一切經音義 27.213

27.213

釋迦文（釋迦能姓。劫初之時未有君長。眾推有道以為司契共立一王號莫訶三未多云大等音樂謂大眾齊等意樂立為王也即佛高祖以嫡相從曾不失墜共讚能為人帝。因斯遂姓釋迦。牟尼寂義。佛之別號。謂能寂默生死惡法。亦能證得涅槃寂理。姓号雙舉故云釋迦牟尼。今語略云釋迦文。智度論云釋迦文尼即牟尼同譯殊略尼字也云釋迦文也）。

Śākyamuni (釋迦 means 'able', which is the clan name. At the beginning of the kalpa, there was as yet no ruler or leader; the multitude selected one who possessed virtue to govern by covenant, collectively elevating one king titled Mahāsammata, translated as 'Universally Consented Joy', meaning the assembly in unison wished and rejoiced to install him as king. This was the Buddha's distant ancestor, succeeding along the direct line without ever falling away, praised by all as able to be sovereign of men. Because of this, his clan name was Śākya. Muni means 'silence/sage', which is the Buddha's epithet, signifying one able to still the evil dharmas of birth and death, and also able to realize the quietude and truth of nirvāṇa. Pronouncing clan and epithet together yields Śākyamuni. Current phrasing abbreviates it as Shijiawen (釋迦文). The Dazhidulun states that Shijiawenni is the same translation, merely omitting the syllable ni to say Shijiawen).