法華文句記 1.5

1.5

言主、味者，主興不易，復經四味方演此經，故知初二誠為不易。言歎教者，傳譯不易，經涉山海，雖至此土，民主道合、國無諸難，方可傳故。言歎行者，稟承南岳證不由他，宿植所資妙悟斯發。言自省者，自幸得聞，謙已輒記。故《玄．序》云：「江陵稟受玄旨，建業方聽經文，補接纔成一遍而已」，況二十七聽、六十九治，始末四十餘年，乃成第七修補復難。於傳譯前加結集難，合為八難，以結集時亦假王臣大眾和合，若魔若外令不得便。添謂添破古師及引經論，謂斥非以顯是；削謂削其繁長及成文體，使文約而義豐。破古不全我已，加彼異見故但云添；削乃唯在於已，初記繁芿故須云削。故《玄．序》云：「或以經論誠言符此深妙，或標諸師異解驗彼非圓」。

Regarding "master and flavor": it is not easy for the Master to arise, and moreover only after passing through the four flavors did he expound this sūtra; thus we know the first two are truly not easy. Regarding "praising the teaching": transmission and translation are not easy; passing across mountains and seas, although [the texts] arrived in this land, only when ruler and subjects were in harmony with the Way and the state was free from various tribulations could they be transmitted. Regarding "praising the practice": receiving [the teaching] from Nányuè, his realization did not depend on others; supported by what was planted in past lives, this wondrous awakening unfolded. Regarding "self-examination": being fortunate to have heard it oneself, he humbly undertook to record it. Thus the preface to the Profound Meaning says: "At Jiangling I received the profound import; only at Jianye did I hear the sūtra text. Patching and piecing it together, I barely completed one version"; how much more so having heard it at twenty-seven and revised it at sixty-nine—from beginning to end over forty years, only then completing the seventh revision, so correcting it was also difficult! Adding the difficulty of the compilation [of the canon] before transmission and translation makes eight difficulties altogether, because at the time of the compilation it also required the harmony of kings, ministers, and the great assembly, preventing Māra or non-Buddhists from gaining an advantage. "Adding" refers to adding refutations of ancient masters and citing sūtras and treatises, meaning rejecting what is wrong to reveal what is right. "Pruning" refers to pruning redundancies and perfecting the textual style, making the text concise and the meaning rich. In refuting the ancients, the fault was not entirely one's own, but because their divergent views were added, it is merely called "adding"; pruning pertained solely to oneself, because the initial record was overgrown and tangled, so it must be called "pruning." Thus the preface to the Profound Meaning says: "Either using the truthful words of sūtras and treatises to accord with this profound wonder, or marking the divergent interpretations of various masters to demonstrate that they are not perfect."