無量壽經優婆提舍願生偈註 1.58

1.58

此二句名莊嚴身業功德成就。佛本何故莊嚴如此身業？見有佛身受一丈光明，於人身光不甚超絕，如轉輪王相好亦大同。提婆達多所減唯一，致令阿闍世王以茲懷亂、刪闍耶等敢如蟷蜋，或如此類也，是故莊嚴如此身業。案：此間詁訓，六尺曰尋。如《觀無量壽經》言「阿彌陀如來，身高六十萬億那由他恒河沙由旬，佛圓光如百億三千大千世界。」譯者以尋而言，何其晦（木代反）乎！里舍間人不簡縱橫長短，咸謂橫舒兩手臂為尋。若譯者或取此類用準阿彌陀如來舒臂為言故稱一尋者，圓光亦應徑六十萬億那由他恒河沙由旬。是故言相好光一尋，色像超群生。

These two lines are called the accomplishment of the adornment of merits of bodily karma. Why did the Buddha originally adorn such bodily karma? He saw that there are bodies of Buddhas that receive only a ten-foot light, which does not greatly surpass the light of human bodies, and their primary and secondary marks are largely identical to those of a wheel-turning king. Devadatta lacked only one mark, which led King Ajātaśatru to harbor confusion because of this, and Sañjaya and others dared [to oppose the Buddha] like mantises [blocking a chariot]; such instances exist, which is why he adorned such bodily karma. Note: According to local glosses, six Chinese feet are called a xun. As the Sūtra on the Contemplation of Immeasurable Life states: "The Tathāgata Amitābha has a body six hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of Ganges sands of yojanas in height, and the Buddha's circular halo is like a hundred kotis of trichiliocosms." How obscure it is for the translator to speak in terms of a xun! Common folk make no distinction between horizontal, vertical, long, or short, and all refer to extending both arms horizontally as a xun. If the translator perhaps took this kind of usage to model it on the Tathāgata Amitābha extending his arms, and thus called it "one xun", then the circular halo should also have a diameter of sixty myriad koṭis of nayutas of Ganges sands of yojanas. Therefore it is said: "The light of his marks and signs is one fathom; / His physical form surpasses all living beings."