請觀音經疏闡義鈔 3.42

3.42

Third, properly expounding the dhāraṇī. In the sūtra, "the divine dhāraṇī for saving and protecting sentient beings": unconditioned great compassion universally causes [them] to leave suffering, hence it is named saving and protecting. As for the term divine dhāraṇī (shenzhou), the new translations all render it as true words (mantra / zhenyan), meaning that they are all the inconceivable, secret, true words of the Tathāgata. However, the functions expounded in various sūtras differ: some are used exclusively for healing illness, some exclusively for protecting the Dharma, and some exclusively for eradicating transgressions; the four dhāraṇīs of the present sūtra apply generally to healing illness, eradicating transgressions, and protecting the Dharma. As in the Prajñā[pāramitā], the "great illuminating mantra, unexcelled illuminating mantra, and peerless mantra" are neither healing, nor eradicating, nor protecting. Broadly speaking, they encompass all virtues; specifically speaking, each conforms to its sūtra text. Past masters have explained the meaning differently; now, synthesizing them, they do not go beyond the four siddhāntas. One explanation says: a dhāraṇī is the name of a spirit king; when one recites their king's name, the tribal followers respect their master and dare not do wrong. This is the mundane meaning of illuminating dhāraṇī. Another says: a dhāraṇī is like a military password; when the shouted password corresponds, there is no questioning or rebuke; if it does not correspond, one is seized and punished. This is the meaning for the sake of persons. Another says: a dhāraṇī secretly and silently remedies evil, and evil naturally ceases. For instance, a lowly person fled to another country and falsely claimed to be a prince, whereupon the king gave him a princess as wife; yet he was prone to anger and hard to serve. A wise man came from that country, and the king went to speak to him. That man told the king, "When he gets angry, you should recite this verse: 'Having no kin, traveling to another land, / Cheating and deceiving everyone. / Coarse food is your usual food; / Why go to the trouble of getting angry again?' When this verse was recited, he fell silent and his anger ceased, and afterward he did not get angry again." The king and the others merely heard this verse and none knew its meaning; dhāraṇīs are also like this, secretly and silently warding off evil while no one else recognizes it. This is the antidotal meaning. Another says: a dhāraṇī is the secret word of the Buddhas. Just as when a king asks for saindhava, a single name encompasses four realities—salt, water, vessel, and horse—none of the subordinates can recognize it, and only a wise minister is able to know it. Dhāraṇīs are also like this: just a single dharma universally possesses various powers, so that illness is cured, transgressions are eliminated, good arises, and one accords with the Path. This is the ultimate meaning. Because there are these four meanings, the original phonetic sound is preserved; that the translators did not translate them was intended for this reason. Among the five kinds of non-translation, this is non-translation due to secretness. Among the four models, this is translating the characters without translating the sound. Even if translated into Chinese words, the meaning would still not be understood. For example, using archaic terms to call objects, the objects themselves do not know. When common people do not know the secret words of the holy stages, how could ordinary beings understand them? However, as for these three dhāraṇīs being annotated by some as names of ghosts and spirits, this was probably the reckless work of later generations. How much more so when the commentary explains this dhāraṇī as secretly discussing the three virtues: if they were merely names of spirits, how deep would the disparagement and slander be! Those in the world who practice the Great Compassion Dhāraṇī and provide commentaries for it are also of this type. Furthermore, as for altering the phonetic sounds or changing the characters of these three dhāraṇīs, saying that they were transmitted from Sanskrit monks and corrected by Sanskrit scholars: this is wrong. Moreover, if the sounds transmitted by Nandi happened to differ from Central India, this is also due to the different regional dialects of the five Indias, like the cases of Mohe and Moyi, or Shendu and Xiandou. Now, since they altered the divine dhāraṇī, they should also have separately translated the sūtra text, because the Sanskrit manuscripts differed. During the Chen and Sui dynasties, Master Zhizao and others mostly practiced this method; in reciting the dhāraṇī they relied solely on the present text, yet the auspicious responses were exceptionally numerous. This is fully displayed in the Biographies of Eminent Monks; let the discerning examine it. Now I record the words of the dhāraṇī from the ancient sūtra in this subcommentary, in the hope that they will not be lost.