翻譯名義集 3.131

3.131

[Śāla] This means "firm and solid." Northern Yuan says: "Because it does not alter in winter or summer, it is named firm and solid." The *Record of the Western Regions* says: "This tree resembles the *hu* oak, but its bark is greenish-white, its leaves are very glossy, and four trees are exceptionally tall." The *Pronunciation and Meaning of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra* translates it as "lofty and distant"; its forest rises high and towering, surpassing other forests. The *Later Part [of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra]* says: "The śāla forest is twelve yojanas in length and breadth, and the assemblies of devas and humans are all completely filled throughout it. The sharp tip of a single needle accommodates boundless multitudes, with no gap in between, not obstructing one another." The *Great Sūtra* says: "The pair in the eastern direction signifies the permanent and the impermanent; the pair in the southern direction signifies bliss and non-bliss; the pair in the western direction signifies the self and the non-self; the pair in the northern direction signifies the pure and the impure. There is a pair in each of the four directions, hence they are named the 'twin trees'; each direction has one withered and one flourishing." The *Later Part* says: "The pair in the east is behind the Buddha; the pair in the west is in front of the Buddha; the pair in the south is at the Buddha's feet; the pair in the north is at the Buddha's head. After he entered nirvāṇa, the two pairs in the east and west merged into one tree; the two pairs in the south and north also merged into one. Both merged pairs drooped down and covered the Tathāgata; the trees were desolate and grieved, and all turned white."