翻譯名義集 4.5

4.5

【Sūtra】 Also [transliterated as] *xiū dān lán* or *xiū dù lù*. The *Xiyu ji* states: "It is called *sūtra* (sùtǎnlǎn); the old form *sūtra* (xiūduōluó) is erroneous." Some say it is not to be translated because it contains five meanings. The *Zhihua* states: "Its doctrinal flavours are inexhaustible, hence it is compared to a gushing spring; it can give birth to exquisite goodness, hence it is called producing; it sets the standard for the deviant and the correct, hence it is likened to the carpenter's marking-line; it can display the correct principle, hence it is named revealing; it threads together all dharmas, hence it is called stringing a garland. Because it contains these five meanings, it cannot be translated (from the *Saṃyuktābhidharma-hṛdaya-śāstra*)." Others say it can be translated. The *Miaoxuan* explains that there are five translations: "First, translated as scripture (*jīng*); second, translated as treatise (*lùn*); third, translated as root of the Dharma (*fǎběn*); fourth, translated as thread (*xiàn*); fifth, translated as teaching of good speech (*shànyǔjiào*)." Tiantai decided: "For now, relying on one name to serve as the correct translation will also prevent resentment between the two parties. Why? From ancient times to the present, in translating from Sanskrit into Chinese, all have been entitled *jīng* (scripture). If other translations were correct, why did they not change it to 'thread tally'? If the tradition of translation has been unanimous, then *jīng* being the correct [rendering] is clear! Because the teachings of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius in this land are called the Five Classics (*wǔjīng*), the character *jīng* was therefore used to translate *sūtra*. Yet although the various scriptures are titled simply as *jīng*, what the various treatises refer to is always *qìjīng* (tallying scripture; sūtra). What tallies with principle and tallies with capacity is called a 'tallying scripture'." The *Zhihua* states: "Tallying with principle accords with the two truths; tallying with capacity matches the three faculties." As for *jīng*, it is glossed as constant (*cháng*) and glossed as model (*fǎ*). The *Miaoxuan* states: "That heavenly māras and non-Buddhists cannot alter or destroy it is called constancy of teaching. That it is true, correct, and unmixed, such that none can surpass it, is called constancy of practice. That it is tranquil, unmoving, and definitely has no divergent paths is called constancy of principle. Furthermore, as glossed as model: the teaching can serve as a model; practice can serve as a model; principle can serve as a model." The *Buddhabhūmi-śāstra* states: "A scripture has the meaning of stringing together and encompassing: stringing together the meanings that ought to be known, and encompassing and sustaining the sentient beings to be converted." Ci'en states: "It is constant, it is a model; it encompasses, it strings together. As constant, its path is a guide for a hundred kings; as a model, its virtue is a pattern for ten thousand generations; encompassing, it gathers these subtle meanings; stringing together, it directs those common beings—hoping to cause all together to emerge from the ford of suffering and ultimately return to the shore of enlightenment."