佛祖歷代通載 18.27

18.27

（九　戊寅）　帝製新譯三藏聖教序。賜天竺三藏法師天息災文曰。大矣哉。我佛之教也。化道群迷闡揚宗性。廣博宏辯。英彥莫能究其旨。精微妙說。庸愚豈可度其源。義理幽玄真空莫測。包括萬象譬喻無垠。總法網之紀綱。演無際之正教。拔四生之苦海。譯三藏之祕言。天地變化乎陰陽。日月盈虧乎寒暑。大則說諸善惡。細則比於河沙。含識萬端弗可盡述。若窺像法如影隨形。離六情以長存。歷千劫而可久。須彌內藏於芥子。如來坦蕩於無邊。達磨西來傳法東土。宣揚妙理順從指歸。彼岸菩提愛河生滅。用行於五濁惡趣。拯溺於三業途中。經垂世之無窮。道無私而永泰。雪山貝葉。若銀臺之耀目。歲月烟蘿。起香界之自遠。巍巍罕測杳杳難名。所以道資十聖德被三賢。至道啟乎乾元。眾妙生乎太易。綜繁形類竅鑿昏冥。絕彼是非開茲蒙昧。有西域法師天息災等。常持四忍早悟三空。翻貝葉之真詮。續人天之聖教。芳猷重啟偶運當時。潤五聲於文章。暢四始於風律。堂堂容止穆穆輝華。曠劫而昏墊重明。玄門昭顯。軌範而宏光妙法。淨界騰音。利益有情。俱登覺岸。無所障礙。救諸疲羸。冥昧慈悲。汗漫物表。柔愎貪很。啟迪昏愚。演小乘則聲聞合其儀。論大乘則正覺立其性。含靈悟而蒙福。藏教缺而重興幻化迷途火宅深喻。雖設其教不知者多。善念生而福量潛臻。惡業興而勝緣皆墜。調御四眾積行十方。澍華雨於金輪。護恒河於玉闕。有頂之風不可壞。無際之水不能漂。澄寂湛然。圓明清潔之智慧。性空無染。實相解脫之因緣。可以離煩惱於心田。可以得清涼於宇宙。朕慚非博學釋典微閑。豈堪敘文以示來者。如縻螢爝火不足比於皎日。將微蠡量海。豈能窮於深淵者哉。

(9. Wuyin) The Emperor composed the 'Preface to the Holy Teachings of the Newly Translated Tripiṭaka' and bestowed it upon the Indian Tripiṭaka Master Tianxizai; the text reads: "How magnificent is the teaching of our Buddha! It guides and transforms the deluded masses and expounds the essential nature; vast and eloquently argued, the eminent and talented cannot fathom its purport; subtly and wondrously spoken, how could the mediocre and foolish measure its source? Its principles are profound and mysterious, its true emptiness unfathomable; encompassing myriad forms, its analogies are limitless. It gathers the guidelines of the Dharma web and unfolds the boundless correct teaching; it plucks beings from the sea of suffering of the four modes of birth and translates the secret words of the Tripiṭaka. Heaven and Earth transform through yin and yang; the sun and moon wax and wane through cold and heat. On a grand scale, it speaks of good and evil; in fine detail, it compares them to the sands of the Ganges. The manifold kinds of sentient beings cannot be exhaustively described. If one looks into the Semblance Dharma, it is like a shadow following the form; transcending the six passions, it endures forever; passing through a thousand kalpas, it can last long. Mount Sumeru is stored within a mustard seed; the Tathāgata walks at ease through the boundless. Bodhidharma came from the west to transmit the Dharma to the eastern land, propagating the wondrous principle and guiding [beings] toward the ultimate goal. The other shore of bodhi; the arising and ceasing of the river of desire: its practice operates in the evil realms of the five defilements, rescuing the drowning from the paths of the three karmas. Its scriptures are handed down to the world without end; its Way is impartial and perpetually tranquil. The palm leaves of the Snow Mountains gleam like silver terraces dazzling the eye; the mist and vines of the passing years arise far from the fragrant realm. Lofty, it is hard to fathom; distant and deep, it is difficult to name. Thus its Way assists the ten stages of sages, and its virtue covers the three grades of worthies. The ultimate Way opens from the Qian primordial; the myriad wonders arise from the Great Change. Sorting through the multitude of forms and chiseling through murky ignorance, it cuts off right and wrong and enlightens this dull blindness. There are western masters such as Tianxizai who constantly maintain the four patiences and have early awakened to the three voids; translating the true teachings on palm leaves, they continue the holy teachings of gods and humans. The fragrant precedents are reopened, meeting with the times; they enrich the five musical tones in literature and harmonize the four seasons in poetic meters. Imposing in deportment, majestic in splendor, after long kalpas of darkness and sinking, the light shines anew; the profound gate is made manifest, establishing standards to broadly illuminate the wondrous Dharma, and pure tones soar in the pure realm. Benefiting sentient beings, all ascend the shore of awakening; unobstructed, they rescue the weary and weak. Unseen, their compassion extends far beyond mundane things; softening the obstinate and greedy, they enlighten the dull and foolish. When expounding the Hīnayāna, the śrāvakas conform to their decorum; when discussing the Mahāyāna, the truly awakened establish its nature. Sentient beings awaken and receive blessings; the missing parts of the scriptural basket are revived. Though the illusions of the path of delusion and the deep metaphor of the burning house are set forth in these teachings, those who do not understand are many. When wholesome thoughts arise, the measure of blessings silently arrives; when evil karma flares up, excellent conditions all fall away. Taming the four assemblies and accumulating practices throughout the ten directions, they shower rains of flowers upon the golden wheel and protect the Ganges River within the jade palace. The wind of the Highest Heaven cannot destroy it; the water of the boundless cannot sweep it away. Serene and tranquil, with wisdom completely luminous, pure, and clean; empty of nature and undefiled, it is the cause and condition for liberation into the true mark. Through it, afflictions can be removed from the field of the mind; through it, cool tranquility can be attained across the universe. We, regrettably, are not broadly learned and are only slightly familiar with Buddhist scriptures; how can We be fit to write a preface to show to future generations? It is like a firefly's light or a tiny torch unable to compare with the bright sun, or using a tiny ladle to measure the ocean—how could it plumb the deep abyss?"