出三藏記集 8.57

8.57

Regarding this Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra: the first ten fascicles contain five chapters. Its Hu original was brought from India by the eastern monk Zhimeng, who rested temporarily in Gaochang. There was an Indian śramaṇa Dharmakṣema, who possessed broad learning and wide perspective, combining both the secular and the religious; wandering abroad to observe transformation, he was previously in Dunhuang. The Prince of Hexi had long cultivated great deeds and had an innate harmony in his heart; in accordance with his princehood, he personally led the troops and pacified Dunhuang to the west. Upon encountering this man, recognizing his divine understanding and perception, he invited him to the provincial seat and settled him in the inner park, sending an envoy to Gaochang to retrieve this Hu original and ordering Dharmakṣema to translate it. The first section of this sūtra contained only five chapters. The text from the subsequent six chapters onward had long been preserved in Dunhuang. When Dharmakṣema was translating the sūtra, he noticed at the lower portion that the division was incomplete, so he sought and looked for the remaining portions. There was a Hu monk who, answering the need, sent this sūtra; the Hu original totaled 25,000 gāthās. The subsequent Hu original, it is thought, was also nearly complete. However, recently the state has been troubled and overburdened, and there has been no leisure to translate further, so it has been somewhat delayed. As for all those parts that could be circulated, the main ideas and central path in the sūtra have all been presented, with nothing lacking. Now there are already thirteen chapters, making forty fascicles. As for the words and sentences of the sūtra, the brush-holder followed entirely what was orally translated by the master of the sūtra without adding embellishments. What was expounded in the beginning and end of the sūtra are merely matters of broad and abridged hearings of Buddha-nature; they do not contradict each other. I often reflect: although situated on the western frontier, I am deeply fortunate to have had this encounter. Encountering this great scripture resolves longstanding blockages, beyond what words can exhaust. Because the manner in which various masters translated the scriptures greatly failed to accord with their purport, causing doubts and errors for later generations, I therefore privately do not decline to venture this futile effort, hoping it may offer a slight benefit. Consulting the master of the sūtra and collecting the preceding and following, I briefly set forth the first five chapters as a private record; the remaining meanings, upon reflection, can all be comprehended. (Sengyou notes: I observe that this preface differs slightly from Master Daolang's preface and the biography of Dharmakṣema; not knowing which is correct, I present both.)