金光明最勝王經疏 4.50

4.50

譬如大地能持眾物，故以戒為本。能生功德，故喻於地。故《遺教經》云「當知此戒，諸善功德安隱住處。」能生諸禪定及滅苦智慧，故喻於地。《大莊嚴論》喻如寶篋，此意由戒能出功德，如篋出物。如彼論云「功德法寶從彼生故。」又寶篋與寶為依，依篋藏護不令失故，如依於戒餘功德在。若破戒已，如斷人頭，諸根等捨，既破戒已功德滅故。持眾物故，法合。或但是喻，是名下結，略無法合。

Just as the great earth can support all things, morality is taken as the foundation. Because it can produce merits, it is compared to the earth. Therefore, the *Sūtra of the Buddha's Bequeathed Teaching* says: "You should know that these precepts are the secure dwelling place for all good qualities and virtues." Because it can produce all dhyāna-concentrations and the wisdom that eliminates suffering, it is compared to the earth. The *Mahāyāna-sūtrālaṅkāra* compares it to a jewel casket, the meaning being that from morality merits can issue forth, just as objects come out of a casket. As that treatise says: "Because the Dharma-jewels of merit are born from it." Furthermore, a jewel casket serves as a support for jewels, for relying on the casket they are stored and protected without being lost; similarly, relying on morality the remaining merits are preserved. If one breaks the precepts, it is like severing a person's head, whereupon all faculties and the like are abandoned; once the precepts are broken, merits are extinguished. "Supporting all things" is the application to the dharma. Or it is merely the metaphor, and from "this is called" downward is the conclusion, with the application to the dharma being omitted.