出三藏記集 9.17

9.17

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.