釋氏要覽 2.86

2.86

梵云阿那律。秦言如意。指歸云。古之爪杖也。或骨角竹木。刻作人手指爪。柄可長三尺許。或脊有痒。手所不到。用以搔抓。如人之意。故曰。如意。誠甞問譯經三藏通梵大師清沼。字學通慧大師雲勝。皆云。如意之制。蓋心之表也。故菩薩皆執之。狀如雲葉。又如此方篆書心字故。若局爪杖者。只如文殊亦執之。豈欲搔痒也。又云。今講僧尚執之。多私記節文祝辭於柄。備於忽忘。要時手執目𭄈。如人之意。故名如意。若俗官之手版。備於忽忘。名笏也。若齊高祖賜隱士明僧紹竹根如意。梁武帝賜昭明太子木犀如意。石季倫王敦皆執鐵如意此必爪杖也。因斯而論則有二如意。蓋名同而用異焉。

In Sanskrit it is called anaridu (anuruddha/anuratha?); in the language of Qin it is called 'ruyi' (as you wish). The Zhigui says: It was an ancient scratcher staff. Made of bone, horn, bamboo, or wood, carved into human fingers and nails, with a handle about three feet long. If there was an itch on the back where the hand could not reach, it was used to scratch it, just as one wished; hence it was called 'ruyi'. I once asked the Tripiṭaka translator Master Qingzhao, who was versed in Sanskrit, and Master Yunsheng, who was versed in philology and wisdom; both said: The form of the ruyi is an emblem of the mind. Therefore bodhisattvas all hold it, shaped like a cloud leaf, and also resembling the seal character for 'mind' (xīn) in this land. If it were restricted to a scratcher staff, why would Mañjuśrī also hold it? Could he want to scratch an itch? They also said: Today lecturing monks still hold it, mostly writing private notes of sections and prayers on the handle to prepare against forgetfulness; when needed, they hold it in hand and look at it, just as they wish; hence it is called 'ruyi'. It is like the hand tablet of secular officials prepared against forgetfulness, called a hù. As for Emperor Gaozu of Qi bestowing a bamboo-root ruyi on the hermit Ming Sengshao, Emperor Wu of Liang bestowing a lignum aloes ruyi on Crown Prince Zhaoming, and Shi Jilun and Wang Dun both holding iron ruyi—these must have been scratcher staffs. Concluding from this, there are two kinds of ruyi, which share the same name but differ in use.