金剛般若論會釋 2.57

2.57

「前所說以此因緣出生無量阿僧祇」下，重解前第二攝福德文，分二，初、彰經來意；後、「威力者」下，釋配威力。重釋福多，令生欣樂。釋配威力有二，初、標，後、配。配中有三，一、能威力，二、配多，三、明何人能說。威力中初、配文，二、釋文，三、釋難義。逢燃燈佛，釋迦住在第八地初，故阿僧祇劫。過阿僧祇者，更過前故，謂說七地至初地，初逢寶髻佛，至今成佛，兩大劫故。此在聖人，供養比校。或更過前至初劫，初逢釋迦佛已來，逕三大劫，故《俱舍》頌云，「於三無數劫，逆次逢勝觀，燃燈、寶髻佛，初釋迦牟尼」。依彼宗說，初劫逢釋迦牟尼；自後供養五萬七千佛，至第二劫初，逢寶髻佛；自後供養六萬七千佛，至第三劫初，逢燃燈佛；自後供養七萬七千佛，三大劫滿，百劫修相報業，初逢毘婆尸佛，此言勝觀，但由翹足超九劫故，所以經言，九十一劫毘婆尸佛。自後三十劫，逢尸棄佛、鞞濕婆佛，至第九十一劫滿，逢賢劫中過去三佛。此住劫中，初之五劫無佛出世，第六劫有拘留孫佛，第七劫有拘那含牟尼佛，第八劫有迦葉佛，此第九劫釋迦出也。依大乘中，真諦師解，初大劫中供養五恒河沙佛，第二劫供養六恒河沙佛，第三劫供養七恒河沙佛。依《涅槃經》，四依菩薩前後總計供養二十六恒河沙佛，方得菩提。今流支本云，於燃燈前，值八十四億那由他百千諸佛；羅什本云，值八百四千萬億那由他諸佛；真諦本云，值八萬四千百千俱胝諸佛；《能斷》云，值八十四俱胝那庾多百千諸佛。計名雖殊，數有大小，並不相違，但約一位所逢且說，各依總說，理數難知。初地菩薩且初分齊得見百佛，百佛者即百百億，如是上位逢佛極多，云何此中但言爾所？故知且約一位所逢。羅什本但有一阿僧祇，更無過阿僧祇言，餘本皆有。

From 'what was said earlier: by these causes and conditions producing immeasurable asaṃkhyeyas' onward, it re-explains the preceding second passage on embracing merit and virtue, divided into two parts: first, clarifying the purpose of the sūtra's introduction; and second, from 'the powerful majesty' onward, explaining the correspondence of the powerful majesty. It re-explains the abundance of merit to induce joy and delight. The explanation of the correspondence of the powerful majesty has two parts: first, the outline; and second, the correspondence. In the correspondence there are three points: first, the capability of the powerful majesty; second, the correspondence of abundance; and third, clarifying who is able to speak it. Under powerful majesty, first is the correspondence to the text; second is explaining the text; and third is explaining difficult points. Meeting Dīpaṅkara Buddha, Śākyamuni was abiding at the beginning of the eighth bhūmi, hence an asaṃkhyeya kalpa. 'Exceeding an asaṃkhyeya' means going even beyond that, referring to the two great kalpas from the seventh bhūmi down to the first bhūmi, when he first met Ratnaśikhin Buddha, up to his present attainment of buddhahood. This is the comparison of offerings among the noble ones. Or, going even further back to the first kalpa, since first meeting Śākyamuni Buddha, three great kalpas have elapsed; hence the verse in the Kośa says: 'In three incalculable kalpas, in reverse order he met Vipaśyin, Dīpaṅkara, and Ratnaśikhin Buddhas, the first being Śākyamuni.' According to that school's explanation, in the first kalpa he met Śākyamuni; thereafter he made offerings to 57,000 Buddhas; at the beginning of the second kalpa he met Ratnaśikhin Buddha; thereafter he made offerings to 67,000 Buddhas; at the beginning of the third kalpa he met Dīpaṅkara Buddha; thereafter he made offerings to 77,000 Buddhas. Upon the completion of the three great kalpas, for one hundred kalpas he cultivated the karma for the retribution of the marks; first he met Vipaśyin Buddha, which is translated as 'Superior Contemplation'—only because of standing on tiptoe he surpassed nine kalpas, which is why the sūtra says: 'ninety-one kalpas, Vipaśyin Buddha.' Thereafter for thirty kalpas he met Śikhin Buddha and Viśvabhū Buddha, until the completion of the ninety-first kalpa, when he met the past three Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa. In this kalpa of persistence, during the first five kalpas no Buddha appeared in the world; in the sixth kalpa there was Krakucchanda Buddha, in the seventh kalpa there was Kanakamuni Buddha, in the eighth kalpa there was Kāśyapa Buddha, and in this ninth kalpa Śākyamuni appeared. According to the Mahāyāna, Master Paramārtha explains: in the first great kalpa he made offerings to Buddhas as many as the sands of five Ganges rivers; in the second kalpa he made offerings to Buddhas as many as the sands of six Ganges rivers; in the third kalpa he made offerings to Buddhas as many as the sands of seven Ganges rivers. According to the Nirvāṇa-sūtra, the bodhisattvas of the four reliances altogether made offerings to Buddhas as many as the sands of twenty-six Ganges rivers from first to last before attaining bodhi. Now Ruchiruci's version says: 'Before Dīpaṅkara, I met eighty-four hundred-thousand nayutas of koṭis of Buddhas'; Kumārajīva's version says: 'I met eight hundred and forty million billion nayutas of Buddhas'; Paramārtha's version says: 'I met eighty-four thousand hundred-thousand koṭis of Buddhas'; the Vajracchedikā says: 'I met eighty-four koṭi-nayuta-hundred-thousands of Buddhas.' Although the names calculated differ and the numbers vary in magnitude, they do not contradict each other; they are merely spoken tentatively with respect to what was encountered at a single stage, each relying on a general statement, so the principle and numbers are difficult to know. A bodhisattva of the first bhūmi, merely at his initial level, is able to see one hundred Buddhas; one hundred Buddhas means one hundred hundred billion. In this way, on higher stages the Buddhas encountered are extremely numerous; why here does it only mention this much? Therefore we know it is tentatively spoken with respect to what was encountered at a single stage. Kumārajīva's version only has 'one asaṃkhyeya' and lacks the phrase 'exceeding an asaṃkhyeya', whereas all other versions have it.