大般涅槃經義記 1.12

1.12

經為能詮，外國正音名修多羅，此翻名線，以能貫穿一切法相，如線貫華，是故就喻說之為線。而言經者，線能貫華，經能持緯，其用相似，故復名經。若依俗訓，經者常也，教之一法，經古歷今，恒有曰常。

The sūtra is that which expresses. The correct sound in foreign lands is sūtra, which is translated here as "thread" [or "warp-string"]: because it can thread through all marks of dharmas just as a thread strings flowers, it is called a thread by way of metaphor. As for saying "scripture" (jing): a thread can string flowers, and warp-threads can hold the weft; their functions are similar, hence it is also called a scripture (jing). According to worldly glosses, jing means constant: as a dharma of teaching, it passes through the ancient and traverses the present, and being ever-existent, it is called constant.