出三藏記集 9.66

9.66

勝鬘經者。蓋是方等之宗極者也。所以存于千載。功由人弘故得。以元嘉十二年歲在乙亥。有天竺沙門。名功德賢。業素敦尚貫統大乘。遠載胡本來遊上京。庇迹祇洹招學鑽訪才雖不精絕義粗輝揚遂播斯旨乃上簡帝主。于時有優婆塞何尚之居丹楊尹。為佛法檀越。登集京輦敏德名望。便於郡內請出此經。既會賢本心。又謹傳譯字句雖質而理妙淵博。殆非常情所可廟慮。時竺道生義學弟子竺道攸者。少習玄宗偏蒙旨訓。後侍從入廬山溫故傳覆。可謂助鳳耀德者也。法師至元嘉十一年。於講座之上遷神異世。道攸慕深情慟有若天墜。於是奉訣墳壟遂遁臨川。三十許載。經出之後。披尋反覆既悟深旨。仰而歎曰。先師昔義闇與經會。但歲不待人經襲義後。若明匠在世剖析幽賾者。豈不使異經同文解無餘向者哉。輒敢解釋兼翼宣遺訓。故作注解。凡有五卷。時人以為文廣義隱。所以省者息心玄門。至大明四年。孝武皇帝以其師習有承勅出為都邑。法師慈因得諮覲粗問此經首尾。又尋其注意竊謂義然。今聊撮其要解。撰為二卷。庶使後賢共見其旨焉。

The *Śrīmālādevī-sūtra* is the supreme culmination of the Vaipulya teachings. The reason it has survived for a thousand years is that its merits depend on human propagation. Thus, in the twelfth year of the Yuanjia reign, the year Yihai [435 CE], an Indian monk named Guṇabhadra, whose practice was plain and noble, and who was well-versed in the Mahāyāna, carried the Hu manuscript from afar and came to travel to the capital. Finding shelter at the Jetavana monastery, he welcomed students and pursued inquiries. Although his talent was not consummate, the meaning was roughly illuminated; and so, spreading this teaching, he presented it to the emperor. At that time, Upāsaka He Shangzhi held the office of Governor of Danyang and was a dānapati of the Buddhadharma; having assembled in the capital, he enjoyed a reputation for keen virtue. He then requested the translation of this sūtra within the commandery. This both accorded with Guṇabhadra's original intention and was translated with care: though the phrasing was plain, the principles were profound and vast, scarcely something that ordinary thought could contemplate. At that time, Zhu Daosheng's doctrinal student Zhu Daoyou had studied the profound school from his youth and received special instruction in its tenets. Later, he attended his master into Mount Lu, reviewing the old and transmitting the repeated teachings; he may be called one who helped the phoenix display its virtue. In the eleventh year of the Yuanjia reign [434 CE], the Dharma Master [Daosheng] passed his spirit to another world upon his teaching seat. Daoyou's mourning was deep and his grief was as if heaven had fallen. Thereupon, bidding farewell at the tomb mound, he retreated into Linchuan for some thirty years. After this sūtra was produced, he leafed through it back and forth; having awakened to its deep purport, he looked up and sighed, saying: 'My late master's past doctrines tacitly converged with this scripture. But time waits for no man, and the scripture has followed upon his doctrine. If that luminous master were still in the world to dissect its obscure subtleties, would it not have caused different scriptures to share the same text and understanding to leave no further doubts?' He then ventured to explain it and help proclaim the posthumous instruction; thus he composed a commentary, in five scrolls in total. People of the time considered its text too broad and its meaning hidden; the reason it was condensed was to give rest to the mind at the profound gate. In the fourth year of the Daming reign [460 CE], Emperor Xiaowu, because he maintained his master's lineage, decreed that he be summoned to the capital. Dharma Master Ci was thus able to consult and visit him, inquiring roughly about the beginning and end of this scripture; and examining his commentary, he privately deemed the doctrine to be correct. Now, briefly gathering its essential explanations, he has compiled it into two scrolls, in the hope that future worthies may together see its purport.