肇論 1.5

1.5

Having lingered in lecture halls for over twenty years, I occasionally took the high seat, yet had not seen this treatise until recently. I now present a brief preface to entrust my comprehension within it. Those who agree with me are my worthy friends; for the rest, I await future wise ones. The profound meaning of the great division is named original non-being; thus, the established doctrine is marked by dharmatā. For opening the way of the Dharma of emptiness, nothing surpasses the two truths; therefore, the two truths are explained next to reveal the gateway of the Buddha's teaching. However, the cause of perfect correctness is the unsurpassed prajñā, and the culmination of the fruit is only nirvāṇa; therefore, at the end, the twofold mystery is opened to illuminate the dwelling place of all the sages. Although svabhāva-śūnyatā is used to intimate the root, there is no root that can be named; speaking of the root cuts off speech, for it is not a sphere of mental activity. Hence, immutability corresponds to the conventional, and the conventional is unarisen; the untrue is the true, and the true is merely a nominal designation. If one can be open and unrestrained, honouring this single path, with pure ears and an open heart, saying nothing of the two truths, then the efficacy of pure illumination becomes manifest, and thus prajñā is unknowing. The virtue of the nameless arises, and nirvāṇa is beyond naming. I maintain that this exposition is complete and fully exhausts the Buddha's profound ocean, vastly boundless, fathoming the essence and characteristics of phenomena. Although the words are concise, the meaning is rich; the text is ornate, yet the principles are profound. The momentum of the phrasing is interlinked, yet the meaning is truly solitary and lofty. Dare I say that of all exceedingly wondrous and fine words, none do not exhaust themselves in this grand treatise. Hence Kumārajīva sighed in praise: 'Foremost in understanding emptiness—Master Sengzhao is the man!' These words were not without foundation; they are evident in his letters. But "The Fundamental Doctrine" is aloof, and none can pose an objection to it; whereas the four treatises such as "The Immutability [of Things]" open up practical guidance, analysing subtleties through questions and answers, which is why they are called treatises.