[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [法華傳記](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068) › 2.8 # 法華傳記 2.8 法華傳記 2.8 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [2.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068.2.8) 法華經者。諸佛之祕藏。眾經之實體也。以華為名者。照其本也。稱分陀利者。美其盛也。所興既玄。其旨甚婉。自非達識傳之。罕有得其門者。夫百卉藥木之英。萬物寶之本也。八萬四千法藏者。道果之源也。故以喻焉。諸華之中。蓮華最勝華。而未敷名屈摩羅。敷而將落。名迦摩羅。處中盛時。名分陀利。未敷喻二道。將落譬泥洹。榮曜獨足。以喻斯典。至如般若諸經。深無不極故。道者以之而歸。大無不該故。乘者以之而濟。然其大略。皆以適化。為本應務之門。不得不以善權為用。權之為化。悟物雖弘。於實體不足。皆屬法華。固其宜矣。尋其幽旨。恢廓宏邃。所該甚遠。豈徒說實歸本。畢定殊塗而已耶。乃實大明覺理。囊括古今云。佛壽無量。永劫未足以明其久也。分身無數。萬形不足以異其體也。然則壽量定其非數。分身明其無實。普賢顯其無成。多寶照其不滅。夫邁玄古以期今。則萬世同一日。即百化以悟玄。則千塗無異轍。夫如是者。則生生未足以期在。永寂亦未可言其滅矣。尋幽宗以絕往。則喪功於本無。控心轡於三昧。則忘期於二地。經流茲土。雖復垂及百年。譯者昧其虛津。靈關莫之或啟。談者乖其准挌。幽蹤罕得而履。徒復搜研皓首。並未有窺其門者。秦司徒挍尉左軍安城侯姚嵩。擬韻玄門。宅心世表。注誠斯典。信詣彌至。每思尋其文。深識譯者之失。既遇鳩摩羅法師。為之傳寫。捐其大歸真。若披重霄而高蹈。登崑崙而俯眄矣。于時聽受領悟之僧八百餘人。皆是諸方英秀。一時之傑也。是歲弘始八年歲次鶉火（同前）。 > The Lotus Sūtra is the secret treasury of all Buddhas and the real essence of all sūtras. It takes 'lotus' (hua) for its title to illuminate its root; it is called puṇḍarīka to praise its full bloom. As that which it promotes is profound, its purports are exquisitely subtle; unless communicated by those of penetrating discernment, rare are those who can enter its gate. The blossoming of the hundred herbs and medicinal plants is the root of the treasures of the myriad things; the eighty-four thousand dharma-treasuries are the source of the fruits of the Way. Therefore it is used as a metaphor. Among all flowers, the lotus is the most supreme flower. When unopened, it is called kumuda; when opened and about to fall, it is called kamala; when in its prime bloom, it is called puṇḍarīka. Unopened, it illustrates the two paths; about to fall, it compares to nirvāṇa; its solitary sufficiency in glorious splendour illustrates this scripture. Coming to scriptures such as the Prajñāpāramitā, their depth is consummate, so those of the Way return to them; their greatness encompasses all, so those of the vehicles cross over by them. Yet their general outlines primarily serve to adapt to beings' capacities as an expedient approach to meet contingencies; they could not but employ skillful means. When skillful means serve to convert, though awakening beings is broad, it is deficient regarding the real essence; that they all belong to the Lotus is indeed fitting. Examining its subtle purport: it is expansive and profound, and what it covers is exceedingly far-reaching. How could it merely be an exposition of reality returning to the root, definitively resolving divergent paths, and nothing more? Indeed it greatly illuminates the principle of awakening and encompasses past and present, saying: the Buddha's lifespan is immeasurable—eternal eons are insufficient to clarify its duration; his emanation bodies are countless—myriad forms are insufficient to differentiate their essence. Thus the 'Duration of the Lifespan' establishes that it is not of numbers; the emanation bodies clarify that they have no substantial reality; Samantabhadra reveals that it has no emergence; Prabhūtaratna illuminates that it does not perish. Transcending the remote antiquity to anticipate the present, ten thousand generations are as a single day; directly realizing the profound through the hundred transformations, a thousand paths have no different tracks. Being thus, saṃsāric rebirths are insufficient to determine his presence, and eternal quiescence cannot be said to be his extinction. If one pursues the subtle principle to terminate movement, one loses effect in original non-being; if one holds the reins of the mind in samādhi, one forgets aspiration in the two grounds. Although the transmission of this scripture to this land has approached nearly a hundred years, the translators were blind to its profound course, and the wondrous gateway was never opened. The discussants deviated from its standard principles, and its subtle traces were rarely trodden. In vain they researched until their heads turned white, none yet having peered into its gate. Yao Song, Marquis of Ancheng, Director of Works, Colonel, and General of the Left under the Qin, harmonized his spirit with the profound gateway and lodged his mind beyond the world. Pouring his sincerity into this scripture, his faith reached the utmost. Whenever he contemplated its text, he profoundly recognized the defects of the translators. Having met Master Kumārajīva, he requested him to translate and copy it, casting aside \[divergences\] to return to the truth, like parting the layered clouds to stride aloft, or ascending the Kunlun Mountains to gaze downward. At that time, more than eight hundred monks received and comprehended it, all being the flower of various regions, the heroes of the age. This year was the eighth year of the Hongshi era, the cyclical year chunhuo (the same as before). > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 2.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068.2.7) - [Next: 2.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068.2.9) - [Up: 2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068.2) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068~en-mt.2.8) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [出三藏記集](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2145.8.32) — 僧祐, Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068.2.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2068.2.8) · Pramāṇa