淨名玄論 2.5

2.5

眾聖敷經，凡有二種：一者直說不別立名，如《大品》等，九十章內無有侍者問名、如來答題。良以一部明波若事顯，即知是波若經，不煩別立；二者說經亦立名字，如云「此經名為大般涅槃」，良由名義未彰故須別立。此立名不立名一雙也。就自立名之中，復有二種：一佛自立，如云「為諸聲聞說是大乘經名妙法蓮華」；二待問方立，如《金剛波若》待善吉問名，如來始答。此謂自他一雙。就自立名中，復有二種：一序品已立，如《金光明》之流；二就正說方立，眾經多爾。此序正一雙也。待問立名中，復有二種：一說經未竟，隨一義說，即立名字，亦如小波若等；二就說經究竟方始立名，此經是矣。謂前後一雙也。就說經竟立名，復有二種：一者但立一名，眾經多爾；二者立於多名，即《淨名》等是也，故云一名維摩詰經，二名不可思議解脫法門。此一多一雙也。眾經雖多，立名所由，略明十義。問：華嚴一部，何故文無立名？答：此經凡有十萬偈，傳譯未盡，立名當在後也。至長安，見僧曇法師從于闐還，於彼處見《龍樹傳》云：華嚴凡有三本，大本有三千大千世界微塵偈一四天下微塵品，中本有四十九萬八千八百偈一千二百品，此二本並在龍宮，龍樹不誦出也。唯誦下本，十萬偈三十六品。此土唯有三萬六千偈三十四品，故知華嚴名數在數分矣。菩提流支云：佛滅度後六百年，龍樹從海宮持出也。

When the noble ones expound sūtras, there are two kinds: first, directly expounding without separately establishing a title, as in the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā and others, where within the ninety chapters there is neither an attendant asking for the title nor the Tathāgata answering with the title. This is truly because throughout the entire work the clarification of prajñā is obvious, so one immediately knows it is a prajñā sūtra, without needing to establish a title separately. Second, expounding the sūtra and also establishing its name, as when it says, 'This sūtra is named the Mahāparinirvāṇa,' which is truly because the meaning of the title was not yet apparent and therefore needed to be separately established. This is the pair of establishing a title and not establishing a title. Within self-establishment of a title, there are again two kinds: first, the Buddha establishes it himself, as when it says, 'For the sake of the śrāvakas, expound this Mahāyāna sūtra named Saddharmapuṇḍarīka'; second, waiting for a question before establishing it, as when in the Vajracchedikā-prajñāpāramitā he waited for Subhūti to ask for the name before the Tathāgata answered. This is called the pair of self and other. Within the Buddha establishing it himself, there are again two kinds: first, establishing it in the introductory chapter, like the Suvarṇaprabhāsa and its kind; second, establishing it only upon reaching the main discourse, as is the case with most sūtras. This is the pair of introduction and main discourse. Within establishing the title upon waiting for a question, there are again two kinds: first, before the exposition of the sūtra is finished, establishing the name following any single meaning expounded, as in the shorter Prajñāpāramitā and so forth; second, establishing the name only upon the completion of the sūtra's exposition, which is the case with this sūtra. This is called the pair of earlier and later. Regarding establishing the title at the completion of expounding the sūtra, there are again two kinds: first, establishing only a single name, as is the case with most sūtras; second, establishing multiple names, which is the case with the Vimalakīrti and others, hence it says, 'One name is the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, and the second is the Dharma Gate of Inconceivable Liberation.' This is the pair of one and many. Although sūtras are numerous, the reasons for establishing their names may be briefly explained through ten meanings. Question: Why is there no establishment of a title in the text of the entire Avataṃsaka? Answer: This sūtra originally had one hundred thousand verses, but its transmission and translation are not yet complete, so the establishment of the title should be at the end. When I arrived in Chang'an, I met Dharma Master Sengtan, who had returned from Khotan and had seen the Biography of Nāgārjuna there, which stated: 'The Avataṃsaka has three recensions in all: the large recension has verses as numerous as the dust motes of a trichiliocosm and chapters as numerous as the dust motes of a four-continent world; the middle recension has 498,800 verses and 1,200 chapters; both of these recensions are in the dragon palace, and Nāgārjuna did not chant them out. He only chanted out the short recension of 100,000 verses and 36 chapters.' In this land, there are only 36,000 verses and 34 chapters; hence we know that the title and enumeration of the Avataṃsaka lie in the subsequent parts. Bodhiruci said: 'Six hundred years after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, Nāgārjuna brought it forth from the ocean palace.'