一切經音義 1.6

1.6

In antiquity, the Uncrowned King established teachings, authoring the 'Ten Wings' to penetrate yin and yang; the Dark Emperor expounded scripture, discoursing on the two sections to illumine the Dao and Virtue. How could they compare to Śākyamuni appearing in the world, walking alone in Kapilavastu, gathering the three vehicles at Gṛdhrakūṭa, and turning the four wheels at Mṛgadāva? From this there were the characters of half and full, and the scattering and stringing together of flowers. Carried by the black-robed monks they arrived from the west, driving the white horse as they journeyed eastward. Thus one knows that neither non-being nor being shrouds false factions, while form being empty and emptiness being form clarifies the right path. Thereupon clouds of wisdom gathered moisture, drooping in dense banks to shade the populace; the Dharma rain contained nourishment, scattering misty droplets to moisten all plants. The benefits of this cannot be fully recounted. Great indeed is the teaching of the Sovereign of Enlightenment! As for being written on palm leaves and compiled in the ocean-like canon, the compilation originated from the mind of Kāśyapa, while the textual meaning was proclaimed by the mouth of Ānanda. Transmitted to this land for more than seven hundred years, when it comes to characters, some are difficult and their components erroneous; some are not recorded in secular writings, and their phonetics are unheard of. Either colloquial forms lack basis, or the original Sanskrit forms are retained. Without sounds and meanings, it is truly difficult to investigate them thoroughly. One wished that people might acquire an enlightened teacher while seated, and instantly hear subtle doctrine; that in pursuing study they need not labor carrying book boxes, and in seeking further instruction they need not trouble lifting their robes. Therefore, the twelve vowels were proclaimed in the profound scripture of the Mahāparinirvāṇa, and the forty-two characters were recorded in the true sūtra of the Avataṃsaka. (The twelve vowels represent the phonetic values used in transcribing Sanskrit letters. The old assertion of fourteen vowels is an error. There are also thirty-four consonants known as mātṛkā. Transcribing each consonant through the twelve vowels produces 408 syllables, which combine and mutate into eighteen chapters called siddham, as detailed in the Sounds and Meanings of the New Nirvāṇa-sūtra.) Therefore it is said: 'Without abandoning characters, liberation is attained.' Coming to the beginning of the dynastic court, there was the śramaṇa Xuanying, who stood out with innate knowledge and uniquely exercised prior awakening. He understood the disparate languages of Tang and Sanskrit, and recognized unusual characters ancient and modern, composing a copy of the Sounds and Meanings of the Whole Canon in twenty-five fascicles altogether. It could be bequeathed to later learners and reflect glory upon previous worthies, serving as a ford and bridge to the other shore, and a key to accessing the Dharma gate. Next there was the śramaṇa Huiyuan, who composed two fascicles of the Sounds and Meanings of the Newly Translated Avataṃsaka; both were compiled into the Kaiyuan shijiao lu. However, with respect to the scriptures and treatises translated later, as well as those not previously glossed in sound, when it came to perusal and exposition, textual errors and interpretive discrepancies, gains, losses, doubts, and bottlenecks remained; those of limited hearing and narrow learning possessed not even a slight understanding, while those of broad learning and strong memory could rarely plumb them to the end. Nevertheless, the haughty were ashamed to ask their inferiors and sought nothing, while the hoarders of learning begrudged their deep knowledge and would not reply. When the holy words were thus obstructed, could one not be grieved? There is Dharma Master Huilin of Daxingshan Monastery, whose secular surname is Pei, a native of Kashgar. He was a disciple of the Great Broad Wisdom, Tripiṭaka Master Amoghavajra. Internally he mastered the esoteric teaching, entering the gate of dhāraṇī; externally he investigated the ink-flowing arts, delving into the finest essence of characters. The subtleties of Indian śabdavidyā and the refinements of Chinese phonology were received like water poured from the flask of his late master, and flowed like a spring to later students. In translating, transcribing, and compiling, he took part among the foremost. The Master plucked out what was missing, lamented what was corrupt and confusing, surveyed these various scriptures, and gathered those glosses and commentaries. However, ancient sound fanqie spellings mostly relied on adjacent initial shifts to make alliteration; starting from Shen Qian, there was originally no fixed standard. Wu pronunciation and Qin pronunciation were indistinguishable; clear rhymes and turbid rhymes were hard to clarify. As when wu and mian were taken as alliterative, or qi and zhi were taken as a rhyming binome—such examples are simply not adopted here. Recently there have been Yuan Tingjian's Yunying and Zhang Jian's Kaosheng qieyun; the present glosses take these as their model. Broadly speaking, explanations of meaning are based on the character books of seven schools (the seven books refer to Yupian, Shuowen jiezi, Zilin, Zitong, Gujin zhengzi, Wenzidian shuo, and Kaiyuan wenzi yinyi). What the seven books do not encompass, the hundred masters are fully consulted for. Furthermore, at the end of the glosses, the six categories of Chinese characters are additionally distinguished, hoping that through this one may recognize that, and by hearing one thing know ten. For more than twenty years, the Master sought far and wide among classics and writings, thoroughly investigating scriptures and treatises, untiring and diligent, making compilation his work. Begun in the final year of the Jianzhong reign-period, it was only completed in the second year of Yuanhe. In total there are one hundred scrolls, fully explaining the various scriptures. Beginning with the Mahāprajñāpāramitā and ending with the Humin fa, it encompasses altogether 1,300 works in more than 5,700 fascicles. The sounds and meanings of the previous two masters were combined and ordered, with their headings distinguished (the two masters refer to Xuanying, Huiyuan, and others). Vast as the sea swallowing all streams to achieve depth, clear as a mirror reflecting all things without weariness, on the thirtieth day of the second month of the twelfth year of Yuanhe, he put down his brush at Ximing Monastery. I, Shen, having a modest fondness for characters, choose what is good and follow it; he permitted me as an uninvited master, while I felt ashamed of being an unpolished vessel. Opening his scrolls, he announced his achievement, and I have erroneously used my slight talent to write this preface.