仁王般若念誦法 1.3

1.3

我皇帝聖德廣運、仁育群品，亦既纂曆吹大法螺，刊梵言之輕重，警迷徒之耳目。偉矣哉！迺辟興善寺大廣智三藏不空，與義學沙門良賁等一十四人，開府魚朝恩、翰林學士常袞等，去歲夏四月於南桃園再譯斯經。秋九月詔資聖西明百座敷闡，下紫微而五雲抱出、經長衢而萬姓作禮，阡郭充滿猶墻堵焉。稽緇衣、覽青史，自摩騰入漢、僧會遊吳，瑞法之來莫與京者。經云「若未來世有諸國王，建立正法護三寶者，我令五方菩薩往護其國令無災難。」又云「五菩薩自於佛前發弘誓言：『我有陀羅尼能加持擁護，是一切佛本所修行速疾之門。若人得聞一經於耳，所有罪障悉皆消滅，況復習誦而令通利。』佛即讚言：『若誦持此陀羅尼者，我及十方諸佛悉常擁護，諸惡鬼神敬之如佛，不久當得阿耨菩提。』」則知此陀羅尼，字母之根底、眾瑜伽之藪澤，如彼水木歸其本源，故菩薩演之、王者建之、黎人念之、諸佛讚之，俾爾昌而熾、俾爾福而利，於可以見聖人之心。其益既弘、其軌亦妙，苟于誠不克，曷降之以嘉？三藏是以譯具多之文，良賁法師乃受從簡素，始夫處所方便、終其觀行儀則，修為十門，第以位次，一一昭著庶無懵焉。凡我道俗將保厥躬遂求，願踐菩提之路、登仁壽之域者，何莫由斯之道哉。

Our Emperor's sagely virtue extends far and wide, benevolently nurturing all living beings; having already ascended the throne, he blows the great Dharma conch, refines the weight of Sanskrit words, and awakens the ears and eyes of the bewildered. How magnificent! Thereupon he summoned Amoghavajra, Tripiṭaka Master of Great and Broad Wisdom of Daxingshan Monastery, together with Liangbi and other monks learned in doctrinal interpretation, fourteen in all, as well as Yu Chaoen, Opener of the Office, and Hanlin Academician Chang Gun and others, to retranslate this scripture last year in the fourth month of summer at the Southern Peach Orchard. In the ninth month of autumn, an imperial decree ordered one hundred seats to expound and illuminate it at Zisheng and Ximing [monasteries]. Descending from the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, five-colored clouds embraced and emerged; passing along the grand boulevards, the myriad common folk made obeisance; pathways and city walls were filled as dense as partitions. Inspecting the monastic records and perusing the historical annals, from the time Kāśyapa Mātanga entered the Han dynasty and Kang Senghui traveled to the Wu kingdom, never has there been an arrival of the auspicious Dharma equal to this. The sūtra states: 'If in future ages there are kings who establish the correct Dharma and protect the Three Jewels, I will dispatch the Bodhisattvas of the Five Directions to go protect their countries, rendering them free of disasters and perils.' It also states: 'The Five Bodhisattvas themselves made a great vow before the Buddha, saying: "We have a dhāraṇī capable of empowerment and protection, which is the swift gate practiced originally by all Buddhas. If someone hears it pass their ear even once, all sinful obstacles will be eradicated, and how much more so if they practice and recite it until fluent!" The Buddha then praised them, saying: "If someone recites and upholds this dhāraṇī, I and all the Buddhas of the ten directions will constantly protect them; all evil ghosts and spirits will revere them as they do the Buddha, and before long they will attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi."' Thus we know that this dhāraṇī is the root of the syllabary and the marsh of the various yogas, just as waters and trees return to their primal source. Therefore bodhisattvas expound it, kings establish it, common people recite it, and all Buddhas praise it, causing you to flourish and blaze, causing you to be blessed and profited—by this one can perceive the mind of the Sage. Its benefit is so vast, and its ritual procedures so wondrous; if one cannot be sincere, how could [Heaven] bestow excellence upon them? The Tripiṭaka Master therefore translated the complete Sanskrit text, and Master of the Law Liangbi thereupon received and simplified it: beginning with the preparatory requisites of the locus, and ending with the ritual rules for meditative practice, he arranged them into ten portals, each in orderly sequence, every one made clearly evident so that none may be bewildered. Whoever among our monastics and laity wishes to preserve their person and fulfill their quests, desiring to tread the path of bodhi and ascend to the realm of benevolence and longevity—how could they not follow this way?