出三藏記集 10.14

10.14

三十七品者。三世諸佛之舟輿。聲聞古佛亦皆乘之而得度。三界眾生靡不載之。故經曰。大乘道之輿。一切度天人。然則三十七品。或離或合。在一增四法。有四意止四神足無四意斷。五法則有五根五力。七法無七覺意。八法而有八等。則為五經也。依如此比當應為七經。如此則離也。而諸經多合唯一增爾耳。中阿鋡身意止有安般出入息事。將是行四意止時。有亂意起者。執對行藥也。又諸經三十七品文辭不同。余因閑戲尋省諸經。撮採事備辭巧便者。差次條貫伏其位。使經體不毀。而事有異同者得顯于義。又以三昧連之乎末。以具泥洹四十品五根中。云四禪四諦有目無文。故復屬之於後。令始涉者攬之易悟。不亦佳乎。又以諸經之異者注于句末。

The thirty-seven items are the boat and carriage of all Buddhas of the three times; śrāvakas and ancient Buddhas all rode them and attained deliverance. The sentient beings of the three realms are all borne by them. Thus a sūtra says: 'The carriage of the Mahāyāna Path crosses over all devas and humans.' However, the thirty-seven items are sometimes separated and sometimes combined. In the Ekottarika[-āgama] four-dharma section, there are the four bases of mindfulness and the four bases of miraculous power, but not the four right exertions; the five-dharma section has the five faculties and five powers; the seven-dharma section lacks the seven factors of awakening; and the eight-dharma section has the eightfold path. Thus they form five sūtras. Following this pattern, they should properly form seven sūtras; thus they are separated. But most sūtras combine them, with only the Ekottarika[-āgama] doing otherwise. In the Madhyama-āgama, under the mindfulness of body, there is the practice of ānāpāna inhalation and exhalation; this serves as an antidote when distracted thoughts arise while practicing the four bases of mindfulness. Furthermore, the phrasing of the thirty-seven items varies across different sūtras. In my leisure, I perused the various sūtras, selecting those with complete content and skillful phrasing, arranging them in orderly clauses and settling them in their places, so that the substance of the sūtras is not damaged, while differences and agreements in content become manifest in meaning. Furthermore, I appended the samādhis to the end, so as to complete the forty items of nirvāṇa. Under the five faculties, it mentions the four dhyānas and four noble truths by name without text; therefore, I attached them to the rear, so that beginners can grasp them and easily comprehend—is that not fine? Moreover, I noted variations among the sūtras at the end of the phrases.