維摩經義記卷第四 4.29

4.29

第二句當令汝等未曾有食已下。即玄許其所須。非常之食。此食凡有三義。一者食之能使身適神悅。二者香味異常。三者食之令人悟道。不准常類故名未曾有也。又解。雖然昔八解。今法但除因累。身子報身果累未亡。猶須食以療之。故懸許其所須。

The second sentence, from "I shall cause you to obtain food such as you have never had before" downward, forthwith implicitly promises what he needed: extraordinary food. This food has three meanings in all. First, eating it makes the body comfortable and the spirit delighted. Second, its fragrance and taste are extraordinary. Third, eating it causes people to awaken to the path. Because it is not according to the ordinary standard, it is called "unprecedented." Another explanation: although the past eight liberations and the present Dharma only eliminate the encumbrance of causes, the encumbrance of the karmic retribution body of Śāriputra has not yet ceased, and he still needs food to cure it; therefore, he implicitly promised what he needed.