一切經音義 41.38

41.38

Bright star (明星: the character 明 [ming], according to the Shuowen, derives from [囗@(儿/口)], which is pronounced [鬼 + 永] j-iǒng [jiǒng], and from 月 [moon]. [囗@(儿/口)] represents a window. A 'star' is one of the stars of the Five Elements. The expression 'bright star' does not mean there is a bright star every single day; rather, it refers to Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, or Mercury occasionally appearing near the sun at dawn. Observers of heavenly omens know that the sun will soon rise; therefore, the sūtras occasionally speak of the 'bright star.' The Buddha used this star near the sun as a metaphor, meaning that the Bodhisattva Maitreya borders on the stage of Buddhahood. The old interpretation claims that in the Western Regions, when observing the night, they watched three bright stars—first a white star, next a green star, and then a red star; this greatly departs from the meaning of the sūtra and is a fabricated explanation).