金光明經文句記 5.44

5.44

The second turn of addressing the Buddha to recount the matters of protecting the state has two parts: first, dividing the text. Second, from "First is…" onwards, explaining the meaning, which has two: first, addressing the Buddha, which has two: first, the king honoring humanity and the Dharma, and the devas eliminating resentment and affliction. In the sūtra, regarding "governing the world by heavenly statutes": when governing the people, one takes heaven as a model to carry out transformation. Punishments matching the crime and rewards matching the merit are called heavenly statutes. Second, neighboring states raising troops and the devas causing them to retreat in haste. "Chi" means to drive away. In the sūtra, "four armies" are elephants, horses, chariots, and infantry. Regarding "planning to go out to chastise": "gui" means to seek. Some texts write "qin" (personally), which is a graphic error. "Tao" means to execute. The Zhuanli says: When there are bells and drums, it is called fa (punitive expedition). Some texts write "fa" (punish), which is incorrect. "Fa" (punish) means to humiliate, or to pay gold to redeem a crime. A "jun" (army) is twelve thousand five hundred men. The Son of Heaven has six armies, and the feudal lords have three armies.