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【作是語已。五體投地。大眾一心。佇佛慈音。瞪瞢瞻仰。】
「作是語已」：阿難說完了這話以後，五體投地」：和大眾都五體投地。「大眾一心」，「佇佛慈音」：等著佛慈悲音聲來開示。「瞪瞢瞻仰」：就是瞪著眼睛好像看不見東西似的。瞪著眼睛，不眨眼，不閉眼，但是什麼都看不見，這叫瞪瞢瞻仰。瞻仰什麼呢？瞻仰佛，等著佛說話。
【爾時世尊。讚阿難言。善哉善哉。汝等乃能。普為大眾。及諸末世。一切眾生。修三摩地。求大乘者。從於凡夫。終大涅槃。懸示無上正修行路。汝今諦聽。當為改說。阿難大眾。合當到刳心。默然受教。】
「爾時」：當爾之時。當什麼時候呢？就是大眾瞪瞢瞻仰的時候。「世尊讚阿難言」：世尊看阿難和大眾這樣的誠懇，所以就讚歎阿難說，「善哉善哉」：你真是個善男子，你好得很。「汝等乃能」：你們這些有學問的人，乃能「普為大眾」：乃能不為自己，不為己求，事為大眾，就是不自私自利。「及諸末世」：和所有末世的「一切眾生」，「修三摩地」：修正定正受。「求大乘者」：修大乘菩薩法，想修菩薩道，自利利他這樣的人。「從於凡夫」：從凡夫到「終大涅槃」：終止於大涅槃的果位上。涅槃，就是不生不滅。「懸示無上，正修行路」：你想預先懸示。懸，是還沒有到時候，就想知道。懸示無上，就是預先知道正修行路。為什麼叫懸示呢？因為現在他們正在發心，正在求大乘法的時候，還沒有證到大涅槃。可是雖沒到大涅槃的果位上，而他們現在就想知道這種修行的方法，所以這叫懸示無上，正修行路，眞正修行的道路。
「汝今諦聽」：你現在諦視而聽，注意聽。「當為汝說」：我現在可以給你們大家講說。「阿難大眾，合掌刳心」：阿難和在會所有的大眾合起掌來刳心。什麼叫刳心？就是把心裡的雜念，癡心妄想，狂心野性，五利使，身邊戒見邪，五鈍使，貪瞋癡慢疑，這些種種的東西，都踢出去，不要了，就好像我們用木頭刻舟一樣，把大的木頭中間挖空了，拿它當舟一樣。這表示我們人心裡雜念太多了，現在要把這些雜念都踢出去，都弄乾淨了，所以這叫合掌刳心。大眾刳心。「默然受教」：大家都默默然不講話，來聽世尊開示。
【佛言。阿難。當知。妙性圓明。離諸名相。本來無有。世界眾生。】
「佛言，阿難」：佛對阿難說，阿難，你應該知道「妙性圓明」：本來這妙覺明性，本來的覺性，就是本來的自性，也就是本來的佛性，是圓明的。「離諸名相」：它什麼名字也沒有，你說出一個名字已經有執著了。這個妙性，微妙的性，「離諸名相」：什麼名相都沒有，也沒有名，也沒有相。《金剛經》上說，凡所有相，所有一切有相的東西，皆是虛妄，都是虛妄的，若見諸相非相，你要看見所有的相等於虛空一樣，即見如來，就是見到佛的法身了。你因為沒除去執著相，見了什麼相，就著了什麼相，所以就有了相。本來這妙覺性是沒有名相的，為什麼沒有名相呢？因為本來沒有一個世界，也沒有一個眾生，有世界、有眾生，都因為起惑造業，而有了眾生受果報。
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Sutra:
Having said this, he made a full prostration, and then the great assembly singlemindedly awaited the sound of the Buddha's compassionate voice as they gazed up unblinking with respectful admiration.
Commentary:
After Ananda had said this, he made a full prostration. He and everyone in the five limbs--their head, arms, and legs—on the ground in full obeisance.
And then the great assembly single-mindedly awaited the sound of the Buddha's compassionate voice as they gazed up unblinking with respectful admiration. They gazed with such fixed intensity that it was as if they could not see. They waited expectantly for the Buddha to speak. What do you suppose the Buddha is going to say?
Sutra:
At that time, the World Honored One praised Ananda, saying, "Good indeed, good indeed. You can for the sake of the entire great assem-bly and those beings of the final age, ask to have explained and revealed the unsurpassed proper path of cultivation that takes one from the level of an ordinary person to final Parinirvana. Listen attentively, and I will speak about it for you."
Ananda and everyone in the assembly placed their palms together, cleansed their minds, and silently waited to receive the teaching.
Commentary:
At that time refers to the period when the great assembly was gazing up unblinkingly with respectful admiration.
The World Honored One praised Ananda. He perceived how sincere Ananda and the great assembly were, so he praised him,
saying, "Good indeed, good indeed, you are certainly a good person."
You can for the sake of the entire great assembly and those beings of the final age... It is excellent that you who still have something left to study can seek for the sake of everyone and not just for yourselves. You are not being selfish or seeking self-benefit in doing this. You are doing it for everyone assembled here and also for beings to come in the future who cultivate samadhi and who want to practice the Great Vehicle dharmas of benefitting themselves and benefitting others, and so you
ask to have explained and revealed the unsurpassed proper path of cultivation that takes one from the level of an ordinary person to final Parinirvana. Nirvana is the fruition where there is neither production nor extinction. You haven't arrived at it yet, but you wish to know about the proper way to get there. Listen attentively, and I will speak about it for you. Pay close attention. I am willing to explain it for you."
Ananda and everyone in the assembly placed their palms together, cleansed their minds, and silently waited to receive the teaching. "Cleansed their minds" means that they cast out their extraneous thoughts, the false thinking of their conscious mind--their mad mind and wild nature. They got rid of the five quick causes,
1. the view of a body
2. prejudiced views
3. the view of unbeneficial precepts
4. opinionated views
5. deviant views
Just as one hollows out a log to make a boat, they hollowed out their minds so that they could receive the teaching. At this point no one spoke. They were silent as they waited for Shakyamuni Buddha to begin his explanation.
Sutra:
"Ananda, you should know that the wonderful nature is perfect and bright, apart from all names and appearance. Basically there is no world, nor are there any living beings."
Commentary:
The Buddha said, "Ananda, you should know that the wonderful nature is perfect and bright. The Buddha nature, the self-nature, the bright nature of enlightenment—all refer to this wonderful nature which is
apart from all names and appearance." As the
Vajra Sutra puts it, whatever has an appearance is empty and false. If one sees all appearances as having no appearance, one sees the Thus Come One.
But you can't get rid of appearances. Whatever you see you become attached to. That's why there are appearances. Basically there are no appearances in the wonderful nature. Nor are there any names. Why aren't there any names or appearances?
"Basically there is no world, nor are there any living beings." Only because one gives rise to delusion and creates karma is there a world in which living beings undergo retribution.
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