出三藏記集 9.72

9.72

十二部典。蓋區別法門曠劫因緣。既事照於本生智者得解。亦理資於譬喻賢愚經者。可謂兼此二義矣。河西沙門釋曇學威德等。凡有八僧。結志遊方遠尋經典。於于闐大寺遇般遮于瑟之會。般遮于瑟者。漢言五年一切大眾集也。三藏諸學各弘法寶。說經講律依業而教。學等八僧隨緣分聽。於是競習胡音折以漢義。精思通譯各書所聞。還至高昌乃集為一部。既而踰越流沙齎到涼州。于時沙門釋慧朗。河西宗匠。道業淵博總持方等。以為此經所記源在譬喻。譬喻所明兼載善惡。善惡相翻則賢愚之分也。前代傳經已多譬喻。故因事改名。號曰賢愚焉。元嘉二十二年歲在乙酉。始集此經。京師天安寺沙門釋弘宗者。戒力堅淨志業純白。此經初至。隨師河西。時為沙彌。年始十四。親預斯集躬覩其事。洎梁天監四年。春秋八十有四。凡六十四臘。京師之第一上座也。唯經至中國則七十年矣。祐總集經藏訪訊遐邇。躬往諮問面質其事。宗年耆德峻心直據明。故標講為錄。以示後學焉。

The twelve divisions of the canon distinguish the gates of the Dharma and the causal conditions across distant kalpas. Their events illuminate past births so that the wise attain understanding, and their principles draw on parables so that the Xianyu jing (Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish) can be said to combine both of these significances. The Hexi śramaṇa Shi Tanxue, Weide, and others—eight monks in all—formed the resolve to travel abroad in distant search of the scriptures. At a great monastery in Khotan, they met with the pañcavārṣika assembly. "Pañcavārṣika" means in Chinese the quinquennial gathering of the entire great assembly. Scholars of the three piṭakas each propagated the treasures of the Dharma, preaching the sūtras and expounding the vinaya, teaching according to their respective traditions. Tanxue and the other eight monks divided their listening according to their affinities. Thereupon, competing to learn the Hu sounds and analysing them with Chinese meanings, they carefully reflected and translated, each noting down what he heard. Returning as far as Gaochang, they then compiled it into a single text. Thereafter crossing the flowing sands, they brought it to Liangzhou. At that time the śramaṇa Shi Huilang was a master in Hexi; his religious practice was profound and broad, and he held fast to the Vaipulya sūtras. Considering that this sūtra's records had their origin in parables (avadāna), and that what parables illuminate covers both good and evil, while the contrast between good and evil is the distinction between the wise and the foolish, and seeing that many parables had already been transmitted in scriptures of earlier generations, he accordingly changed the title according to the content, calling it Xianyu (The Wise and the Foolish). In the twenty-second year of the Yuanjia reign era, the year being yiyou, this sūtra was first compiled. The śramaṇa Shi Hongzong of Tian'an Monastery in the capital was resolute and pure in the power of the precepts, and unblemished in his resolve and practice. When this sūtra first arrived, he followed his teacher in Hexi; he was then a novice aged only fourteen, who personally took part in this compilation and witnessed the event with his own eyes. Reaching the fourth year of the Tianjian reign era of the Liang, his age was eighty-four, with sixty-four rains retreats, making him the foremost senior elder of the capital. It had been seventy years since this sūtra first arrived in the central lands. When I, Sengyou, compiled the collection of the canon, inquiring far and wide, I went in person to consult him and questioned him face-to-face about the matter. Zong was advanced in years and elevated in virtue, candid in mind and clear in his testimony; therefore I have noted his exposition as a record to demonstrate it to later students.