法華傳記 2.8

2.8

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).