出三藏記集 9.60

9.60

夫禪典之妙。蓋是三乘之所遊。反迷悟惑者。託幽途以啟真城。塹三業之固宅。廣六度以澄神。散結賊於曠野。研四變以遊心。焰三慧為炬明。浪冲源以殊分。金剛戟以練魔。定慧相和以測真如。是智依定則癡妄虧而霄落。定由智則七淵湛然而淳。清清融九服則玄庭有階。階級相乘則鑪冶成妙。義之本本之有方。尋根傳訓則冥一俱當。雖利鈍有殊濟苦一量。若契會同趣則聖性同照。聖性同照則累患永遼。故知禪智為出世之妙術。實際之義標也。夫禪智之為道。言約理備。究析中道。對治萬法。善惡相乘。迭轉孰止。互有廢興。館𨶳匠徹。略位其宗。以揆大方。異世同文。上聖為慈悲之主。留法藏於千載。示三異之軌轍。知會通之至階。汰麁蜯於曩劫。曲成眾豔之靈蠙。密典相傳以至今。接有緣以八背。未始失其會。隨機猶掌迴。所謂澹智常寂而不失。照雖萬機寂化一用。故能窮諸法寶。擬想玄扉遊志妙極。躡神光於無間者哉。禪典要密。宜對之有宗。若漏失根原則支尋不全。群盲失旨則上慢幽昏。可不懼乎。若能審其本根冥訓道成。實觀會古則萬境齊明。冲途𭐋爾而融。體玄像於無形。然後知凡聖異流心行無邊。然棄本尋條之士。各以升降小異。俱會其穴。遂迷穴見。偶變其津塗。昏遊長夜永與理隔。不亦哀哉。自頃來禪訓實少尠得其中。每以列形難保遷動不常。便啟誠三寶搜求玄要。依四百論扣其關旨。會遇西來宗匠。綜習大法尋本至終。冥隅一開。千載之下優曇再隆。可不欣乎。遂乃推究高宗承嗣之範。云佛涅槃後阿難曲奉聖旨流行千載。先與同行弟子摩田地。摩田地傳與舍那婆斯。此三應真。大願弘覆冥搆于昔。神超事外慈在寧濟潛行救物偶會無差。佛在世時。有外學五通仙人。往至佛所請求出家。乘俗高勝志存遠寄。便言。若我入道智慧辯才與身子等者。爾乃當於至尊法中修習梵行。佛知其本根於後百年當弘大事。便答仙人。汝今出家。智慧淺薄不及身子。仙人即退。後百年中其人出世。奇識博達遇物開悟。遂出家學道。尋得應真。三明內照六通遠振。辯才無礙摧諸異論。所度人眾其量無邊於諸法藏開託教文。諸賢遂見。乃有五部之異。是化運有方開徹有期。五部既舉則深淺殊風。遂有支流之別。既有其別。可不究本詳而後學耶。此一部典。名為具足清淨法場。傳此法至於罽賓。轉至富若蜜羅。富若蜜羅亦盡諸漏具足六通。後至弟子富若羅。亦得應真。此二人於罽賓中為第一教首。富若蜜羅去世已來五十餘年。弟子去世二十餘年。曇摩多羅菩薩。與佛陀斯那俱共。諮得高勝宣行法本。佛陀斯那化行罽賓。為第三訓首。有於彼來者。親從其受法。教誨見其涅槃。時遺教言。我所化人眾數甚多。入道之徒具有七百。富若羅所訓為教師者十五六人。如今於西域中熾盛教化。受學者眾。曇摩羅從天竺來。以是法要傳與婆陀羅。婆陀羅與佛陀斯那。佛陀斯那愍此旃丹無真習可師。故傳此法本流至東州。亦欲使了其真偽。塗無亂轍成無虛搆。必加厚益斯經所云開四色為分界一色無量緣宗歸部津則發趣。果然其猶朝陽揮首萬類影旋。師子震吼則眾獸伏焉。聖王輪寶諸雄悚然。攬斯法界廓清虛津。入有不惑處無不沈。自非道起群方智鑒玄中。孰能立無言之辯於靈沼之淵。寄言述於七覺之林。可謂無名於所名而物無不名。無形於所形而物無不形。無事於所事而物無不事者哉。

The profundity of dhyāna scriptures is indeed the realm traversed by the three vehicles. Those who would turn back from delusion and awaken from confusion rely on this obscure path to open the gates to the citadel of truth. It moats the fortified dwelling of the three karmas and broadens the six perfections to clarify the spirit. It disperses the thieves of fetters into the wilderness and refines the four transformations to let the mind wander free. It sets alight the three wisdoms as a blazing torch, and its waves surge from the source to make distinct divisions. With a vajra halberd it tames Māra; harmonizing concentration and wisdom, it fathoms suchness. Thus, when wisdom relies on concentration, ignorance and delusion diminish and vanish like clouds; when concentration proceeds from wisdom, the seven abysses become serene and pure. When purity melts across the nine realms, a staircase leads up to the profound courtyard; when the stages ascend in succession, the crucible achieves perfection. For doctrines to have roots, their roots must have method; following the roots and transmitting the teachings, their hidden unity will be fully attained. Although sharp and dull [faculties] differ, their measure of relief from suffering is one. If they accord and tend toward the same goal, the noble nature will shine equally in all; and when the noble nature shines equally in all, burdening afflictions are forever dispelled. Thus we know that dhyāna and wisdom are the wondrous methods for transcending the world, the markers of the meaning of the limit of reality. As a path, dhyāna and wisdom are concise in words yet complete in principle. They scrutinize the Middle Way and counter all phenomena. Good and evil ride upon each other, turning in succession without end, mutually rising and falling. Hall and gate are made open and clear by the master, who sketches their overarching tenets to assess the great horizon. Across different ages with identical scripts, the supreme sages act as lords of compassion, preserving the Dharma treasury for a thousand years, revealing the tracks of the three distinctions, and showing the supreme ladder of synthetic comprehension. They sift coarse bivalves in eons past, and softly nurture the wondrous pearl of diverse beauties. The esoteric scriptures have been handed down to the present day, gathering those with karmic affinity through the eight liberations. They have never failed to meet their aim; adapting to capacities is like turning one's palm. What is called serene wisdom is ever quiet yet does not fail to illuminate; though facing ten thousand circumstances, its silent transformation acts as one. Thus one can exhaust all Dharma treasures, aim toward the profound gate, let one's aspiration wander to the wondrous pinnacle, and tread in divine light without interruption. The dhyāna scriptures are essential and esoteric, and must be approached through their proper lineage. If the root and origin are lost, tracing the branches will be incomplete; if the blind multitude miss the purport, overweening pride and murky blindness will ensue—can one not be fearful? If one can examine their roots, their hidden instruction will bring the Way to fruition; when true contemplation matches antiquity, the myriad realms will shine together. The transcendent path will easily blend together, embodying the profound image in the formless. Only then will one know that commoners and sages flow in different streams, and their mental actions are boundless. Yet those who abandon the root to pursue the branches, because of slight differences in high and low, all converge in their own burrows; having strayed into burrowed views, they mistakenly alter the ford, wandering blindly through the long night, eternally cut off from principle—is this not lamentable? In recent times, genuine instructions on dhyāna have been rare, and few have struck the middle. Ever mindful that bodily form is hard to preserve and constantly shifting, I opened my sincere heart to the Three Jewels to search for the profound essentials. Relying on the *Catuḥśataka*, I knocked at its crucial tenets, and met a master of the lineage who came from the west. Synthesizing the great Dharma, I traced the origin to its conclusion. Once the hidden corner was opened, after a thousand years the udumbara blossomed anew—can one not rejoice? Thereupon I investigated the models of inheritance of the exalted lineage: it is said that after the Buddha entered nirvāṇa, Ānanda faithfully received the sage's directive and propagated it for a thousand years. First he transmitted it to his fellow disciple Madhyāntika; Madhyāntika transmitted it to Śāṇavāsa. These three arhats, through the vast cover of their great vows, laid the hidden structure in the past; their spirits transcended worldly affairs, their compassion lay in bringing relief, and they secretly saved beings, matching opportunities without error. When the Buddha was in the world, there was a non-Buddhist hermit with the five superknowledges who went to the Buddha's place to request ordination. Buoyed by worldly superiority, his aspirations were set on distant heights; he said: 'If, upon entering the Way, my wisdom and eloquence are equal to Śāriputra's, only then will I cultivate the holy life within the Dharma of the Most Honoured One.' The Buddha, knowing that his faculties would propagate a great matter after a hundred years, answered the hermit: 'If you take ordination now, your wisdom will be shallow and slight, inferior to Śāriputra's.' The hermit then retreated. A hundred years later, this man appeared in the world; his extraordinary understanding was broad and thorough, and upon encountering things he attained awakening. He then took ordination to study the Way, soon attained arhatship, his three knowledges shone internally, and his six superknowledges shook afar. His unhindered eloquence crushed all heterodox doctrines. The assembly of people he liberated was boundless in number; he unfolded and instituted scriptural texts from the Dharma treasury. When the worthy ones saw this, there arose the distinction of the five schools. Thus teaching and guiding have their methods, and opening comprehension has its due time. Once the five schools were raised, their deep and shallow styles differed, leading to distinctions among the branch streams. Since these distinctions exist, can one not investigate the roots and examine them thoroughly before learning? This one scripture is titled *The Field of the Utterly Pure Dharma*. This Dharma was transmitted to Kapiśa, and in turn reached Puṇyamitra. Puṇyamitra had also exhausted all taints and was fully endowed with the six superknowledges. Later it passed to his disciple Puṇyara, who also attained arhatship. These two men were the foremost leaders of the teaching in Kapiśa. Since Puṇyamitra passed away, more than fifty years have elapsed; his disciple passed away more than twenty years ago. The Bodhisattva Dharmatrāta, together with Buddhasena, consulted the exalted and superior and proclaimed the fundamental text of the Dharma. Buddhasena's teaching spread through Kapiśa, where he was the third master of instruction. There was one who came from there, who personally received the Dharma from him, was instructed by him, and witnessed his nirvāṇa. At that time [Buddhasena] gave his parting instruction, saying: 'The assembly of people I have transformed is very numerous; those who have entered the Way amount to a full seven hundred. Those trained by Puṇyara who became teachers are fifteen or sixteen men. At present, they flourish in teaching in the Western Regions, and those who receive their instruction are many.' Dharmala came from India and transmitted this Dharma essential to Bhadra; Bhadra gave it to Buddhasena. Buddhasena pitied this sandalwood land for having no authentic practice to serve as a teacher; therefore he transmitted this fundamental text of the Dharma to flow to this eastern realm, also desiring to make clear what is genuine and what is spurious, so that the path would have no confused ruts and accomplishment would have no empty construction. It will certainly bring profound benefit. What this sūtra refers to as opening the four forms to divide the realms, wherein a single form has immeasurable conditions, returning the lineages to their schools' fords, is indeed set in motion. It is just like the morning sun raising its head and all creatures turning their shadows toward it, or the lion roaring and all beasts submitting, or the wheel-treasure of a sage king causing all monarchs to tremble. Grasping this dharma-realm purifies the empty ford; entering existence, one is not confused; abiding in non-existence, one does not sink. Were it not that the Way arises in all regions and wisdom mirrors the profound center, who could establish wordless eloquence in the abyss of the spiritual pool, or lodge words and narrations within the forest of the seven factors of awakening? One may call it having no name among what is named, yet leaving nothing unnamed; having no form among what is formed, yet leaving nothing unformed; and having no action among what is enacted, yet leaving nothing unenacted.