分別功德論 1.15

1.15

時阿難說經無量，誰能備具為一聚？（經無量者，十二部經浩漫甚多，適時而說不論次緒，或說一事也）乃云十事。或說十事乃論二事，或說三事乃說十一事，上下不次不得為一聚。或有說者，如來說法，或說教誡、或說斷結、或說生天人中。以是言之，復不得為一聚。阿難思惟，一便從一、二從二、三四五六乃至十，各令事類相著。或有說者理不可爾，按如佛語不可次比也。阿難復思惟：「經法浩大，當分作三聚。」阿難獨生此念，首陀會天密告阿難曰：「正當作三分耳。」即如天所告，判作三分：一分契經；二分毘尼；三分阿毘曇。契經者佛所說法。或為諸天帝王、或為外道異學，隨事分別，各得開解也。契者，猶線，連屬議理使成行法，故曰契也。毘尼者，禁律也。為二部僧說撿惡𣫍非，或二百五十、或五百事，引法防姦。猶王者祕藏，非外官所司，故曰內藏也。此戒律藏者亦如是，非沙彌、清信士女所可聞見，故曰律藏也。阿毘曇者，大法也。所以言大者，四諦大慧諸法牙旗，斷諸邪見無明洪癡，故曰大法也。亦名無比法。八智十慧無漏正見，越三界閡無與等者，故曰無比法也。迦旃延子撰集眾經，抄撮要慧呈佛印可，故名大法藏也。

At that time, the sūtras spoken by Ānanda were immeasurable; who could completely compile them into a single collection? (That the sūtras are immeasurable means that the twelve divisions of scripture are vast and numerous; they were spoken according to the occasion without regard to sequence, or spoken about a single matter.) Or it spoke of ten matters; or it spoke of ten matters and then discussed two matters; or it spoke of three matters and then spoke of eleven matters; being inconsistent from top to bottom, they could not be made into a single collection. Or someone said: When the Tathāgata preached the Dharma, he sometimes spoke of instructions, sometimes spoke of severing fetters, and sometimes spoke of rebirth among devas or humans. Stated in this way, they again could not be made into a single collection. Ānanda thought: "One should follow one, two should follow two, three, four, five, six, up to ten; let each category of matter be connected to its kind." But someone said: "In principle it cannot be so; according to the words of the Buddha, they cannot be ordered in this sequence." Ānanda again thought: "The sūtras and Dharma are vast; they should be divided into three collections." As Ānanda alone gave rise to this thought, a deva of the Śuddhāvāsa secretly told Ānanda: "They should indeed be made into three divisions." Thereupon, according to what the deva told him, he divided them into three parts: the first part is the sūtras; the second part is the vinaya; the third part is the abhidharma. The sūtras are the Dharma spoken by the Buddha. Whether for devas, kings, or heterodox practitioners of other teachings, he distinguished matters according to the situation, so that each attained awakening. "Sūtra" (qì) is like a thread; it connects and orders principles so that they become practices of the Dharma; hence it is called "sūtra". The vinaya consists of the prohibitive rules. Spoken for the two assemblies of monastics to examine wrongdoing and rectify faults, whether two hundred and fifty or five hundred rules, it adduces the Dharma to guard against transgressions. It is like a king's secret treasury, not governed by external officials; hence it is called the inner treasury. This repository of precepts is also like this: it is not something that śrāmaṇeras or pure laymen and laywomen may hear or see; hence it is called the vinaya basket. The abhidharma is the great Dharma. The reason it is called great is that the great wisdom of the four truths is the foremost banner of all dharmas, severing all wrong views and the vast ignorance of delusion; hence it is called the great Dharma. It is also called the peerless Dharma. The eight knowledges, the ten wisdoms, and anāsrava right view surpass the obstacles of the three realms, with nothing equal to them; hence it is called the peerless Dharma. Kātyāyanīputra compiled the various sūtras, extracted the essential wisdom, and presented it to the Buddha for endorsement; hence it is called the repository of the great Dharma.