出三藏記集 10.5

10.5

夫道地者。應真之玄堂。升仙之奧室也。無本之城杳然難陵矣。無為之牆邈然難踰矣。微門妙闥少𨶳其庭者也。蓋為器也。猶海與行者。日酌之而不竭。返精者無數而不滿。其為像也。含弘靜泊綿綿若存。寂寥無言。辯之者幾矣。恍惚無行。求矣漭乎其難測。聖人有以見因華可以成實。覩末可以達本。乃為布不言之教。陳無轍之軌。闡止啟觀式成定諦髦彥六雙率由斯路歸精谷神於乎羨矣。夫地也者。苞潤施毓稼穡以成。鏐鐐瓊琛罔弗以載。有喻止觀莫近於此。故曰道地也。昔在眾祜三達遐鑒。八音四辯共奕敷化。識病而療聲典難算。至如來善逝而大訓絕。五百無著遷而靈教乖。於是有三藏沙門。厥名眾護。仰惟諸行布在群籍。俯愍發進不能悉洽。祖述眾經撰要約行。目其次序以為一部二十七章。其於行也。要猶人首與可終身載。不可須臾下。猶氣息與可終身通。不可須臾閉。息閉則命殞。首下則身殪。若行者暫去斯法姦宄之匿入矣。有開士世高者。安息王元子也。禪國高讓納萬乘位。剋明畯德改容修道。越境流化爰適此邦。其所傳訓淵微優邃。又折護所集者七章譯為漢文。音近雅質敦兮若撲。或變質從文。或因質不飾。皇矣世高審得厥旨。夫絕愛原滅榮冀息馳騁。莫先於止。了癡惑達九道見身幻。莫首於觀。大聖以是達五根登無漏。揚美化易頑俗。莫先於正。靡不由茲也。真可謂盛德大業。至矣哉。行自五陰盡于成壞。則是苦諦漏盡之迹也。神足章者。則是禪思五通之要也。五十五觀者。則是四非常度三結之本也。人之處世曚昧未祛。熙熙甘色如饗大牢。由處穢海幽厄九月。既生迍邅羅遘百凶。尋旋老死嬰苦萬端。漂溺五流莫能自返。聖人深見以為苦證遊神八路長陟永安。專精稽古則逸樂若此。開情縱欲則酸毒若彼。二道顯著宜順所從。石以淬碎剝堅截剛。素質精深五色炳燦。由是論之。可不勉哉。予生不辰值皇綱紐絕。玁狁猾夏山左蕩沒。避難濩澤師殞友折。周爰諮謀顧靡所詢。時雁門沙門支曇講鄴都沙門竺僧輔。此二仁者。聰明有融。信而好古。冒嶮遠至得與酬酢。尋章察句造此訓傳。怖權與進者暫可微寤。蚊蚋奮翼以助隨嵐。蟻壟增封嵩岳之頂。豈其能益於高猛哉。探賾奧邈惟八輩難之。況末學小子庶幾茲哉。然天竺聖邦道岨遼遠。幽見碩儒少來周化。先哲既逝來聖未至。進退狼跋咨嗟涕洟。故作章句申己丹赤。冀諸神通照我顒顒。必枉靈趾燭謬正闕也。

Now, the grounds of the path are the arcane halls of the arhats, the inner chambers of ascending to transcendence. The city of rootlessness is so boundless that it is hard to scale; the walls of unconditioned action are so distant that they are hard to surpass. With subtle gates and wondrous portals, few are those who enter its courtyard. As an instrument, it is like the sea to travelers: daily dipped from without being exhausted, [receiving] countless of those who return their spirits without becoming full. As an image, it embraces greatness and is quiet and serene, continuous as if everlasting. Silent and without words, few can discern it. Traceless and intangible, seek it and it is so vast that it is difficult to fathom. The Sage saw that a flower could yield fruit and perceived that through branches one could reach the root; thus, he promulgated wordless teachings and displayed rutless tracks. He expounded calm and initiated contemplation, establishing the samādhi-truths; the finest talents, the six pairs, all proceeded along this road, returning their spirits to the Valley Spirit. How admirable it is! As for the ground, it enfolds moisture and bestows nurture so that the crops of planting and harvesting may grow; fine silver and jade treasures are all borne by it. No analogy for calm and contemplation is closer than this; hence it is called the “Grounds of the Path”. Formerly, when the Host of Blessings was present, his threefold knowledge had far-reaching insight, and with the eight sounds and four analytical knowledges, he gloriously spread the transformation. Recognizing illnesses, he cured them, and the spoken scriptures were countless. But when the Tathāgata, the Sugata, passed away, the great instructions ceased; when the five hundred unattached ones departed, the spiritual teachings diverged. Thereupon, there was a tripiṭaka śramaṇa named Sangharakṣa. Looking upward, he reflected that the various practices were scattered among the multitude of texts; looking downward, he took pity on beginners who could not fully master them. Inheriting and compiling the various sūtras, he selected the essentials to summarize the practices, organizing their sequence into one work of twenty-seven chapters. Regarding practice, it is as essential as a person's head, which must be carried for a lifetime and cannot be cast down for a moment; it is like the breath, which must circulate for a lifetime and cannot be blocked for a moment. If the breath is blocked, life is lost; if the head is cast down, the body perishes. If a practitioner abandons this teaching for even a moment, treachery and depravity will enter. There was the great being Shigao, the eldest son of the King of Parthia. He relinquished the kingdom in noble abdication, forsaking the position of myriad chariots; brilliantly manifesting lofty virtue, he changed his appearance to cultivate the Path. Crossing borders to spread transformation, he arrived in this realm. The instructions he transmitted were profound, subtle, superior, and deep. Furthermore, he selected seven chapters compiled by Sangharakṣa and translated them into the Chinese language. The phonetics were close to the refined and simple, unhewn as uncarved wood: sometimes changing plainness to follow literary style, sometimes retaining plainness without embellishment. Magnificent was Shigao; he truly grasped their essentials! For cutting off the source of cravings, extinguishing desires for glory, and calming restless striving, nothing precedes calm. For clearing away delusion, understanding the nine realms, and seeing the illusory nature of the body, nothing comes before contemplation. The Great Sage thereby developed the five faculties and ascended to the undefiled state; for propagating fine transformation and altering stubborn customs, nothing takes precedence over rectitude. None fail to arise from this. This may truly be called abundant virtue and great accomplishment, reaching the utmost! The practices from the five aggregates up to formation and dissolution are the traces of the truth of suffering and the extinction of defilements. The chapter on the bases of miraculous power is the essential for meditative contemplation and the five superknowledges. The fifty-five contemplations are the root of crossing beyond the four impermanences and abandoning the three fetters. When people dwell in the world, their ignorance is not yet dispelled; they rejoice in sensual pleasure as if feasting on a great sacrifice, having dwelt in the filthy sea and endured the dark plight for nine months. Once born, they face hardships and encounter a hundred misfortunes; turning around, old age and death arrive, entangling them in myriad sufferings, drifting and drowning in the five flows without being able to return. The Sage saw deeply and took this as the realization of suffering, letting his spirit roam the eightfold path and ascending forever to eternal peace. When one concentrates single-mindedly and studies antiquity, leisure and joy are like this; when one gives rein to emotions and indulges desires, the bitter poison is like that. The two paths are clear; one should comply with what ought to be followed. Stones are used for tempering to crush, peel away the hard, and cut through the rigid; when the plain substance is refined and deep, the five colors shine brightly. Judging from this, can one not strive? I was born at an ill-fated time, encountering the unraveling of the royal order. The northern barbarians caused disorder in the central land, and the region east of the mountains was swept away. Fleeing hardship to Huoze, my teachers perished and my companions fell away. Looking around for counsel, there was nowhere to turn. At that time, there were the śramaṇa Zhi Tanjiang of Yanmen and the śramaṇa Zhu Sengfu of the capital of Ye. These two benevolent men possessed bright intelligence, had faith, and loved antiquity. Braving hazards from afar, they arrived, and I was able to exchange views with them. Examining the chapters and scrutinizing the phrases, we composed this explanatory commentary, so that the fearful and those striving to advance might temporarily gain a slight awakening. For a mosquito or gnat to flap its wings to assist the great wind, or for an ant mound to add an earthen layer to the peak of Mount Song—how could they increase their height or force? To fathom the subtle and fathomless is difficult even for the eight classes of sages; how much more so for a late-learning youngster like me to aspire to this? However, the sacred land of Tianzhu has rugged roads and lies far away; obscure are the eminent scholars, and few come to spread transformation throughout. The former sages have passed away, and future sages have not yet arrived; advancing or retreating, I stumble like a trapped wolf, sighing with tears. Therefore, I composed these chapter-and-phrase commentaries to manifest my sincere devotion, hoping that the divine ones with supernatural powers will shine their light upon my longing gaze, and surely deign to bend their spiritual feet to illuminate errors and rectify deficiencies.