佛祖歷代通載 11.45

11.45

（二十八）　六月。帝撰大唐三藏聖教序成。御慶福殿百官陪位。宣法師玄奘升殿賜座。勅弘文館學士上官儀。以序對群臣宣讀。霞煥錦舒極褒揚之美。其辭曰。蓋聞。二儀有像。顯覆載以含生。四時無形。潛寒暑以化物。是以窺天鑑地。庸愚皆識其端。明陰洞陽。賢哲罕窮其數。然而天地包乎陰陽而易識者。以其有象也。陰陽處乎天地而難窮者。以其無形也。故知像顯可徵。雖愚不惑形潛莫覩。在智猶迷。況乎佛道冲虛乘幽控寂。宏濟萬品典御十方。舉威靈而無上。抑神力而無下。大則彌於宇宙。細則攝於毫釐。無滅無生。歷萬劫而不古若隱若顯。運百福而長今。妙道凝玄。遵之莫知其際。法流湛寂。揖之莫測其原固知蠢蠢凡愚區區庸鄙。投其旨趣能無疑惑者哉。然則大教之興基於西土。騰漢庭而皎夢。照東域而流慈。昔者分形分迹之時。言未馳而成化。當常現常之世。民仰德而知遵。及乎晦迹歸真遷儀越世。金容掩色。不鏡三千之光。麗像開圖空端四八之相。於是微言廣被。拯含類於三塗遺訓遐宣。導群生於十地。然而真教難仰。莫能一其旨歸。曲學易遵。邪正於焉紛糾。所以空有之論。或習俗而是非。大小之乘。乍沿時而隆替。有玄奘法師者。法門之領袖也。幼懷貞敏。早悟三空之心。長契神情。先包四忍之行。松風水月。未足比其清華。仙露明珠。詎能方其朗潤。故以智通無累神測未形。超六塵而逈出。敻千古而無對。凝心內境。悲正法以陵遲。棲慮玄門。慨深文之訛闕。思欲分條析理廣彼前聞　截偽續真開茲後學。是以翹心淨土往游西域。乘危遠邁仗策孤征。積雪晨飛塗閒失地。驚沙夕起空外迷天。萬里山川潑烟霞而進影。百重寒暑。躡霜露而前蹤。誠重勞輕求深願達。周游西宇十有七年。窮歷異邦詢求正教。雙林八水味道飡風。鹿苑鷲峯瞻奇仰異。承至言於先聖。受真教於上賢。探賾妙門精窮奧義。一乘五律之道馳驟於心田。八藏三篋之文。波騰於口海爰自所歷之國。總將三藏要文凡六百五十七部。譯布中夏宣揚勝。業引慈雲於西極。注法雨於東垂。聖教闕而復全。蒼生罪而還福。濕火宅之乾焰。共拔迷途朗愛水之昏波同臻彼岸。是知惡因業墜善以緣升。升墜之端唯人所記。譬夫桂生高嶺。零露方得泫其華蓮出綠波。飛塵不能污其葉。非蓮性自潔而桂質本貞。良由所附者高則微物不能累。所憑者淨則濁類不能沾。夫以卉木無知。猶資善而成善。況乎人倫有識。不緣慶而求慶。方冀茲經流施。將日月而無窮。斯福遐敷。與乾坤而永大。於是御筆親書。綴于新經之首。法師奉表。謝曰。六爻探賾。局於生滅之場。百物正名。未涉真如之境。遠惟羲冊覩奧不測其神遐想軒圖歷選普歸其美。恭惟陛下玉毫降質金輪御天。廓先王之九州。掩百千之日月。廣利代之區域。納恒沙之法界。遂使給孤精舍盡入提封。貝葉靈文咸歸冊府。玄奘往因振錫聊謁崛山。經途萬里。怙天威如咫步。匪乘千葉。詣雙樹如食頃。搜揚三藏。盡龍宮之所儲。研究一乘。窮鷲嶺之遺旨。並已載於白馬還獻紫宸。尋蒙下詔勅使翻譯。玄奘識乖龍樹。謬忝傳燈之榮。才異馬鳴。深愧瀉瓶之敏。所譯經論紕舛尤多。遂荷天威留神製序。文超象繫之表。理括眾妙之門。忽以微生親聞梵響。踊躍歡喜如聞授記。無任感荷之極。手勅答曰。朕才謝珪璋言慚博達。至於內典尤所未聞昨製序文深慚鄙拙。穢翰墨於金簡。標瓦礫於珠林。忽得來書謬承褒讚。循躬省慮彌益厚顏。善不足稱虛勞致謝。

(28) In the sixth month, the Emperor completed the composition of the *Preface to the Holy Teaching of the Tripiṭaka of the Great Tang*. He presided in the Qingfu Hall with the civil and military officials in attendance. He summoned Dharma Master Xuanzang to ascend the hall and bestowed upon him a seat, and decreed that Shangguan Yi, Academician of the Hongwen Institute, read the preface aloud to the assembled ministers. Resplendent as clouds and elegant as unfolding brocade, it reached the pinnacle of praise. Its text said:
'Now, I have heard that the Two Modes (Heaven and Earth) have forms, revealing covering and bearing so as to contain living beings; the Four Seasons have no shapes, invisibly moving cold and heat to transform things. Therefore, when peering at Heaven and observing Earth, even the ignorant discern their rudiments; yet when illuminating the yin and penetrating the yang, even sages and wise men rarely fathom their full measures. That Heaven and Earth encompass yin and yang yet are easily known is because they possess forms; that yin and yang abide within Heaven and Earth yet are difficult to fathom is because they lack physical shapes. Thus we know that when forms are manifest and verifiable, even the foolish will not be perplexed; but when forms are hidden and cannot be seen, even the wise remain confused.
'How much more so with the Buddha-way, which is vacuous and subtle, riding into obscurity and commanding stillness! It extensively salvages the myriad kinds and presides over the ten directions. In exerting its majestic spiritual presence, nothing is above it; in repressing its divine powers, nothing is beneath it. In its greatness, it fills the universe; in its minuteness, it is contained within a fine hair. Without extinction and without arising, it traverses myriad kalpas without growing old; appearing now hidden and now manifest, it exercises a hundred blessings and is ever present. Its wondrous Way condenses the mysterious: following it, none can know its boundary; its Dharma stream is serene and still: ladling it, none can plumb its source. Truly we know that the teeming common fools and the humble mediocrities—how could they harbor no doubts or confusion upon encountering its purport?
'Now, the rising of this Great Teaching was grounded in the Western Lands. It soared into the Han court as a luminous dream, and shone upon the eastern regions with flowing compassion. In ancient times, when the Buddha divided his forms and traces, his transformation was accomplished before words had spread; in the era when he constantly manifested his eternal presence, the people revered his virtue and knew to follow it. But when his traces grew hidden and he returned to truth, changing his deportment and passing beyond this world, his golden countenance concealed its splendor, no longer reflecting the light of the three thousand worlds; his beautiful images unfolded in paintings, bearing the thirty-two marks in vain. Thereupon, the subtle words were broadly disseminated to rescue beings in the three paths; his bequeathed instructions were proclaimed far and wide to guide all creatures across the ten stages.
'Yet the True Teaching is difficult to venerate, and none could unify its fundamental purports. Twisted doctrines were easily followed, and heterodoxy and orthodoxy became entangled. Hence, regarding the discourses on emptiness and existence, people adopted customs to judge right and wrong; the Vehicles of Greater and Lesser alternately rose and declined with the changing times.
'There is Dharma Master Xuanzang, a leader of the Dharma gate. In his youth he harbored a pure and keen mind, early awakening to the principle of the three kinds of emptiness; grown up, he accorded with spiritual nature, first embracing the practice of the four patiences. The wind through pines and the moon over water are insufficient to match his pristine elegance; immortal dew and brilliant pearls can hardly equal his bright lucidity. Therefore, with his wisdom penetrating without impediment and his spirit fathoming what has not yet formed, he soars far beyond the six dusts, standing matchless across a thousand ages.
'He focused his mind on inner realms, lamenting the decline of the True Dharma; he reposed his thoughts in the mysterious gate, sorrowing over the corruptions and deficiencies in the profound texts. He wished to distinguish the points and analyze the principles to broaden previous learning, and to cut away falsehoods and continue the truth to inspire later students. Therefore, setting his mind on the Pure Land, he traveled to the Western Regions, braving perils to journey far, leaning upon his staff on a solitary expedition. The drifting morning snows flew, obliterating the path across the ground; startling sandstorms rose in the evening, obscuring the sky into boundless void. Across ten thousand li of mountains and rivers, he pressed his shadow through mist and vapor; through a hundred cycles of winter and summer, he trod upon frost and dew to advance his steps. His sincerity was deep and his toils seemed light; his pursuit was profound and his aspiration was achieved.
'He traveled through the Western Realms for seventeen years, thoroughly journeying through alien lands to seek out the Correct Teaching. At the Twin Trees and the Eight Rivers, he savored the Way and dined on the wind; at the Deer Park and the Vulture Peak, he beheld the wonders and revered the extraordinary. He received the ultimate words from previous sages, and took the True Teaching from superior worthies. Exploring the depths of the wondrous gate, he thoroughly investigated the profound purports. The paths of the One Vehicle and the Five Vinayas galloped through the field of his mind; the scriptures of the eight piṭakas and the three baskets surged like waves in the sea of his mouth.
'From the countries he traversed, he brought back essential texts of the Tripiṭaka totaling six hundred and fifty-seven works. He translates and distributes them throughout China, proclaiming superior deeds; he draws the cloud of compassion from the western edge and pours the Dharma rain upon the eastern realm. What was missing from the holy teaching is restored to completeness; the sins of the common people are turned back into blessings. He moistens the dry flames of the burning house, together plucking beings from the paths of delusion; he brightens the dark waves of the river of craving, together reaching the other shore.
'From this we know that evil falls through karmic retribution, while good ascends through causes and conditions; the origins of ascending and falling are recorded only by the individual. For instance, when cassia grows on high peaks, falling dew is able to moisten its flowers; when a lotus emerges from green waves, flying dust cannot soil its leaves. It is not that the nature of the lotus is inherently clean and the substance of the cassia inherently pure, but rather that because what it clings to is high, petty things cannot encumber it; because what it relies on is pure, turbid matters cannot taint it. Now, if insentient plants and trees still rely on good to become good, how much more so should human beings with consciousness seek blessings by relying on auspicious conditions?
'It is hoped that the dissemination of these scriptures will be endless like the sun and moon, and that these blessings will spread far and wide, remaining forever great with Heaven and Earth.'
Thereupon, [the Emperor] wrote it out with his own imperial brush and appended it to the beginning of the newly translated scriptures.
The Dharma Master presented a memorial expressing his gratitude, which stated: 'Probing the depths of the six lines [of the hexagrams] is limited to the realm of arising and ceasing; the rectification of names of all things does not enter the sphere of Suchness (tathatā). Reflecting back to Fuxi's records, one sees their profundity yet cannot fathom their divinity; thinking afar to the charts of the Yellow Emperor, across all selections their virtues universally converge. Respectfully I reflect that Your Majesty, with a substance descended like the white curl (ūrṇā) and ruling the heavens with the Golden Wheel, has expanded the nine provinces of the ancient kings, outshining hundreds of thousands of suns and moons; You have broadened the territory of previous reigns and embraced Dharma realms numerous as the sands of the Ganges. As a result, the Anāthapiṇḍada monastery has completely entered the imperial domain, and the sacred texts on palm-leaves have all returned to the imperial archives.
'In the past, having shaken my monk's staff, Xuanzang briefly visited Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa. Across ten thousand li of journey, relying on the imperial majesty, it felt like a mere step; without riding a thousand-petaled lotus, reaching the Twin Trees seemed like the time of a single meal. I searched out and gathered the Tripiṭaka, exhausting what was stored in the Dragon Palace; I investigated the One Vehicle, fathoming the bequeathed purports of Vulture Peak. All these were packed onto a white horse and brought back to present to the purple palace. Soon I was favored with an imperial decree ordering their translation.
'Xuanzang's knowledge falls far short of Nāgārjuna's, yet I have mistakenly disgraced the glory of transmitting the lamp; my talents differ from Aśvaghoṣa's, and I am deeply ashamed before his skill in pouring from one vessel to another. In the scriptures and treatises translated, errors and omissions are especially numerous. Yet I have been favored by the imperial majesty taking notice and composing a preface. Its literary brilliance surpasses the realm of the *Xi Ci*, and its principles encompass the gate of all marvels. Suddenly, in this humble life, I have personally heard this Brahmā-voice, leaping for joy as if hearing a prediction of Buddhahood. I am overwhelmed with boundless gratitude.'
An imperial rescript replied in his own hand: 'My talent is inferior to jade emblems, and my words fall short of broad learning; as for the inner scriptures, they are especially unfamiliar to me. The preface composed yesterday makes me deeply ashamed of its rustic clumsiness: I have defiled golden tablets with brush and ink, and placed rubble in a forest of pearls. Suddenly receiving your letter, I am mistakenly greeted with praise. Examining myself and reflecting on my thoughts, I feel all the more shameless. My good is not worthy of praise; you have vainly exerted yourself to express thanks.'