had never seen before, joined their palms in reverence to the Buddha, and gazed upward at his revered face without looking away for an instant." From here below is the third [section], the joy and praise of the assembly of the time. Because sincerity of faith and joy arose from within, the expression of gazing and praising manifested externally.

"Ratnakūṭa, the elder's son, then immediately before the Buddha spoke in praise with verses." Above, the general narrative described the great assembly's rejoicing; here, it specifically clarifies Ratnakūṭa's praising by reciting verses. There are two purposes in general: first, to encompass the Buddha's manifold virtues in concise words; second, through skillful expression, to delight the hearts of the listeners. Regardless of whether the words are few or many, a verse must necessarily comprise four lines to form a gāthā. *Gāthā* is Sanskrit, and *song* (hymn) is the term here in [Chinese]; the two are combined here to explain it. As for why he praised in verses, there are four causes and conditions: First, offering the canopies demonstrated material offerings; reciting verses of praise distinguished Dharma offerings. Second, previously he showed reverence through bodily action; now he made offerings through vocal action. Third, the earlier manifestation of physical reverence was insufficient to fully express his mind; now, by reflecting with the mind and chanting wondrous words with the mouth, the three karmic actions are fully complete. Fourth, though the Tathāgata's preaching of the Dharma and display of spiritual powers caused mixed joy and reverence in the great assembly, they had not yet understood the reason for it; therefore, he recited verses of praise and explanation to bring the assembly of the time to comprehension.

The verses have five sections: first, praising the fundamental virtues; second, praising the trace-functions; third, praising the fundamental [virtues] again; fourth, praising the trace-[functions] again; fifth, a concluding overall praise.

"His eyes are pure, long, and broad, like a blue lotus." This line praises the Buddha's physical form. Physical form has five features, with the eyes being the foremost, so he praises them beginning with the first. Moreover, worldly people commonly say: a seven-foot body is not equal to a one-foot face, and a one-foot face is not equal to a one-inch eye. Therefore, the head is the foremost part of the entire body, and the eyes are the hallmark of a face, so he praises them in terms of their excellence. Furthermore, the Buddha looks equally upon sentient beings with eyes of compassion, and compassion is the root of virtue, so he praises them in terms of the root. In addition, Ratnakūṭa looked upon his face and composed the hymn, and thus praised the eyes. The *Dazhidulun* says: "Among land-growing [flowers], the sumana is foremost; among water-growing [flowers], the blue lotus is number one." In India there are blue lotus flowers whose petals are slender and broad, with blue and white distinct, having the appearance of a great person's eyes, and thus they are used here as a metaphor.

"His mind is pure, having already crossed over all dhyānas and samādhis." Pure eyes praise the physical form, while a pure mind praises virtue. The eyes are the first of the five sensory capacities, and the mind is the root of myriad virtues, so he praises the mind. Moreover, when the mind is pure, the eyes are bright; the mind is adduced to corroborate the eyes. Dhyāna and samādhi are deep and vast like a great ocean; only the Buddha's pure mind reaches its other shore, hence it is called "having crossed over."

"Having long accumulated pure karma, his praises are immeasurable." The reason why physical form and virtue are both wondrous is certainly due to having long purified the three karmas; this adduces causal practices to explain the fruit-virtues. Because the causes and effects are already wondrous, the ten epithets are heard abroad, hence it says "his praises are immeasurable."

"Leading the multitude by means of quiescence, therefore I bow my head." Because he establishes fame through virtue, he is able to guide beings. The method of leading the multitude is quiescent cessation and the unconditioned, as the *Lotus Sūtra* says: "Ultimate nirvāṇa, constantly possessing the mark of quiescent cessation." Since this is the true essence of all dharmas, it is specifically spoken of. Having concluded this one praise, he therefore bows his head. Furthermore, the preceding was vocal action, and this is physical reverence. Throughout, this verse altogether contains five pairs: form and mind, cause and effect, virtue and fame, self and other, and praise and reverence.

"Having seen the Great Sage through spiritual transformations / universally manifest immeasurable lands in the ten directions, / wherein the Buddhas expound the Dharma, / whereupon everything was seen and heard." This is the second [section], praising the traces. Taking the physical form and virtue as the fundamental, and the functions of spiritual powers as the traces, he first praised the root of virtues, and now praises the trace-functions. The *Zhengguan lun* says: "There are three kinds of sages: first, non-Buddhists with the five spiritual powers; second, arhats and pratyekabuddhas; third, dharmakāya mahāsattvas." The Buddha is uniquely supreme among the three kinds of sages, hence he is called "Great"; that which cannot be fathomed is "spiritual," and changing substances is called "transformation." Having seen the spiritual transformation of unifying the canopies, and further manifesting the lands of the ten directions and the teaching gates expounded by the Buddhas, these three constitute the response. That the great assembly saw and heard them is the resonance.

"The Dharma King's Dharma-power surpasses the multitude of beings; / he constantly bestows the wealth of Dharma upon all." This is the third [section], praising the fundamental virtues again. Within this text there are five praises in total: first, the praise of the Dharma King; second, the praise of the Dharma ocean; third, the praise of the mountain king; fourth, the praise of empty space; fifth, the praise of the treasure among humans. As for the praise of the Dharma King: previously he praised spiritual powers, and now he commends the preaching of the Dharma. Spiritual powers cause beings to plant merit, while preaching the Dharma causes them to generate wisdom. Moreover, spiritual powers arouse their faithful mind, while preaching the Dharma generates their wise understanding. A worldly king surpasses his subjects through worldly power, and thus can extend his favor across a single state; the Dharma King surpasses the multitude through the power of Dharma, and thus can bring salvation without boundary.

"He is skilled at distinguishing the characteristics of all dharmas, / yet remains unmoving with respect to the ultimate truth." Above he stated "Dharma King"; here he explains it. Dharmas are indeed inexhaustible, but they do not depart from the two truths; therefore, he draws upon the two truths to explain that the Dharma King's skill in distinguishing the conventional without contradicting the ultimate is called "unmoving."

"He has already attained mastery over all dharmas; / for this reason I bow my head to this Dharma King." Praising the Dharma King has three parts: first stating, next explaining, and now concluding. A worldly king has mastery over the people; the Dharma King has mastery over dharmas. Because dharmas have no fixed characteristics, he distinguishes them in accordance with beings, and by universally according with principle and responding to capacities, this is called "mastery." Moreover, the above-mentioned speaking of the conventional without moving from the ultimate, and discussing the ultimate without contravening the conventional, is precisely "mastery." Having concluded the two lines of praise, he therefore bows his head.

"Preaching the Dharma as neither existing nor non-existing": previously he praised speaking of the conventional without contravening the ultimate. Here he clarifies that speech accords with the Middle Way, which has three aspects: First, the above two truths are combined into the Middle Way; because of the conventional truth it cannot be non-existent, and because of the ultimate truth it cannot be existent. The Tathāgata established the two truths in order to shatter the two views of existence and non-existence, as the treatise master explained in the *Dapin*: "The bodhisattva abides in the two truths to preach the Dharma for sentient beings, preaching non-existence for those attached to existence, and preaching existence for those attached to non-existence." This is precisely that matter. Second, taking the two truths of existence and non-existence to clarify the Middle Way of neither existence nor non-existence. As the *Avataṃsaka* (in five fascicles) says: "All dharmas of existence and non-existence / are fully understood as neither existing nor non-existing." Third, taking the two truths individually to clarify the Middle Way in each. The conventional truth is provisionally existing through causes and conditions; provisional existence cannot be definitely existent, and provisional non-existence cannot be definitely non-existent: neither existing nor non-existing is the Middle Way. The ultimate truth is also like this: provisional existence cannot be definitely existent, and provisional non-existence cannot be definitely non-existent; this is the Middle Way. Now, saying that "he preaches the Dharma as neither existing nor non-existing" encompasses all these meanings. Shi Sengzhao says: "If you wish to say it exists, existence does not arise of itself; if you wish to say it is non-existent, when conditions converge it takes shape. That which converges and takes shape cannot be called non-existent; that which is not non-existent cannot be called existent."