[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [涅槃玄義發源機要](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1766) › 1.15.2 # 涅槃玄義發源機要 1.15.2 涅槃玄義發源機要 1.15.2 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.15.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1766.1.15.2) 又一梵名具含多義，不可累說，由是不翻。 義豈可多者，此師不許一名含多義也。 「但一」下，正示己義，還引此方息字為例。 問：多訓與多義，豈不同耶？ 答：不同。 如訓子息時，但有子息一義，故子息名下更無多義。 此皆人師情見如此，蓋匪通方。 或訓長息者，以生長訓息也。 暫時消息者，此以調養為消息。 報示消息者，此以音信為消息。 一名四實者，先陀婆一名，而有鹽器水馬之四實。 智臣善解者，〈菩薩品〉云「如是四物共同一名，有智之臣善知此名。 若王洗時索先陀婆即便奉水，若王食時索先陀婆即便奉鹽，欲飲奉器，欲行奉馬。 」經喻如來密語，唯大乘智臣應當善知。 四等者，謂慈悲喜捨也。 亦曰四無量，無量從境，四等從心。 境雖無量，我心常等。 以輕代重者，以智慧翻般若也。 真丹者，或云震旦、旃丹、指那、指難，皆梵音賖切也。 若準《華嚴》，翻為漢地。 又《婆沙論》中有二音：一云指那，此云文物國，即讚美此方是衣冠文物之地也。 二云指難，此云邊鄙，即貶挫此方非中國也。 《西域記》翻摩訶支那為大漢國。 或謂日出東隅其色如丹。 故云震旦、真丹者，此皆訛也。 竺道生者，竺姓也，道生名也。 本姓魏，鉅鹿人，幼而穎悟，聰哲若神。 後值沙門竺法汰，遂改俗受業，因姓竺也。 言涅槃聖者，初生遊長安，從羅什請法，關中僧眾咸謂神悟。 後還建康住青園寺，寺即晉恭思皇后褚氏種青之處，因以為名。 以六卷泥洹先至京都，生剖析經理洞入幽微，乃說闡提皆得成佛，遂撰十四科。 其第十眾生有佛性義云「經言闡提無者，欲擊勵惡行之人，非實無也。 」以其見惡明無、無惡必有，抑揚當時。 誘物之妙，豈可守文哉。 于時大本未傳，孤明先發，獨見忤眾。 於是舊學以為邪說譏憤滋甚，遂顯大眾擯而遣之。 生於大眾中正容誓曰：「若我所說反於經義者，請於現身即表癘疾。 若與實相不相違背者，願捨壽之時踞師子座。 」言竟拂衣而遊。 初投吳虎丘山，旬日之中學徒數百。 其年夏雷震青園佛殿，龍升于天，光影西壁，因改寺名龍光。 時人嘆曰：「龍既去已，生必行矣。 」俄而投迹廬山，銷影巖岫之中，僧眾咸共敬服。 後涅槃大本至于南京，果稱闡提悉有佛性，與前所說合若符契。 既獲斯經，尋即講說，以宋元嘉十一年冬十一月庚子，於廬山精舍升于法座，神色開明德音俊發。 論議數番窮理盡妙，觀聽之眾莫不悟悅。 法席將畢，忽見麈尾紛然而墜，端坐正容隱几而卒，顏色不異似若入定。 於是京邑諸僧內慚自疾，追而信伏。 其人鑒之至，徵瑞如此。 甞著《涅槃記》，事跡委如梁傳第九。 其於涅槃獨見若此，故時人美之為聖。 「引」下，文引唱滅速滅，即是譯人翻涅槃為滅也。 「前家」下，今師判也。 前謂生公，後指莊嚴唱滅速滅，但約生身，故云止滅。 於生復滅滅者，亦滅涅槃也。 二邊俱滅，故稱寂滅。 白馬引第二文，長干引第十五文，定林引第五文。 瘡疣，即二死也。 梁武引二十三文，因中用智名斷，果上惑盡名不生。 「叡師」下，叡公釋論序也。 秦言者，秦有亡秦、符秦、姚秦、乞伏秦，今云秦者姚秦，亦曰德秦，以符秦為前秦也。 叡乃什公門人，即姚秦時也。 方冊者，即此土經籍也。 《禮記．中庸篇》曰「文武之政布在方冊」，鄭玄注云「方，版； 策，簡也。 」或曰：一扎曰簡，連編諸簡曰冊。 故《左傳．序》曰「大事書之於冊，小事簡牘而已。 」梵音不可變者，謂不可翻也。 唐三藏明不可翻，凡有五例：一祕密，如陀羅尼。 二多含，如薄伽梵。 三此方無，如閻浮樹。 四順古，如阿耨菩提。 五生善，如般若。 今涅槃不翻，應在生善、多含之例。 即時書之者，即，就也。 匠者，謂師，謂什公也。 受者，謂資，謂筆受之人也。 謹，敬也。 > Furthermore, a single Sanskrit word contains multiple meanings that cannot be expressed repeatedly, and for this reason it is left untranslated. Regarding "How could there be multiple meanings?": this master does not allow a single word to contain multiple meanings. From "Merely one" below, he directly shows his own meaning, turning back to quote the Chinese character \*xi\* (息) as an analogy. Question: How are multiple glosses and multiple meanings not the same? Answer: They are not the same. For instance, when glossing \*zixi\* (子息, offspring), there is only the single meaning of offspring; hence under the word \*zixi\* there are no longer multiple meanings. These are all subjective opinions of human teachers and do not grasp the overarching principle. Some gloss it as \*zhangxi\* (長息, growth/extension), glossing \*xi\* in the sense of production and growth. In the case of \*zhanshi xiaoxi\* (暫時消息, temporary recuperation), here it takes recuperation/nourishment as \*xiaoxi\*. In the case of \*baoshi xiaoxi\* (報示消息, reporting news), here it takes news/correspondence as \*xiaoxi\*. Regarding "One name with four referents": \*saindhava\* is a single name, yet it has the four referents of salt, vessel, water, and horse. Regarding "A wise minister understands well": the "Bodhisattva Chapter" says: "Such four things share a single name; a wise minister understands this name well. If the king, when washing, asks for \*saindhava\*, he immediately offers water; if the king, when eating, asks for \*saindhava\*, he immediately offers salt; when wishing to drink, he offers a vessel; when wishing to travel, he offers a horse." The sūtra uses this as an analogy for the Tathāgata's esoteric words: only a wise minister of the Great Vehicle should understand them well. The "four equals" refer to loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. They are also called the four immeasurables; "immeasurable" derives from the objective sphere, while "four equals" derives from the mind. Although the objective sphere is immeasurable, my mind is constantly equal. Regarding "Replacing the weighty with the light": this is translating \*prajñā\* as "wisdom" (智慧). Regarding \*Zhendan\* (真丹): it is alternatively called \*Zhendan\* (震旦), \*Zhandan\* (旃丹), \*Zhina\* (指那), or \*Zhinan\* (指難); these are all loose phonetic transcriptions of the Sanskrit sound. According to the \*Avataṃsaka-sūtra\*, it is translated as "the land of the Han." Furthermore, in the \*Vibhāṣā-śāstra\* there are two phonetic renderings: one is \*Zhina\*, translated here as "land of culture and institutions" (文物國), which praises this region as a place of robes, caps, culture, and institutions; the second is \*Zhinan\*, translated here as "border hinterland" (邊鄙), which depreciates this region as not being the Central Kingdom. The \*Records of the Western Regions\* translates \*Mahācīna\* as "Great Han Country." Some claim that because the sun rises in the eastern quarter and its color is like cinnabar (丹), it is called \*Zhendan\* (震旦 or 真丹); these are all erroneous. Regarding Zhu Daosheng: Zhu was his surname and Daosheng was his personal name. His original surname was Wei, and he was a native of Julu. From his youth he was sharp and perceptive, brilliant and discerning as if divine. Later he met the śramaṇa Zhu Fatai, whereupon he abandoned secular life and received instruction, adopting the surname Zhu accordingly. Regarding the "Sage of Nirvāṇa": at first Daosheng traveled to Chang'an and requested the Dharma from Kumārajīva; the saṃgha in Guanzhong all regarded him as having divine comprehension. Later he returned to Jiankang and resided at Qingyuan Temple; this temple was where Empress Gongsitu of the Jin, née Chu, planted greenery, and it was named after this. Because the six-fascicle \*Nirvāṇa Sūtra\* arrived first in the capital, Daosheng analyzed the principles of the sūtra and penetrated deeply into their subtleties; he then asserted that even icchantikas can all attain Buddhahood, and subsequently composed fourteen topics. His tenth topic, "The Meaning of Sentient Beings Possessing Buddha-Nature," stated: "When the sūtra says that icchantikas lack it, this was intended to stimulate and encourage people of evil deeds; it is not that they truly lack it." Because he saw that evil deeds clarify absence, and without evil deeds there must be presence, this was an encouragement and moderation for that time. How could such wondrous guidance of beings be bound by literal words? At that time the full version had not yet been transmitted; this solitary illumination emerged first, and his single insight clashed with the multitude. Thereupon the scholars of the old learning regarded it as heterodox teaching, and their mockery and indignation grew increasingly severe; they eventually assembled the great assembly and expelled him. Facing the great assembly with a composed expression, Daosheng made a vow: "If what I have spoken goes against the meaning of the sūtras, I pray that in this present life I may manifest a pestilential disease; if it does not contradict the true mark, may I sit upon the lion seat at the time of relinquishing my lifespan!" Having spoken, he shook his robes and departed. He first went to Mount Huqiu in Wu; within ten days he had several hundred disciples. In the summer of that year, thunder struck the Buddha hall of Qingyuan Temple, a dragon ascended into the sky, and its light cast a shadow upon the western wall; therefore the temple's name was changed to Longguang. People of the time sighed and said: "Now that the dragon has gone, Daosheng will surely depart." Soon after, he retired to Mount Lu, concealing his shadow among the cliffs and peaks; the saṃgha all revered and submitted to him. Later, when the full text of the \*Nirvāṇa Sūtra\* arrived in the Southern Capital, it indeed stated that icchantikas all possess Buddha-nature, matching what he had previously spoken like two halves of a tally. Once he obtained this sūtra, he immediately lectured on it. On the \*gengzi\* day of the eleventh month in winter of the eleventh year of the Yuanjia era of the Song dynasty, he ascended the Dharma seat in the Mount Lu monastery; his demeanor was bright and clear, and his virtuous voice burst forth brilliantly. Through several rounds of debate, he exhausted the principles and penetrated the subtleties; none among the audience failed to be enlightened and delighted. As the Dharma session was drawing to a close, his deer-tail flywhisk was suddenly seen to fall; he sat upright with a dignified countenance, leaned against his armrest, and passed away, his complexion unchanged, appearing as if entering meditative absorption. Thereupon the monks of the capital felt inwardly ashamed and self-condemned, subsequently believing and submitting. Such was the utmost depth of his insight, and such were the auspicious signs. He once authored the \*Notes on Nirvāṇa\*; the details of his career are fully recorded in the ninth fascicle of the \*Liang Biographies of Eminent Monks\*. His solitary insight into nirvāṇa being such, people of the time praised him as a sage. From "Quoting" below, the text quotes "announcing extinction and swift extinction"; this refers to the translator rendering \*nirvāṇa\* as "extinction." From "The former master" below, our present master passes judgment. "The former" refers to Venerable Daosheng, while "the latter" indicates \[the master of\] Zhuangyan \[Temple\]. Announcing extinction and swift extinction only pertain to the physical body of birth; hence he says "merely extinction." "Extinguishing extinction upon birth" means also extinguishing nirvāṇa. Both extremes are extinguished, and so it is called quiescence. Baima Temple quotes the second text, Changgan Temple quotes the fifteenth text, and Dinglin Temple quotes the fifth text. Ulcers and warts refer to the two kinds of death. Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty quotes the twenty-third text: employing wisdom in the cause is called cutting off, while the exhaustion of delusions in the fruition is called non-arising. From "Master Rui" below, this is Master Sengrui's preface to the commentary. "The speech of Qin": among Qin dynasties, there were the Former Qin of the Zhou, the Former Qin of Fu, the Later Qin of Yao, and the Western Qin of Qifu; what is now called Qin is the Yao Qin, also called Virtuous Qin, with Fu Qin considered the Former Qin. Sengrui was a disciple of Kumārajīva, which was during the Yao Qin period. "Wooden boards and bamboo tablets" refer to the classical texts of this land. The "Doctrine of the Mean" in the \*Book of Rites\* states: "The governance of Kings Wen and Wu is set forth on wooden boards and bamboo tablets." Zheng Xuan's commentary states: "\*Fang\* are wooden boards; \*ce\* are bamboo tablets." Some say: a single slip is called a tablet (\*jian\*), and multiple tablets strung together are called a bound volume (\*ce\*). Therefore the preface to the \*Zuo tradition\* states: "Major affairs were written on bound volumes; minor affairs on bamboo and wooden tablets." "Sanskrit sounds cannot be changed" means that they cannot be translated. The Tripiṭaka Master of the Tang explained untranslatability as having five categories: first, the esoteric, such as dhāraṇīs; second, multiple meanings, such as \*bhagavat\*; third, non-existence in this region, such as the jambu tree; fourth, following antiquity, such as \*anuttara-bodhi\*; fifth, giving rise to goodness, such as \*prajñā\*. Now \*nirvāṇa\* being left untranslated should fall under the categories of giving rise to goodness and containing multiple meanings. Regarding "Written down at that time": \*ji\* (即) means "taking up/proceeding to." The "master" (匠) refers to the teacher, meaning Kumārajīva. The "receiver" (受) refers to the disciple, meaning the person who took down the dictation. "Respectful" (謹) means reverent. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 1.15.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1766.1.15.1) - [Next: 1.15.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1766.1.15.3) - [Up: 1.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1766.1.15) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1766~en-mt.1.15.2) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1766.1.15.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1766.1.15.2) · Pramāṇa