翻譯名義集 4.62

4.62

[Pāramī] The Dazhidulun says: "It is also called aramī (arami), which in the language of Qin means 'distancing'; pāramī (pārami), in the language of Qin, means 'crossing to the other shore.' Because these two sounds are close and their meanings correspond, aramī is used to explain pāramī." The Tiantai Chanmen states: "First, in many sutras and treatises it is mostly translated as 'reaching the other shore': birth and death is this shore, nirvāṇa is the other shore, and defilements are the midstream. The bodhisattva, using formless wisdom and boarding the vessel of meditative concentration, goes from this shore of birth and death to the other shore of nirvāṇa; thus we know pāramitā is explained in terms of principle and absorption. Second, the Dazhidulun translates it separately as 'ultimate completion of affairs,' which means that through great compassion the bodhisattva universally cultivates all practical actions to full completion. Third, the Ruiying jing translates it as 'crossing the limitless,' which, discussing both principle and affairs together, possesses a profound and far-reaching meaning. Taken together, it is thus called 'crossing the limitless'; this explains pāramitā in terms of the full completion of both principle and affairs."