佛祖統紀 1.94

1.94

The preface says: The people of the world all know that the Tathāgata belongs to the sacred kṣatriya clan, but in the end none can fully clarify the rationale behind the successive establishment of the names Gautama and Śākya. One must understand that when speaking of Gautama, there are four meanings: either 'pure and virtuous' or 'most supreme'—these are designations taken from his original virtue; or 'sugar-cane' or 'solar lineage'—these are spoken with respect to his original circumstances. As for the designation Śākya, there are three names: establishing the title based on virtue, it means 'able and benevolent'; designating the name according to place, it is called 'Sākiya' and 'Straight Grove'. However, the rise of Śākya actually appeared with the four sons of the Sugar-cane King. Since 'sugar-cane' in Sanskrit is Gautama, the designation Śākya in fact emerged from Gautama. Earlier Gautama and later Śākya, although there are two appellations, are in truth a single surname. Former people listed the Solar Lineage, Sugar-cane, and Sākiya together as five clans, confusing origin and branches without any proper standard. Therefore, I now treat this thoroughly so that later generations will not be confused.