出三藏記集 9.17

9.17

漸備經十住與本業大品異。說事委悉於本業大品。不知何以曀於涼州。昔涼州諸道士釋教道竺法彥義。斯二道士普皆博學。以經法為意。不知何以不集此經。又亦不聞其有所說。始知博聞之難為人興顯經。且亦是大經。說事廣大義理幽深。乃是眾經之美望。辭敘茂贍真有奇聞。而帛法巨亦是博學道士。昔鄴中亦與周旋。不知何以復不集此經。又不聞其言。博聞強記信難有。護公出須賴經。雖不見恒聞彥說之。張天錫更出首楞嚴。故當應委於先者。元康七年十一月二十一日沙門法護。在長安市西寺中出漸備經。手執胡本譯為晉言。護公菩薩人也。尋其餘音遺迹。使人仰之彌遠。夫諸方等無生諸三昧經類多。此公所出。真眾生之冥梯。大品出來雖數十年。先出諸公略不縷習。不解諸公何以爾。諸公才明過人。當能留心思研心以為至業者。故當極有所得先出諸公。故恨大蘭於文句殊多可恨。大品頃來東西諸講習無不以為業。於文句猶不同覺其轉深。但才分有限思尋有極。幽旨作非短思所盡。然文句故可力為方欲研之。窮此一生冀有微補。漸備經恨不得上一卷。冀因緣冥中之助忽復得之。漸備所說十住位分眾行各有階級。目下殊異於眾經。方欲根悉研尋之如今芒芒猶涉大海。不知第一住中何說。彼或有因緣信使君不可不持。作意盡尋求之理。大品上兩卷若有可尋之階。亦勤以為意。護公出光讚。計在放光前九年。不九年當八年。不知何以遂逸在涼州不行於世。尋出經時。乃在長安出之。而都不流行。乃不知其故。吾往在河北。唯見一卷經。後記云。十七章。年號日月亦與此記同。但不記處所。所以為異。然出經時人云聶承遠筆受。帛元信沙門法度此人。皆長安人也。以此推之。略當必在長安出。此經胡本。亦言于闐沙門祇多羅所齎來也。此同如慧常等涼州來疏。正似涼州出。未詳其故。或乃護公在長安時。經未流宣唯持至涼州。未能乃詳審。泰元元年歲在丙子五月二十四日此經達襄陽。釋慧常以酉年因此經寄互市人康兒展轉至長安。長安安法華遣人送至互市。互市人送達襄陽。付沙門釋道安。襄陽時齊僧有三百人。使釋僧顯寫送與楊州道人竺法汰。漸備經。以泰元元年十月三日達襄陽。亦是慧常等所送。與光讚俱來。頃南鄉間人留寫。故不與光讚俱至耳。首楞嚴須賴。並皆與漸備俱至。涼州道人釋慧常。歲在壬申。於內苑寺中寫此經。以酉年因寄。至子年四月二十三日達襄陽。首楞嚴經事事多於先者。非第一第二第九。此章最多近三四百言許。於文句極有所益。須羅經亦復小多。能有佳處。云有五百戒。不知何以不至。此乃最急。四部不具。於大化有所闕。般若經乃以善男子善女人為教首。而戒立行之本百行之始。猶樹之有根。常以為深恨。若有緣便盡訪求之理。先胡本有至信。因之勿零落。

The Ten Abodes of the Gradual Accumulation Sūtra (Zhanbei jing) differ from those in the Benye jing and the Larger Prajñāpāramitā (Dapin). Its exposition of matters is more detailed than that of the Benye jing and the Larger Prajñāpāramitā. I do not know why it remained hidden in Liangzhou. Formerly, among the monks of Liangzhou, Shi Jiaodao and Zhu Fayan were renowned for their explanations. Both of these two monks were widely learned and devoted their minds to the scriptures and teachings. I do not know why they did not collect this sūtra, nor have I heard of them ever lecturing on it. Only now do I know how difficult it is for the widely learned to bring scriptures to light for others! Moreover, it is also a great scripture: its treatment of subjects is vast, and its doctrinal principles are profound and subtle; it is indeed the jewel of all scriptures. Its rhetoric is richly abundant, truly containing wondrous revelations. And Bo Faju was likewise a widely learned monk, with whom I also associated in Ye in the past; I do not know why he also did not collect this scripture, nor have I heard of his words [on it]. A wide learning and powerful memory are truly hard to find. The venerable Dharmarakṣa translated the Surata-paripṛcchā-sūtra (Xulai jing); although I have not seen it, I have always heard Fayan discuss it. Zhang Tianxi again translated the Śūraṅgama-samādhi-sūtra; thus it should naturally be more detailed than the earlier one. On the twenty-first day of the eleventh month of the seventh year of Yuankang, the śramaṇa Dharmarakṣa translated the Gradual Accumulation Sūtra at the Xisi Monastery in the western market of Chang'an, holding the Hu manuscript in his hands and translating it into the Jin tongue. The venerable Dharmarakṣa was a person of bodhisattva nature! Tracing his lingering voice and remaining tracks makes one look up to him all the more distant. The scriptures on various vaipulya and unproduced samādhis were mostly translated by this master; he was truly an unseen ladder for sentient beings. Although several decades have passed since the Larger Prajñāpāramitā appeared, the earlier masters barely practiced it in detail. I do not understand why these gentlemen did so. Their talent and insight surpassed ordinary men; if they could have applied their minds to deep contemplation and taken it as their supreme endeavor, they surely would have attained much! Yet the earlier masters still regretted that Dalan [i.e., Mokṣala] left many regrettable defects in phrases and sentences. Lately, both in the east and the west, those who lecture and study the Larger Prajñāpāramitā all take it as their primary task; yet regarding the phrases and sentences, they still do not fully perceive its increasing depth. However, one's talent is limited and one's contemplation has an end; its hidden import is indeed not something that shallow thoughts can exhaust. Still, one can certainly strive with the text and sentences, and I am about to investigate it thoroughly, hoping to make some slight contribution in the remainder of this life. As for the Gradual Accumulation Sūtra, I regret not obtaining the first roll; I hope that through the unseen help of causes and conditions, I will suddenly obtain it again. The positions of the ten abodes and the myriad practices expounded in the Gradual Accumulation Sūtra each have their proper gradations; at present, it is strikingly different from other scriptures. I am just intending to investigate it thoroughly from the root, but now I feel as boundless as traversing the great sea, not knowing what is expounded in the first abode. If there should be an opportunity and a reliable messenger, Sir, you must not fail to obtain it, doing your utmost to seek it out according to principle. If there are steps to pursue for the first two rolls of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā, please also apply your mind diligently to it. The venerable Dharmarakṣa's translation of the Guangzan [Prajñāpāramitā] was, by calculation, nine years before the Fangguang [Prajñāpāramitā], or if not nine, then eight years. I do not know why it was subsequently lost in Liangzhou and did not circulate in the world. When investigating the translation of this sūtra, it was indeed produced in Chang'an, yet it did not circulate at all; I truly do not know the reason. Formerly, when I was north of the Yellow River, I only saw one roll of the sūtra. The colophon at the back said: 'Seventeen chapters,' and the era name, month, and day were also identical to this record; only the place was not recorded, which makes it different. However, concerning those present when the sūtra was translated, it is said that Nie Chengyuan was the scribal recorder, and Bo Yuanxin and the śramaṇa Fadu were all men of Chang'an. Deducing from this, it must roughly have been translated in Chang'an. The Hu manuscript of this sūtra is also said to have been brought by the Khotan śramaṇa Jiduoluo. This matches the letter sent by Huichang and others from Liangzhou, which made it seem as if it was translated in Liangzhou; the reason is not yet clear. Perhaps when the venerable Dharmarakṣa was in Chang'an, before the scripture had circulated, he solely carried it to Liangzhou; this cannot yet be examined in detail. On the twenty-fourth day of the fifth month in the bingzi year, the first year of Taiyuan, this sūtra reached Xiangyang. In the you year, Shi Huichang sent this sūtra via Kang'er, a merchant from the border market, passing it on to Chang'an. An Fahua in Chang'an dispatched someone to send it to the border market, and the border-market person delivered it to Xiangyang, handing it over to the śramaṇa Shi Dao'an. At that time in Xiangyang, there were three hundred monks who were assembled; they had Shi Sengxian copy it and send it to the monk Zhu Fatai in Yangzhou. The Gradual Accumulation Sūtra reached Xiangyang on the third day of the tenth month in the first year of Taiyuan; it was also sent by Huichang and others, coming together with the Guangzan. Recently, people in Nanxiang detained it to make a copy, so it did not arrive together with the Guangzan. The Śūraṅgama-samādhi-sūtra and the Surata-paripṛcchā-sūtra both arrived together with the Gradual Accumulation Sūtra. The Liangzhou monk Shi Huichang copied this sūtra at the Neiyuan Monastery in the renshen year, and sent it in the you year; it reached Xiangyang on the twenty-third day of the fourth month in the zi year. The matters in the Śūraṅgama-samādhi-sūtra are in all respects more extensive than the earlier version; this chapter—not the first, second, or ninth—is the most extensive, having nearly three to four hundred more words, which is extremely beneficial to the phrases and sentences. The Surata-paripṛcchā-sūtra is also slightly more extensive and contains fine passages. It is said that there are five hundred precepts; I do not know why they have not arrived. This is the most urgent matter: if the four divisions [of the saṃgha] are not complete, there is a deficiency in the great transformation. The Prajñāpāramitā scriptures take good men and good women as the head of teaching, and the precepts are the basis of establishing practice and the beginning of the hundred deeds, like a tree having roots. I always hold this as a deep regret. If there is an opportunity, you must do your utmost to seek it out according to principle. Since the previous Hu manuscript had a reliable messenger, rely on this so that it does not fall into oblivion.