The Ladder's Summit
The doubling ladder reaches its end — through the asaṃkhyeya itself and eight more superlatives already familiar from earlier fascicles, each now given its own doubled "turning," until the chain stops at a single named number too large for any prior word. The Buddha's praise verses then open on the same theme: what counting cannot reach.
The Ladder's Summit
Thirty-three rungs remain. A short run of plain Chinese words gives way to the asaṃkhyeya itself, and from there the ladder alternates between eight already-familiar superlatives — measureless, boundless, unequalled, uncounted, unreckoned, inconceivable, immeasurable, unspeakable — and a doubled "turning" of each, ending on the single largest number the chapter names.
馱麼羅馱麼羅為一鉢攞麼陀，鉢攞麼陀鉢攞麼陀為一毘伽摩，毘伽摩毘伽摩為一烏波跋多，烏波跋多烏波跋多為一演說，演說演說為一無盡，無盡無盡為一出生，出生出生為一無我，無我無我為一阿畔多，阿畔多阿畔多為一青蓮華，青蓮華青蓮華為一鉢頭摩，鉢頭摩鉢頭摩為一僧祇，僧祇僧祇為一趣，趣趣為一至，至至為一阿僧祇，阿僧祇阿僧祇為一阿僧祇轉，阿僧祇轉阿僧祇轉為一無量，無量無量為一無量轉，無量轉無量轉為一無邊，無邊無邊為一無邊轉，無邊轉無邊轉為一無等，無等無等為一無等轉，無等轉無等轉為一不可數，不可數不可數為一不可數轉，不可數轉不可數轉為一不可稱，不可稱不可稱為一不可稱轉，不可稱轉不可稱轉為一不可思，不可思不可思為一不可思轉，不可思轉不可思轉為一不可量，不可量不可量為一不可量轉，不可量轉不可量轉為一不可說，不可說不可說為一不可說轉，不可說轉不可說轉為一不可說不可說，此又不可說不可說為一不可說不可說轉。」
A Tuomeluo of Tuomeluos make one Boluometuo. A Boluometuo of Boluometuos make one Pigamo. A Pigamo of Pigamos make one Wubobaduo. A Wubobaduo of Wubobaduos make one Expounded. An Expounded of Expoundeds make one Endless. An Endless of Endlesses make one Arising. An Arising of Arisings make one Selfless. A Selfless of Selflesses make one Apanduo. An Apanduo of Apanduos make one Blue Lotus. A Blue Lotus of Blue Lotuses make one Padma. A Padma of Padmas make one Saṃkhya. A Saṃkhya of Saṃkhyas make one Destiny. A Destiny of Destinies make one Arrival. An Arrival of Arrivals make one Asaṃkhyeya. An Asaṃkhyeya of Asaṃkhyeyas make one Turning of the Asaṃkhyeya. The Turning of the Asaṃkhyeya, squared, makes one Measureless. A Measureless of Measurelesses make one Turning of the Measureless. The Turning of the Measureless, squared, makes one Boundless. A Boundless of Boundlesses make one Turning of the Boundless. The Turning of the Boundless, squared, makes one Unequalled. An Unequalled of Unequalleds make one Turning of the Unequalled. The Turning of the Unequalled, squared, makes one Uncounted. An Uncounted of Uncounteds make one Turning of the Uncounted. The Turning of the Uncounted, squared, makes one Unreckoned. An Unreckoned of Unreckoneds make one Turning of the Unreckoned. The Turning of the Unreckoned, squared, makes one Inconceivable. An Inconceivable of Inconceivables make one Turning of the Inconceivable. The Turning of the Inconceivable, squared, makes one Immeasurable. An Immeasurable of Immeasurables make one Turning of the Immeasurable. The Turning of the Immeasurable, squared, makes one Unspeakable. An Unspeakable of Unspeakables make one Turning of the Unspeakable. The Turning of the Unspeakable, squared, makes one Unspeakably Unspeakable. This Unspeakably Unspeakable, squared once more, makes one Turning of the Unspeakably Unspeakable."
此又不可說不可說為一不可說不可說轉 — this Unspeakably Unspeakable, squared once more, makes one Turning of the Unspeakably Unspeakable. This closes the ladder begun in Part 567: one hundred and twenty-three rungs, each the square of the one before it, ending on a number this chapter names but never writes out. It is, by the ordinary rules of exponents, almost impossible to compare to anything — which appears to be exactly the point of naming it at all.
From the asaṃkhyeya onward, the ladder alternates a plain superlative with its own "turning" — a doubled form of the same word. This translation renders 轉 as "Turning" throughout, so that 阿僧祇轉, for instance, becomes "the Turning of the Asaṃkhyeya," a distinct named quantity one step beyond the asaṃkhyeya itself.
Where the Verses Begin
With the last number named, the Buddha turns to verse. The opening lines do not explain the ladder just given — they turn instead to buddha-lands ground into dust, and dust too fine and too many for even that great a number to hold.
不可言說不可說，充滿一切不可說，不可言說諸劫中，說不可說不可盡。
不可言說諸佛剎，皆悉碎末為微塵，一塵中剎不可說，如一一切皆如是。
此不可說諸佛剎，一念碎塵不可說，念念所碎悉亦然，盡不可說劫恒爾。
此塵有剎不可說，此剎為塵說更難，以不可說算數法，不可說劫如是數。
以此諸塵數諸劫，一塵十萬不可說，爾劫稱讚一普賢，無能盡其功德量。
Unspeakable, and unspeakable again, fills the whole of the unspeakable; within kalpas beyond all speech, speaking of the unspeakable is never exhausted.
Unspeakable buddha-lands, every one of them ground entirely into fine dust; within a single mote of that dust are unspeakable lands, and as with one, so it is with all.
These unspeakable buddha-lands, ground into dust in a single thought-moment, are themselves unspeakably many; what is ground in thought after thought is likewise so, constantly, through unspeakable kalpas.
Within this dust are unspeakable lands; to speak of these lands ground into dust is harder still; using a method of reckoning that is itself unspeakable, one counts through unspeakable kalpas in just this way.
Using these dust motes to count the kalpas, each single mote holding a hundred thousand unspeakable amounts — through that many kalpas praising a single Samantabhadra, none could exhaust the measure of his merit.
爾劫稱讚一普賢，無能盡其功德量 — through that many kalpas praising a single Samantabhadra, none could exhaust the measure of his merit. The ladder of numbers just completed turns out not to be the point of the chapter — it is the unit of measure for a claim about Samantabhadra's merit, which the verses go on to say exceeds even that ladder's summit.
Part 569 Complete
This continues chapter thirty, 阿僧祇品, in fascicle forty-five. Part 570 continues the praise verses, following the image of a single hair-tip that somehow holds countless buddha-lands within it.