肇論 1.18

1.18

夫般若虛玄者，蓋是三乘之宗極也。誠真一之無差，然異端之論，紛然久矣。有天竺沙門鳩摩羅什者，少踐大方，研機斯趣。獨拔於言象之表，妙契於希夷之境；齊異學於迦夷，揚湻風於東扇。將爰燭殊方而匿糴涼土者，所以道不虛應，應必有由矣。弘始三年，歲次星紀，秦乘入國之謀，舉師以來之意也。北天之運，數其然也。大秦天王者，道契百王之端，德洽千載之下，游刃萬機，弘道終日，信季俗蒼生之所天，釋迦遺法之所仗也。時乃集義學沙門五百餘人於逍遙觀，躬執秦文，與什公參定方等。其所開拓者，豈謂當時之益，乃累劫之津梁矣。余以短乏，曾廁嘉會，以為上聞異要，始於時也。然則聖智幽微，深隱難測。無相無名，乃非言象之所得。為試罔象其懷，寄之狂言耳，豈曰聖心而可辨哉！試論之曰：

Now, prajñā, empty and profound, is indeed the culmination of the triyāna. Truly it is the singular real without divergence, yet heterodox discourses have long been in contention. There is the Indian śramaṇa Kumārajīva, who in his youth trod the Great Way and investigated the subtleties of this purport. He stood uniquely beyond words and forms, and subtly accorded with the realm of the silent and formless; he rivaled different traditions in Kapilavastu, and spread the pure breeze eastward. When about to illuminate distant lands, he concealed his brilliance in the Liang territory; this was because the Way does not respond in vain, but when it responds, there is surely a reason. In the third year of Hongshi, the year being Xingji, the Qin planned an expedition into the state, raising an army with the intent of bringing him. This was the destiny of the Northern Heavens, its timing being naturally so. The Heavenly King of Great Qin accords in his Way with the beginning of the hundred kings, and his virtue embraces a thousand generations; gliding easily through the ten thousand affairs of state, he propagates the Way all day long; he is truly relied upon as heaven by the populace of this degenerate age, and leaned upon by the bequeathed teachings of Śākyamuni. At that time, he gathered over five hundred śramaṇas versed in doctrine at the Xiaoyao Garden, personally held the Qin texts, and collated the vaipulya scriptures together with Kumārajīva. What they opened up was surely not merely a benefit for their own time, but a bridge spanning countless kalpas. Incompetent and lacking as I am, I once took part in that auspicious gathering, and consider that my hearing of supreme and extraordinary essentials began at that time. However, the sage's wisdom is subtle and profound, deeply concealed and difficult to fathom. Being without characteristics and nameless, it cannot be captured by words or images. Attempting here to vaguely trace what lies in my mind, I merely express it in unrestrained words; how could I claim to analyze the holy mind! Let us tentatively discuss it, saying: