佛祖歷代通載 14.36

14.36

（二十三　戊辰）　般若三藏新譯大乘理趣六波羅蜜經成。代宗皇帝親製敘文曰。大朴既散有為遂作。名利牽乎德。巧智喪乎真。愛惡攻乎性情。因緣堅其染習。內則百慮無節。外則六根競誘。天理滅而莫知。道源迷而忘返。淪溺苦海劫盡還初。惟至人了萬物之宗。越三界之表。廓獨立而不改。遍諸有而常然。故能開導群迷濟拔流品。六波羅蜜經者。眾法之津梁度門之圓極也。昔日月燈明如來為菩薩說。歷劫曠遠真偈寂寥。文殊師利於耆闍會中與彌勒菩薩語及其事。成一切種智會無量義因。唯佛能知。唯佛能說。教必有主。其在茲乎。是以釋迦如來為法而生俟時而現。三身不異。故處代而常離。萬行無修。故隨方而自在。運慈悲之力。開攝護之門。因其六塵示之六度。導於法分全證法身。結習紛綸乘理而悟。是真般若之旨也。故有慈氏善問大音讚言。天垂寶華雲集仙蓋。甘露流液光明燭幽。使迷方淺深皆得自然之慧。恒沙億眾能通般若之知。嘗試論之。先儒有言。誠者自成而道自導也。夫誠己於內。則不勉而中不思而得。誠物於外。則不言而應不為而成。其內者證法之身。其外者大悲之力。德產之致密化育之功也。夫春風吹發萬類咸滋。旭日升畫群陰盡釋。乾坤易簡之道。是則大同神明幽贊之情。孰云區別。殊途一致其理固然。朕虔奉丕圖保又烝庶。思建皇極以升。大猷遐想靈蹤期於叶契。舍城妙說久祕梵文。徒懷瀉瓶未啟遺夾。微言不昧將或起予。於是罽賓沙門般若受旨宣揚。光宅沙門利言為之飜譯。時大德則資聖寺道液。醴泉寺超悟。慈恩寺應真。莊嚴寺圓照。光宅寺道岸等。法門領袖人中龍象。證明正義輝潤玄文。知釋迦之寶城。識眾尊之滿字。以貞元四年歲次戊辰十二月二十八日。於西明寺譯成上進。凡一部十卷。神龍翊衛。如從金口之傳。梵眾護持。無異毫光之現。朕齋心滌慮仰味宗源。聞所未聞寔為希有。聊因暇日三復斯經。雖法海甚深波流不讓。舉其梗概昭悟將來。

(23. Wuchen) The Tripiṭaka Master Prajñā's new translation of the Mahāyāna Sutra on the Principle of the Six Pāramitās was completed. Emperor Dezong personally composed a preface, which said:
"Once the great simplicity was dispersed, the conditioned thereupon arose. Fame and profit tug at virtue; clever intelligence destroys authenticity. Likes and dislikes assault the nature and feelings; causes and conditions solidify their defiled habits. Within, the hundred thoughts have no restraint; without, the six sense faculties compete in leading astray. The heavenly principle is extinguished without anyone knowing; the source of the Way is lost, and they forget to return. Sinking and drowning in the ocean of suffering, when a kalpa is exhausted they still return to the beginning. Only the consummate person understands the ancestor of the ten thousand things, transcends the realm beyond the three worlds, stands vast and solitary without changing, and pervades all realms of existence while ever remaining so. Thus he is able to guide and instruct the multitude of the confused, and deliver the classes of beings.

Now, this Sutra of the Six Pāramitās is the ford and bridge of all dharmas, the ultimate consummation of the gate of deliverance. Formerly, the Tathāgata Candrasūryapradīpa preached it for bodhisattvas; after kalpas vast and distant, the true gāthās had fallen silent. Mañjuśrī, amidst the assembly on Gṛdhrakūṭa, spoke of this matter with the Bodhisattva Maitreya. Realizing all-knowledge and gathering the causes of immeasurable meanings can only be known by the Buddha, can only be expounded by the Buddha. A teaching must have its master; is it not found right here?

Therefore, Śākyamuni Tathāgata was born for the sake of the Dharma and appeared awaiting the proper time. Because his three bodies are not different, though dwelling in the world he is ever detached; because the myriad practices involve no cultivation, he is at ease according with every place. He mobilized the power of kindness and compassion, opened the gate of gathering and protecting, and depending on their six dusts showed them the six pāramitās, guiding them in the division of the Dharma to fully realize the dharmakāya. The tangle of habitual tendencies is enlightened through riding upon principle; this is the purport of true prajñā. Hence the Compassionate One posed skilled questions, and the Great Voice praised it in words: heaven rained down precious flowers, clouds gathered over the divine canopies, sweet dew flowed down, and radiant light illumined the darkness, causing both shallow and deep who had lost their way to obtain natural wisdom, and crowds of hundreds of millions, numerous as the sands of the Ganges, to penetrate the knowledge of prajñā.

Let us venture to discuss it: The former Ruists had a saying: 'The sincere one completes himself, and the Way directs itself.' Now, when one is sincere within oneself, then without effort one hits the mark, and without thought one attains; when one is sincere toward things without, then without words there is response, and without action there is completion. What is within is the body that realizes the Dharma; what is without is the power of great compassion: this is the subtle density of virtue's production, the efficacy of transformation and nurture. When the spring wind blows forth, the ten thousand kinds are all nourished; when the morning sun ascends, the multitudes of dark shades are entirely dissolved. The easy and simple way of Qian and Kun is thus in grand harmony with the sentiment of the gods' hidden aid—who could say they are different? Though their paths differ, their destination is one; the principle is naturally so.

We respectfully uphold the grand plan and preserve the multitudes of common folk. Desiring to establish the royal ultimate so as to ascend to the Great Strategy, We gaze afar upon the sacred traces, hoping for their accord. The wondrous discourse of the city of Rājagṛha had long been kept secret in Sanskrit texts; in vain had one cherished pouring from the vase without yet opening the bequeathed leaf-bundles. Since the subtle words are not obscured, they will surely inspire Us. Thereupon, Prajñā, the śramaṇa of Jibin, received the imperial command to propagate it, and Liyan, the śramaṇa of Guangzhai, translated it. The eminent virtues of the time were Daoye of Zisheng Monastery, Chaowu of Liquan Monastery, Yingzhen of Ci'en Monastery, Yuanzhao of Zhuangyan Monastery, Dao'an of Guangzhai Monastery, and others—leaders of the Dharma gate, dragons and elephants among men. They certified and corrected the true meanings, and brightened and enriched the abstruse texts, knowing the treasure city of Śākyamuni and recognizing the complete letters of the Venerables.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month in the fourth year of Zhenyuan, the year being wuchen, the translation was completed at Ximing Monastery and presented to the throne, comprising one work in ten fascicles in all. Spiritual dragons flanked and guarded it, as if delivered from the Golden Mouth; the Brahma assemblies protected and maintained it, no different from the manifestation of the curl of white hair between the brows. We have purified Our mind and washed away Our concerns, looking up to taste the ancestral source; hearing what We had never heard before is truly rare indeed. Availing Ourselves of leisure days, We have reviewed this sutra three times. Although the ocean of the Dharma is unfathomably deep and does not decline the flow of waves, We record its outline to enlighten the future."