說無垢稱經疏 1.2

1.2

詳夫實際凝空、啟玄樞於不二，權方孕道、演妙寶於無三，或顯敞鴻猷、高謝金輪之業，或密開冲最、俯贊玉璞之緒，咸欲清炎楚慧雨、蕩渠溺以慈津，指九有而會十空、徵八解而敷七覺，至哉赫矣，難得而名焉。今此經者，含眾旨之大虛、綰群筌之天沼，理窮真俗之府、迹軼心言之外，杳神機而靡測、湛粹德而難思，變百億於足按、運三千於掌握，合蓋羅於萬像、彰塵岳之危浮，丈室總八希、照真場而永淨，納妙高於毫芥、境均大小，灌巨海於蹄涔、織齊寬狹，闡玄門之祕鍵、移覺苑之道獲，出朽宅之牛軒、渡洋河之象駕，所以西靡玉諜、東耀金姿，競賞一真、已經六譯。既而華梵懸隔、音韻所乖，或髣髴於遵文，而糟粕於玄旨。大師皎中宗於行月、鏡圓教於情臺，維絕紐而裕后昆、緝頹綱以格前範，陶甄得失、商搉詞義，載譯此經或遵真軌。說無垢稱經序品第一者，振金聲於金口、揚玉字於玉麾，警濤群聰、宣暢云說，道融真宰、業檀靈機，韜紫袂以潛儀、偶玄儒以耀彩，或權或實、示寢疾而演大方，乍隱乍顯、假對揚以光體命，播英聲之十子皆詞道屈、標灌頂之一人承威纔暗，既清梵行且肅神㯲，雅譽遠彰名無垢稱。經者，貫也攝也，貫二理而不虧、攝四生而莫墜。序者，由也始也，陳教起之因由、作法興之漸始。品者，類也別也，區分玄旨、條貫幽筌，類別而彰，目之為品。此經部成六卷，合有一十四品。今此建初，故名第一。

Consider that the actual limit freezes in the void, opening the profound pivot in non-duality; expedient means conceive the Way, expounding the wondrous jewel beyond the three [vehicles]. At times it openly displays a grand scheme, loftily relinquishing the enterprise of the golden wheel [of universal kingship]; at times it secretly unfolds the utmost profundity, humbly extolling the lineage of the uncarved jade. All of it desires to extinguish burning distress with the rain of wisdom and to wash away drowning misery in the ford of compassion; it points to the nine realms of existence and resolves them into the ten emptinesses; it adduces the eight liberations and unfolds the seven factors of awakening. How supreme and radiant! It is difficult to find a name for it. Now, as for this sūtra, it is the vast void that contains myriad doctrines, the heavenly reservoir that unites all traps [of language]. Its principle exhausts the treasury of the ultimate and the conventional; its traces transcend the realm of thought and speech. Remote in spiritual function, it cannot be fathomed; profound in pure virtue, it is inconceivable. It transforms a hundred koṭis with the press of a foot and moves the three-thousandfold [world] in the palm of a hand. Canopies joined together encompass the myriad forms; it reveals the precarious evanescence of dust-heaped mountains. The ten-foot-square room unites the eight rarities, illuminating the true field to be eternally pure. It receives Meru into a hair's tip or mustard seed, their realms equal in magnitude; it pours the great ocean into a hoof-print puddle, woven equally in breadth. It opens the secret key of the profound gateway, transplants the harvest of the Way into the garden of awakening, leads forth the ox-drawn carriage from the decaying mansion, and conveys the elephant mount across the vast river. For this reason, in the West it adorned jade tablets, and in the East it shone with golden radiance; competing to appreciate the one truth, it has already undergone six translations. Yet, between China and India there is a vast gulf, and their sounds and rhythms diverge; some translators approximate following the text, yet leave the profound purport as mere dregs. The Great Master [Xuanzang] shone like the moving moon upon the Middle Doctrine, mirrored the complete teaching upon the platform of the mind, bound together the severed cords to enrich posterity, and repaired the fallen nets to establish an exemplar for the past. Shaping and judging the successes and shortcomings, debating and weighing words and meanings, he translated this sūtra afresh, faithfully following the true track. As for the 'Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra, Chapter 1: Introduction,' it tolls a golden sound from a golden mouth, and unfurls jade words beneath jade banners; it startles like surging waves the multitude of listeners, and proclaims and unfolds its discourse. The Way merges with the true ruler; deeds dominate the spiritual agency. Cloaking his purple sleeves to conceal his deportment, he matched Taoists and Confucians to display his brilliance; whether expedient or real, he manifested illness in bed to expound the great teaching; now hidden, now manifest, relying on dialogue and response to illuminate his fundamental mandate. The ten disciples who broadcast eminent renown all found their path of words subdued; the one man distinguished by coronation, upon receiving his awe-inspiring power, was almost eclipsed. Having purified his pure conduct and solemnized his spiritual mantle, his elegant fame spread afar, so he is named Vimalakīrti. 'Sūtra' means to string together and to gather: it strings together the two principles without deficiency, and gathers the four modes of birth so that they do not fall. 'Introduction' (xu) means cause and beginning: it sets forth the causes from which the teaching arose, and serves as the gradual beginning of the emergence of the Dharma. 'Chapter' (pin) means category and distinction: it distinguishes profound principles and organizes abstruse expressions into categories; being manifested through such classification, it is termed a 'chapter.' This sūtra comprises six fascicles in total, containing fourteen chapters. Now, as this is established at the beginning, it is therefore called the first.