弘贊法華傳 10.32

10.32

敘曰。至理無名。名流四天之下。真乘不動。動出三界之中。證教即事而凝然。悉檀隨緣而化物。無謀汲引。功莫大哉。妙法蓮華經者。洎仁雄出世。為一大事因緣之所說也。但藥木不同。受潤成異。機宜匪一。稟教亦差。其施權也。則鹿苑四諦之法輪。其顯實也。則鷲峯三變之淨土。旨深詞寘。人尊道高。彰壽量之遠本。會伽耶之近迹。雨吹擊演。廢昔說之筌蹄。開示悟入。獲今家之魚兔。微塵菩薩。增道損生。草庵聲聞。恥小欣大。藥王燒臂而供養。多寶全身以證明。圓極冲微。不可得而言也。有天台大師。法號智顗。昔於如來前。親聽茲典。位居五品。聲震兩朝。不歷講肆。佛乘懸解。陀羅尼力。樂說不窮。常於陳主大極殿。對御講仁王般若經。萬乘屈膝。百官彈指。且如觀心釋。妙離有無。取真性作軌。藉資照成徹。敘名詮宗。異於古德。五義竅理。皆扶聖教。自智者弘法。三十餘年。獨有維摩疏。隋朝奉煬帝勅。撰此之玄文。迺是灌頂法師私記。合二十卷。非智不禪。斯言允矣。及其滅後一百餘載。至唐天寶中。歲在戊子。有東陽郡清泰寺朗和尚。法門之眉壽。涼池之目足。乘戒俱急。內外兼包。獲滿慈之寶器。坐空生之石室。每於講授之次。默然歎曰。觀其義趣。深契佛乘。尋其文勢。時有不次。或文續義斷。或文後義前。或長行前開其章。或從後直述其義。或偈中先舉其數。或後不次其名。然聖意難測。但仰信而已。今因諸聽徒。頻勸請曰。上根易悟。探賾不迷。中下之侶。尋文失旨。儻更垂次比。此則弘益巨多。和上再三籌量。事不獲已。乃專念大師。求加可否。因夢所感。方始條倫。蓋亦隨情便宜。諒非苟求同異。輒有增減於其間矣。冀後諸學者。曉其元意。尋領索裳。擔金棄礫。說真實法。非虛妄人。助玄風之廣扇。備丹丘之添削。則百界千如。宛同符契。化城寶所。盡親津橋。賴彌勒之慇懃。迴文殊之靳固。輔發智之六足。褒春秋一言。神逈等。並採綜文前。輕安諦理。莫不空王佛所。同共發心。十六沙彌。咸皆代講。翳華逢日。除瘼養珠。誠愧雁門之筆。曷窺龍嚬之奧庶探玄之士。沐道流而有本焉。

The preface states: The ultimate principle is nameless, yet its name flows beneath the four heavens; the true vehicle is motionless, yet in its motion it transcends the three realms. The teachings of realization are still and quiescent within concrete affairs; the siddhāntas accord with conditions to transform living beings. Drawing [beings] forth without contrivance—how great is its merit! As for the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra, when the Hero of Benevolence appeared in the world, it was preached for the sake of the one great causal condition. Yet just as medicinal herbs and trees differ, the moisture they receive leads to differences; capacities and inclinations are not uniform, and the teachings received likewise vary. When setting forth the provisional, it was the wheel of the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths in Deer Park; when revealing the real, it was the land thrice transformed into a pure land on Gṛdhrakūṭa. Its import is profound and its phrasing exalted; the Person is revered and the Way is lofty. It reveals the remote origin of the Lifespan, and brings together the recent traces at Gayā. Raining, blowing, striking, and expounding, it discards the fish trap and hare snare of former preachings; opening, revealing, awakening to, and entering, one obtains the fish and hare of the present school. Bodhisattvas numerous as dust motes advance on the path and diminish their rebirths; śrāvakas in grass huts feel ashamed of the small and rejoice in the great. Bhaiṣajyarāja burned his arms in offering, and Prabhūtaratna came in his whole body to bear witness. Perfect, ultimate, subtle, and profound, it cannot be expressed in words.

There was the Great Master of Tiantai, whose Dharma name was Zhiyi. In the past, before the Tathāgata, he had personally heard this scripture. His stage was that of the five grades, and his renown shook two dynasties. Without attending lecture halls, the Buddha-vehicle was understood by him intuitively; through the power of dhāraṇī, his delight in exposition was inexhaustible. He frequently lectured on the Renwang bore jing before the sovereign in the Daji Hall of the Chen ruler; the Lord of Ten Thousand Chariots bent his knees, and the hundred officials snapped their fingers [in praise]. Furthermore, his interpretation through the contemplation of the mind subtly transcended being and non-being; taking the true nature as the rule, he relied on illumination to achieve complete penetration. In stating the title and explaining the essential doctrine, he was different from ancient masters of virtue; his five meanings penetrating the principle all supported the sacred teaching.

From the time Zhizhe propagated the Dharma for over thirty years, only the Vimalakīrti commentary was composed under imperial decree of Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty. This Fahua xuanyi was actually the private record of Dharma Master Guanding, in twenty fascicles altogether. 'Without wisdom, one cannot practice meditation'—these words are truly accurate!

More than a hundred years after his passing, during the Tianbao era of the Tang dynasty, in the year wuzi, there was the Upādhyāya Lang of Qingtai Temple in Dongyang Commandery. He was the long-lived elder of the Dharma gate, the eyes and feet in the cool pool; he was earnest in both vehicle and precepts, encompassing both internal and external [learning]. He obtained the precious vessel of Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra, and sat in the stone chamber of Subhūti. Whenever he was engaged in lecturing, he would silently sigh and say: 'Observing its essential meaning, it deeply accords with the Buddha-vehicle; yet tracing the flow of its text, at times it lacks proper order. Sometimes the text continues while the meaning breaks off; sometimes the text comes after while the meaning precedes it. Sometimes the prose first opens the section, or directly narrates the meaning afterwards; sometimes in the verses the number is first raised, or afterwards their names are out of order. Yet the sage's intent is difficult to fathom, and one can only look up to it in faith.'

Now, because his listeners repeatedly urged and requested him, saying: 'Those of superior faculties awaken easily, exploring the profound without confusion; but those of middling and lower sorts follow the text and lose the essential meaning. If you would condescend to arrange it in proper order, the benefit in propagation would be immense.' The Upādhyāya weighed the matter again and again, and unable to do otherwise, he focused his mindfulness on the Great Master to seek confirmation of whether it was permissible. Inspired by a dream, he only then began to arrange it into orderly sequence. This was merely to adapt conveniently to circumstances; truly it was not a willful seeking of similarity and difference that he should make additions and deletions therein. It is hoped that future scholars will understand the original intent, following the collar to seek the robe, carrying gold and casting aside gravel—speaking the true Dharma, not being hollow and false men, assisting the wide fanning of the mysterious wind, and supplementing Danqiu's additions and emendations. Then the hundred realms and thousand suchnesses will match like tally and contract, and the conjured city and the place of jewels will both be accessed by ford and bridge. Relying on the earnestness of Maitreya, we turn back the reserve of Mañjuśrī; supporting the six feet of the Abhidharmajñānaprasthāna, we praise the one word of the Spring and Autumn Annals.

We, Shenjiong and others, have compiled this preliminary text, attaining serenity within the true principle. None failed to generate the aspiration together at the place of the Buddha King of Emptiness, and the sixteen śrāmaṇeras all lectured in succession. Cataracts meeting the sun, eliminating cataracts and nourishing pearls—truly ashamed of this brush from Yanmen, how could we fathom the depths of the dragon's sorrow? May those who explore the profound bathe in the flow of the Way and thereby have a root.