金光明經文句記 5.65

5.65

First, confirming that the fragrance and light are all-pervasive. In the sūtra, "Maheśvara" is translated as Great Sovereign (Da Zizai). As for Guhyakādhipati (Jin'gang Miji): the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna Sūtra states: "In the past, there was a king whose queen gave birth to one thousand sons. Wishing to test the order of their future attainment of buddhahood, Krakucchanda drew the first lot, Śākyamuni drew the fourth lot, and so forth up to Rucika drawing the thousandth lot. The second queen gave birth to two sons: the first vowed to become King Brahmā and entreat the thousand elder brothers to turn the wheel of the Dharma; the next vowed to become the Secret-Traces Vajra Deity to protect the teachings of the thousand elder brothers." The worldly tradition that he is a transformation body of Rucika is mistaken; he was merely Prince Dharmamati. According to the sūtra, he was only one person. Now, representing him at the gates of monasteries as two images is because responsive transformations are boundless, so having multiple forms is also without fault. Manibhadra is translated as Awesome Subduing Practice. Anavatapta is translated as Free from Burning Affliction. Sāgara is translated as Salty Sea. Regarding "a hundred billion heavens of Neither-Conception-Nor-Non-Conception" in the sūtra: a hundred billion is a great trichiliocosm, but it has only one Fourth Dhyāna and four formless realms. The Third Dhyāna governs a medium chiliocosm; in terms of a great trichiliocosm, there are one thousand Third Dhyānas. The Second Dhyāna governs a small chiliocosm, so there are one million Second Dhyānas. Only from the four continents up to the First Dhyāna are there a hundred billion. Now, speaking of a hundred billion for Neither-Conception is merely speaking of it looking upward from below. Alternatively, it is feared to be a translation error, since Yijing's retranslation contains no words about a hundred billion Neither-Conceptions.