起信論疏筆削記 17.41

17.41

In [the explanation of] the first [point], the general [statement], the commentary states: "The present recompense..." That is, attaining true enlightenment with this very body represents the complete fulfillment of the merits of the self-enjoyment body. The śāstra states: "...the realm of the ultimate of form..." Because the summit of the form realm is the boundary of form. "The highest and largest body..." The body of the Akaniṣṭha heaven is sixteen thousand yojanas in size; the king of the Paranirmitavaśavartin heaven is thirty-two thousand yojanas. A bodhisattva of the tenth bhūmi manifests as the sovereign of the Paranirmitavaśavartin heaven with a body double that size, hence it is called "highest and largest," because no material body exceeds this heaven. The commentary states: "The subsequent recompense..." Because this only arises in reliance on the previous recompense body, it is the complete fulfillment of the merits of the other-enjoyment body as well. However, when the cause is exhausted and the fruit is revealed, the two characteristics are merely distinguished in principle; temporally there is no before and after, and the present and subsequent recompenses are likewise simultaneous. For example, when the night ends, it is immediately dawn—how could one distinguish before and after? Maheśvara means Great Sovereign. "Abode of wisdom": the place where the wisdom of an omniscient person arises; hence a sūtra states that Maheśvara, in a single thought, can know the number of raindrops in a trichiliocosm.