仁王護國般若經疏 1.3

1.3

陳隋間天台智者，遠稟龍樹立一大教，九傳而至荊谿，荊谿後又九傳而至新羅法融，法融傳理應，應傳瑛純，皆新羅人，以故此教播於日本，而海外盛矣。屬中原喪亂，典籍蕩滅，維此教是為不可亡者，亦難乎其存也。然杲日將出而曉霞先升，真人應運而文明自見，我有宋之初，此教乃漸航海入吳越，今世所傳三大部之類是也。然尚有留而不至，與夫至而非其本真者。仁王經疏先至有二本，眾咸斥其偽。昔法智既納日本信禪師所寄辟支佛髮，答其所問二十義，乃求其所謂仁王經疏。信即授諸海舶，無何中流大風驚濤，舶人念無以息龍鼉之怒，遽投斯疏以慰安之。法智乃求強記者二僧詣信，使讀誦以歸，不幸二僧死于日本。至元豐初，海賈乃持今《仁王疏》三卷來四明，於是老僧如恂因緣得之。其文顯而旨微、言約而意廣，以秦譯為本，義勢似觀心論疏，實章安所記智者之說也。恂道孤而寡偶、學古而難知，食貧而力不足，無以為此經毫髮之重，每指而歎曰：「其來晚。學而艱如此。寧封野馬而飽蠹魚，不能下几案以視人。」嗚呼！此疏曾不得輩行於三大部中，而匿光瘞彩，猶若海外之遠歟？恂今年七十有六歲，乃一日抱之而泣曰：「殆將與吾俱滅邪？吾前日之志非也。」遇嵩山晁說之曰：「盍不為我序而流通之？」說之自顧：「何足以與此？」亦嘗有言曰：「智者若生齊梁之前，則達磨不復西來矣。盡法性為止觀，而源流釋迦之道，囊槖達磨之旨。今方盛於越中，異日會當周於天下。豈獨是書之不可掩哉。顧予老不及見之為恨。」姑序其所自云爾。

During the Chen and Sui periods, Master Zhizhe of Tiantai, having remotely inherited Nāgārjuna's lineage, established a great teaching. Transmitted through nine generations, it reached Jingxi [Zhanran]. After Jingxi, it was transmitted through another nine generations to the Silla monk Pŏmyung. Pŏmyung transmitted it to Iŭng, and Iŭng transmitted it to Yŏngsun; they were all people of Silla. For this reason, this teaching spread to Japan and flourished overseas. When the Central Plains suffered warfare and chaos, canonical texts were wiped out; only this teaching was one that could not perish, yet it was also difficult to preserve. However, as the bright sun is about to emerge, the morning clouds rise first; when a true person responds to the turning point of fortune, cultural brilliance naturally appears. At the beginning of our Song dynasty, this teaching gradually sailed across the sea and entered Wu and Yue; the works like the three major treatises transmitted in the present age are examples of this. Yet there were still some texts that remained behind and did not arrive, as well as those that arrived but were not authentic originals. There were two editions of the Commentary on the Sūtra of the Benevolent Kings that had arrived earlier, but everyone rejected them as spurious. Formerly, after receiving the pratyekabuddha hair sent by Zen Master Shin of Japan and answering his twenty inquiries on doctrine, Fazhi [Zhili] requested the commentary he had referred to as the Commentary on the Sūtra of the Benevolent Kings. Shin then entrusted it to a seafaring vessel. Before long, amidst the voyage, violent winds and alarming waves arose. Thinking there was no other way to appease the wrath of the dragons and scaly beasts, the mariners hastily cast this commentary into the sea to pacify them. Fazhi then sought out two monks with strong memories to visit Shin, directing them to recite and memorize it to bring it back; unfortunately, the two monks died in Japan. At the beginning of the Yuanfeng reign, a maritime merchant finally brought the present three-fascicle Commentary on the Benevolent Kings to Siming. Thereupon, the elderly monk Ruxun obtained it through fortunate circumstances. Its prose is clear while its gist is subtle; its words are concise while its meaning is broad. Taking the Qin translation as its base, the momentum of its meaning resembles the Commentary on the Treatise on the Contemplation of Mind; in truth, it was recorded by Zhang'an from the exposition of Zhizhe. Xun's way was solitary and companionless; he studied the ancient teachings, which are difficult to understand, lived in poverty, and lacked resources, having no means to enhance the weighty importance of this sūtra by even a hair's breadth. He would frequently point to it and sigh, saying: 'It arrived so late! Studying it is so difficult! I would rather lock it up amidst dust and let the silverfish gorge on it than bring it down from the desk to show others.' Alas! How could this commentary fail to rank alongside the three major treatises, remaining with its light concealed and its brilliance buried, as if still as remote as the overseas lands? This year, Xun is seventy-six years old. One day, embracing it, he wept and said: 'Is it about to perish along with me? My previous resolve was wrong!' Encountering Chao Shuozhi of Mount Song, he said: 'Why not write a preface for me to circulate it?' Shuozhi considered himself: 'How am I worthy to participate in this?' Yet he once remarked: 'If Zhizhe had been born before the Qi and Liang dynasties, Bodhidharma would not have had to come to the East. Zhizhe exhausted dharmatā to establish śamatha-vipaśyanā, tracing the source of Śākyamuni's Way and encapsulating the purport of Bodhidharma. Now it is flourishing in Yue; in days to come, it will surely spread throughout the world. How could this text alone be concealed? I only regret that I am too old to live to see it.' Thus I provide this brief preface regarding its origins.