大唐貞元續開元釋教錄 2.6.8

2.6.8

多謝專門之奧。不謂皇恩降鑒言課虛無。承
命之時怳然自失。含毫之際腆爾何施。砥鉛
錫而難工。扣寂寞而無得。伏賴譯經首序睿
藻裁成。搜編簡以闡微。摭梵言而窮奧。暢大
乘之妙旨。廣解脫之真宗。㻮若珪璋。明同日
月。智通等。所以童蒙暫發迷誤潛祛。得奉恩
私勒成疏義。然以力微易屈智劣難周。徒用
管窺。豈窮於廣大。亦同蠡挹。莫究於津涯。無
酬寵待之恩。更成殘陋之罪。智通等。誠惶誠
恐死罪死罪。謹隨表奉進。智通等伏以。義文
浩博塵黷天聰。經疏交參昧諸始學。輒循往
轍式備成文。謹述疏義例訣目錄各一卷隨
疏二十卷以聞。伏增戰越。沙門智通等。誠惶
誠恐載兢載懼謹言。
貞元五年九月八日。章敬寺奉詔修疏沙門
智通等上表。同修疏沙門道岸。
爾時進疏入內。上覽表章。僧等瞻望闕庭屏
營悚懼。至十六日天澤下露錫賚縑緗。乃頒
詔曰。勅絹㺵拾匹。宜賜章敬寺修疏僧智通
等。至宜領取。比修撰疏多勞也。秋冷敬問。師
等各得平安好在否。貞元五年九月十六日
特進左監門衛大將軍竇文場宣　是日也。
既蒙錫賚慰及慇勤。悚戴慚惶修表陳謝。因
請准例置院抽僧。永冀傳燈福資聖壽。文曰。
沙門智通等言。伏奉今日左街功德使竇文
場宣聖恩賜智通等絹㺵拾匹者。智通等。捧
跪慚惶仰戴惴慄。顧茲淺陋。降殊賚於高天。
豈彼微功。荷縑緗於王府智通等。誠惶誠恐
誠兢誠懼。伏惟皇帝陛下。作人父母同佛知
見。務弘至化允叶大猷。爰崇不二之門。以弼
無為之理。既用翻經演布。又令修疏發明。懸
智炬以擊蒙。假慈航而利涉。是謂光揚覺路
導達迷津。溥天率土咸宜感戴。智通等。敢不
祇稟睿謀昭宜法要。幸叨宸睠疏彼新經。庶
得上奉皇綱永傳佛印。無任歡慶抃躍之至。
伏以。聖教發揮要當弘益。既成疏義亦在敷
揚。准醴泉寺翻經造疏沙門超悟置院傳經
例。伏望天慈。許以一寺一院充大乘理趣經
院。乞賜題額。仍擇有道行僧七人。同崇講誦。
有闕續填。庶保無彊之福上資聖壽。立言之教
下拯群迷。謹附左街功德使竇文場。奉表陳
謝申請以聞。沙門智通等。誠惶誠恐載兢載
懼謹言。
貞元五年九月十六日。章敬寺奉詔修疏沙
門智通等表上。
論曰。自佛日西遷法輪東轉。捐軀奉法翻譯
殊高。其次義解。鉤深致遠探賾索隱。今賁真
淨等。即其人焉。賁真淨迺往代翻經聲高帝
里秀悟。今朝傳譯異域欽風。皆述疏弘揚文
詞婉麗。性相偕美千古彌芳。豈謂蕂鼠交侵
已從物化。通上人。外博九流內窮八藏。別承
恩旨翼贊新經。義等連環文同貫玉。探幽析
理覃思研精。可謂五百年中之間生矣。

greatly lacking the depths of specialist learning. We never expected that imperial grace would deign to notice us and test our unsubstantial words. When we received the command, we were dazed and beside ourselves; when we held our brushes, we were timid and at a loss what to set down. Grinding lead and tin is difficult to work into fine craftsmanship; knocking on the void brings forth nothing. We humbly relied on the sage-composed preface to the translated sūtra, in which [His Majesty] combed through the texts to reveal subtleties, picked through the Sanskrit words to fathom the profound, expounded the marvelous tenets of the Mahāyāna, and broadened the true lineage of liberation—brilliant as jade tokens, radiant as the sun and moon. It was through this that the ignorance of Zhitong and the others was temporarily dispelled, and their errors were quietly cleared away, enabling us to receive imperial favor and compose the commentary's meanings. However, with our weak strength being easily exhausted and our inferior intelligence hard pressed to be comprehensive, we merely peered through a tube—how could we fathom what is vast and great? We were also like one who scoops with a gourd—unable to survey the distant shore. Far from repaying the favor of favored treatment, we have instead incurred the guilt of being crude and clumsy. Zhitong and the others are truly fearful, truly terrified, deserving of death, deserving of death! We respectfully present this along with our memorial. Zhitong and the others humbly consider that the doctrinal passages are vast and extensive, and we fear wearying the imperial attention; the sūtra and commentary intertwine, confounding beginners. Venturing to follow past precedents to prepare the complete text, we respectfully composed one fascicle each of the Commentary's Principles and Examples, Oral Instructions, and Catalogue, which we present herewith along with the twenty-fascicle commentary, with redoubled trembling. The śramaṇa Zhitong and others, truly fearful and terrified, twice cautious and dreading, respectfully state.
On the eighth day of the ninth month of the fifth year of Zhenyuan, the śramaṇa Zhitong and others of Zhangjing Temple, who were ordered to compose the commentary, submitted this memorial; co-author śramaṇa Dao'an.
At that time, when the commentary was submitted to the palace and His Majesty perused the memorial, the monks gazed toward the imperial court in anxious trepidation. On the sixteenth day, heavenly favor descended like dew, bestowing gifts of patterned silk. An imperial edict was proclaimed, stating: "An imperial order of ninety bolts of silk shall be bestowed upon the monks Zhitong and the others of Zhangjing Temple who composed the commentary. They should collect it upon arrival. Composing the commentary lately has been laborious. As the autumn turns cold, I respectfully inquire: are the masters all peaceful and well?" Proclaimed on the sixteenth day of the ninth month of the fifth year of Zhenyuan by Dou Wenchang, Specially Promoted, Grand General of the Left Gate Guards.
On that day, having received the gifts and thoughtful solicitations, trembling with gratitude and ashamed of themselves, they composed a memorial offering thanks, taking the opportunity to request, following the precedent, the establishment of a cloister and the selection of monks, in the eternal hope of transmitting the lamp and dedicating the merit to the sacred emperor's longevity. The text read:
The śramaṇa Zhitong and others state: Humbly receiving today the announcement by the Commissioner of Merit and Virtue of the Left Street, Dou Wenchang, that the sacred grace has bestowed ninety bolts of silk upon Zhitong and the others, Zhitong and the others, holding them on bended knees with shame and trepidation, look up in reverence with fear and trembling. Reflecting on our shallowness, extraordinary gifts have fallen from high heaven; how could such minor merits bear patterned silks from the royal treasury? Zhitong and the others are truly fearful and terrified, truly cautious and dreading. We humbly reflect that Your Imperial Majesty, as the parent of the people, possesses the same vision and knowledge as the Buddha, dedicated to propagating the utmost transformation and fully aligning with the Great Way. You thus venerate the Gate of Non-duality to assist the principle of non-action. You have had the sūtra translated and distributed, and further ordered the composition of a commentary to illuminate it, holding high the torch of wisdom to enlighten the ignorant and relying on the ship of compassion for safe passage. This may be called illuminating the path of awakening and guiding people across the river of delusion. All within the world ought to be deeply grateful. How would Zhitong and the others dare not reverently comply with the sage designs and brightly manifest the essentials of the Dharma? Fortunately receiving imperial favor to comment on that new sūtra, we hope above to assist the imperial order and eternally transmit the seal of the Buddha. We cannot bear the peak of our joy and exultation! Humbly we consider: the propagation of the sacred teachings requires broad benefit; now that the commentary's meaning is complete, it also requires dissemination. Following the precedent of the śramaṇa Chaowu of Liquan Temple, who translated the sūtra and created a commentary, establishing a cloister to transmit the sūtra, we humbly gaze upon the heavenly compassion, hoping that you permit one cloister in one temple to serve as the Mahāyāna Adhyardhaśatikā Sūtra Cloister, and beg for an inscribed plaque to be granted. Furthermore, we ask to select seven monks of moral conduct to jointly cultivate recitation and expounding, replacing any vacancies, in order to protect boundless blessings to assist the imperial longevity above, and to deliver all the deluded below with the teachings of established words. Respectfully transmitted through the Commissioner of Merit and Virtue of the Left Street, Dou Wenchang, we present this memorial offering thanks and submitting our petition for consideration. The śramaṇa Zhitong and others, truly fearful and terrified, twice cautious and dreading, respectfully state.
Submitted on the sixteenth day of the ninth month of the fifth year of Zhenyuan by the śramaṇa Zhitong and others of Zhangjing Temple, who were ordered to compose the commentary.
The treatise states: Since the sun of the Buddha moved west and the wheel of Dharma turned east, those who sacrificed their lives for the Dharma and translated it are extraordinarily exalted. Next to them are those who comprehend its meanings, delving into the depths to reach the distant, exploring subtleties to search out the hidden. Now [Liang]ben, Zhen[ji], and [Ru]jing are such men. In former eras Liangben, Zhenji, and Rujing translated sūtras with renown echoing high in the imperial capital; now [Liang]xiu and [Chao]wu transmit translations while foreign lands admire their demeanor. All of them authored commentaries to disseminate them, their diction elegant and beautiful; their nature and appearances are both marvelous, and their fragrance will endure for a thousand ages. How could we have imagined that the white and black mice would take their toll, and they would already pass away? Master Zhitong, externally versed in the nine schools and internally penetrating the eight treasuries, separately received an imperial decree to assist and praise the new sūtra. His meanings are like interlocking rings, his writing like strung jade. He probed the hidden, analyzed principles, and thought deeply with refined precision; he may truly be called a person born once every five hundred years.