目次Contents
無量壽經優波提舍Treatise on Birth in That Land: The Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless LifeTreatise on Birth in That Land: The Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life
這部論很短：二十四首五言偈，加上不到三千字的長行。它不是一部經，是一個人讀了經以後寫下的東西——婆藪槃豆依《無量壽經》造偈，再自己作長行解釋偈。
偈的第一句是「世尊我一心，歸命盡十方，無礙光如來，願生安樂國」。一個「我」，一個「一心」，然後是歸命、是願生。全論往後說的一切，都是從這二十字裡展開的。
二十四首偈裡，二十一首在看一個國土：它的清淨、它的量、它的性，它的水、地、虛空，它的主與眷屬，一直看到「大乘善根界，等無譏嫌名」；再看坐在那裡的佛，看那裡的菩薩怎樣不動本處而遍至十方。看完，最後一首才說「普共諸眾生，往生安樂國」。先看完，再決定去；去，是為了帶人一起去。
長行把偈收成五個門：禮拜、讚歎、作願、觀察、迴向。論自己說，門是入出的意思；前四門往裡走，第五門往外走。禮拜用身，讚歎用口，作願用心，觀察用智慧，迴向用大悲——一個人全身上下，沒有一處閒著。
觀察門最長。論把那個國土拆成十七件事，把佛拆成八件，把菩薩拆成四件，合二十九件，一件一件回到偈句；然後說這二十九件「略說入一法句」，一法句就是清淨句，清淨句就是「真實智慧無為法身」。拆開，是為了看清；收起，是為了知道它們本來是一件事。
迴向門說得最切身。論把三樣東西叫作「菩提門相違法」：貪著自身、不安眾生、求人供養自己。拿掉這三樣，三種清淨心自己就在：無染、安、樂。論在這裡只說了一句話的方向——「以攝取眾生生彼國土故」。
最後論立五種門，像走進一座宅子：近門、大會眾門、宅門、屋門，然後出門到園林遊戲地。前四門入是自利，第五門出是利他；論的結語是：「菩薩如是修五門行自利利他，速得成就阿耨多羅三藐三菩提故。」
所以這部論從一個人的「我一心」，走到一切人的「速得成就」。它沒有寫任何修行的細節，只畫了一張圖：五門、二十九事、一法句、四心、五種門、入與出。讀完這張圖的人，知道自己在哪一步，也知道下一步在哪裡。
This treatise is short: twenty-four five-character verses, and less than three thousand characters of prose. It is not a sūtra; it is what one person wrote after reading one—Vasubandhu composed verses on the basis of the Sūtra of Measureless Life, and then wrote prose to explain the verses himself.
The first line of the verses is “World-Honored One, with one mind I take refuge in the Tathāgata of Unobstructed Light who fills the ten directions, and I aspire to be born in the Land of Peace and Bliss.” One “I,” one “with one mind,” then taking refuge, then the aspiration to be born. Everything the treatise says afterward unfolds from these twenty characters.
Of the twenty-four verses, twenty-one look at a land: its purity, its measure, its nature; its water, ground, and sky; its lord and its retinue, all the way to “a realm of Mahāyāna roots of good, equal, with no name of reproach.” Then they look at the Buddha who sits there, and at how the bodhisattvas there reach the ten directions without moving from their place. Only when the looking is done does the last verse say, “together with all beings, to be born in the Land of Peace and Bliss.” Look first, then decide to go; and go in order to bring others along.
The prose gathers the verses into five gates: worship, praise, making the vow, contemplation, dedication and direction. The treatise itself says a gate is for entering and exiting; the first four go inward, the fifth goes out. Worship uses the body, praise the mouth, making the vow the mind, contemplation wisdom, dedication great compassion—in a whole person, nothing is left idle.
The gate of contemplation is the longest. The treatise takes the land apart into seventeen things, the Buddha into eight, the bodhisattvas into four—twenty-nine in all—and returns each to a line of verse; then it says that these twenty-nine “briefly stated, enter one dharma-phrase,” that the one dharma-phrase is the phrase of purity, and that the phrase of purity is “the unconditioned dharma-body of true wisdom.” Taking apart is for seeing clearly; gathering is for knowing they were one thing all along.
The gate of dedication speaks closest to home. The treatise names three things “dharmas contrary to the gate of awakening”: attachment to one’s own person, giving beings no peace, seeking offerings for oneself. Remove these three, and three pure minds are simply there: undefiled, peaceful, blissful. Here the treatise gives the direction in a single clause—“because he gathers beings into birth in that land.”
Finally the treatise sets up five gates, like walking into a mansion: the gate of approach, the gate of the great assembly, the gate of the residence, the gate of the chamber, and then out the door to the garden-grove playground. Entering by four is self-benefit; exiting by the fifth is benefiting others. The treatise closes: “The bodhisattva, thus practicing the practice of the five gates, benefiting himself and benefiting others, swiftly accomplishes unsurpassed perfect awakening.”
So this treatise walks from one person’s “with one mind” to everyone’s “swiftly accomplishes.” It writes no detail of practice; it draws only a map: five gates, twenty-nine things, one dharma-phrase, four minds, five gates, entering and exiting. One who has read the map knows where he stands, and where the next step is.
一、本論與底本範圍
《無量壽經優波提舍》一卷，本編以《大正新脩大藏經》T26n1524 為底本。卷端首題作「無量壽經優波提舍願生偈」〔T26n1524 0230c13〕，署「婆藪槃豆菩薩造」〔T26n1524 0230c15〕「元魏天竺三藏菩提流支譯」〔T26n1524 0230c16〕；論末尾題作「無量壽經論一卷」〔T26n1524 0233a26〕。首題存梵音，尾題取漢譯；後世通稱「往生論」，七部經錄皆不見此名。
本文自首題起，至卷末附於正文之內的一條校語止：「大乘善根界 天台智者即曰「界」字乃「男」字之錯，則宜改作。而諸疏家皆作「界」字，故今存之。」〔T26n1524 0233a27〕此條非論文，是後人就偈中一字之議附記於末，本編照錄並另標其身分。完整讀流共 70 個正文區塊、3,724 個字元。
譯年諸錄不一：《歷代三寶紀》與《大唐內典錄》繫於普泰元年，《開元釋教錄》繫於永安二年洛陽永寧寺出，皆載僧辯筆受。本編並錄不擇。
二、六單元的論文大勢
全編分六單元。單元 00 收首題、署譯與二十四首五言偈：第一偈含禮拜、讚歎、作願三門，第二偈自述所依，第三至二十三偈觀國土十七種、佛八種、菩薩四種莊嚴，末偈迴向。單元 01 收長行之首：願偈大意、「云何觀？云何生信心？」之問，與五念門之名目及各門之體。單元 02 收觀察門之廣說：二十九種莊嚴逐一回偈，再收入一法句與二種清淨。單元 03 收巧方便迴向：柔軟心、三種菩提門相違法、三種隨順菩提門法與名義攝對。單元 04 收四心生清淨佛國土，與五種門之入出。單元 05 收自利利他之總結、「速得成就」、尾題與校語。
六單元順次串接，完整覆蓋上述讀流。每一單元共用一件漢文原典，向中文與英文各展開白話、考據、義疏與心要。
三、五念門與二十九種莊嚴
論的骨架是五念門：「一者禮拜門；二者讚歎門；三者作願門；四者觀察門；五者迴向門。」〔T26n1524 0231b12〕禮拜是身業，讚歎是口業，作願是心業而修奢摩他，觀察是智慧而修毘婆舍那，迴向以大悲為首。曇鸞釋「門」為入出義，判前四門入、後一門出；論自己則在五種門處明說「初四種門成就入功德，第五門成就出功德」〔T26n1524 0233a08〕。
觀察門之內，論把所觀之境數為二十九：國土十七種功德成就，佛八種，菩薩四種正修行。每一種都回到一句偈——「某功德成就者，偈言某某故」。數完之後，論說這二十九句「略說入一法句」，而一法句「謂清淨句」，清淨句「謂真實智慧無為法身」〔T26n1524 0232b23〕。拆成二十九件，是為了看清；收成一句，是為了不把它當作二十九樁風景。
四、曇鸞一面古鏡
本編以曇鸞《無量壽經優婆提舍願生偈註》T40n1819 為逐文全鏡。曇鸞分全論為總說分（偈）與解義分（長行），卷上逐偈釋，卷下分長行為十重；每一種國土莊嚴底下問「此云何不思議？」，每一偈底下問「佛本何故起此莊嚴？」。卷首以龍樹難行道、易行道之判開篇，卷末以阿彌陀如來為增上緣、自力他力之譬收束。
註唯鏡用，不另譯。義疏承註開講而以論為主語；考據九目逐條附註之頁錨；讀者面每一逐字引文，皆可回到註的攤平行檔或底本核對。本論在漢地無第二譯本，故考據第二目誠實記無；曇鸞自議譯語、自引他說之處，入第五目並錄。
五、守住的界線
作者繫屬、譯年、曇鸞生平，皆按諸錄與《續高僧傳》所載並錄，不以近人考訂回填。「界」「男」一字之議、「即見彼佛」一句論與鏡之差文、偈文與鏡牒之異文，皆入考據第九目誌錄不判。
曇鸞所引而未舉經名之「經言」，記其未舉，不代擬出處；曇鸞未出梵形之音寫名相，存漢音，不以現代校本還原。經與古德未答者照實說未答。
I. Base Text and Extent
The Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life is one fascicle; this edition takes the Taishō canon, T26n1524, as its base text. The opening title reads “The Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life, with Verses of Aspiration for Birth” (0230c13); the attributions read “composed by the bodhisattva Vasubandhu” (0230c15) and “translated by Bodhiruci, Tripiṭaka master from India, under the Northern Wei” (0230c16); the closing title reads “The Treatise on the Sūtra of Measureless Life, in one fascicle” (0233a26). The opening title keeps the Sanskrit sound; the closing title takes the Chinese rendering. The later common name, “Treatise on Birth in That Land,” appears in none of the seven canonical catalogues.
The text runs from the opening title to a collation note that stands at the very end, inside the body: “A realm of Mahāyāna roots of good—Zhiyi, the Master of Tiantai, said that the character ‘realm’ is an error for the character ‘man’ and should be corrected. But all the commentators read ‘realm,’ and so it is kept here” (0233a27). This is not the treatise; it is a later hand’s note on one character of the verse, appended at the end; this edition reproduces it in place and marks its status separately. The complete reading flow comprises 70 text blocks and 3,724 characters.
The catalogues differ on the year of translation: the Record of the Three Treasures through the Ages and the Great Tang Catalogue of the Inner Canon place it in the first year of Putai; the Kaiyuan Catalogue places it in the second year of Yong’an, at Yongning Monastery in Luoyang; all name Sengbian as scribe. This edition records them side by side without choosing.
II. Six Units
The edition is divided into six units. Unit 00 holds the opening title, the attributions, and the twenty-four five-character verses: the first verse contains the three gates of worship, praise, and making the vow; the second states what the author relies on; the third through twenty-third contemplate the seventeen adornments of the land, the eight of the Buddha, and the four of the bodhisattvas; the last verse is dedication and direction. Unit 01 holds the head of the prose: the general intent of the verse, the question “How does one contemplate? How does one give rise to faith?”, and the names of the five gates of mindful practice with the substance of each. Unit 02 holds the extended exposition of the gate of contemplation: twenty-nine adornments returned one by one to the verses, then gathered into the one dharma-phrase and the two kinds of purity. Unit 03 holds dedication and direction by skillful means: the soft and pliant mind, the three dharmas contrary to the gate of awakening, the three that accord with it, and the matching of names and meanings. Unit 04 holds the four minds that give birth to a pure buddha-land, and the entering and exiting of the five gates. Unit 05 holds the conclusion on self-benefit and benefiting others, the phrase “swiftly accomplishes,” the closing title, and the collation note.
The six units join in sequence and cover the whole reading flow. Each unit shares a single Chinese source text, from which the Plain Reading, Apparatus, Exposition, and Essentials unfold in Chinese and in English.
III. The Five Gates of Mindful Practice and the Twenty-Nine Adornments
The skeleton of the treatise is the five gates of mindful practice: “the first is the gate of worship; the second, the gate of praise; the third, the gate of making the vow; the fourth, the gate of contemplation; the fifth, the gate of dedication and direction” (0231b12). Worship is an act of the body; praise, of the mouth; making the vow, of the mind, practicing śamatha; contemplation, of wisdom, practicing vipaśyanā; dedication and direction has great compassion at its head. Tanluan glosses “gate” as entering and exiting and judges the first four as entering and the last as exiting; the treatise itself, at the five gates of entering and exiting, states that “the first four accomplish the merit of entering, and the fifth accomplishes the merit of exiting” (0233a08).
Within the gate of contemplation the treatise counts what is contemplated as twenty-nine: seventeen accomplishments of the merit of the land, eight of the Buddha, four right practices of the bodhisattvas. Each returns to a line of verse—“the accomplishment of such-and-such merit, because the verse says . . .” When the count is done, the treatise says that these twenty-nine phrases “briefly stated, enter one dharma-phrase,” and that the one dharma-phrase “is the phrase of purity,” and the phrase of purity “is the unconditioned dharma-body of true wisdom” (0232b23). To divide into twenty-nine is to see clearly; to gather into one is to avoid taking them for twenty-nine pieces of scenery.
IV. Tanluan as the Ancient Mirror
This edition takes Tanluan’s Commentary on the Treatise on Birth in That Land, T40n1819, as its line-by-line mirror for the whole. Tanluan divides the treatise into a general statement (the verses) and an explanation of meaning (the prose); the first fascicle explains the verses one by one, the second divides the prose into ten sections. Under each adornment of the land he asks, “In what way is this inconceivable?”; under each verse, “Why did the Buddha originally raise this adornment?” The commentary opens with Nāgārjuna’s distinction of the difficult and easy paths and closes with the Tathāgata Amitābha as the dominant condition and the simile of self-power and other-power.
The commentary serves only as a mirror; it is not separately translated. The Exposition opens its teaching through the commentary while keeping the treatise as its subject; the Apparatus attaches the commentary’s loci item by item in its nine topics; every verbatim quotation on the reader’s side can be checked against the commentary’s line file or the base text. The treatise has no second Chinese translation, so the second apparatus topic honestly records none; where Tanluan debates a rendering or cites another view, the fifth topic records it side by side.
V. Limits Kept Open
Authorship, the year of translation, and Tanluan’s life are recorded as the catalogues and the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks give them, without filling gaps from modern reconstruction. The debate over the one character “realm” or “man,” the difference between the treatise and the mirror in the sentence “on seeing that Buddha,” and the variants between the verses and the mirror’s citations are all recorded without adjudication in the ninth apparatus topic.
Where Tanluan cites “the sūtra says” without naming the sūtra, the absence of a name is recorded and no source is supplied; where Tanluan gives no Sanskrit for a transliterated term, the Chinese sound is kept and no modern reconstruction is made. Where scripture and the ancient masters do not answer, the edition says plainly that they do not.
讀法How to read
一、先選入口
只有一刻鐘——先讀〈卷首心要〉，再讀 00〈偈頌部〉與 05〈五門總結〉的心要。一頭一尾，守住「我一心」與「自利利他」。
想知道五念門是什麼——01。長行在這裡自問「云何觀？云何生信心？」，然後給出五個門的名與體；每一門後面都有一個「故」字，說它通往哪裡。
想看那個國土被怎樣看了一遍——00 → 02。先讀偈裡二十一首看國土、看佛、看菩薩的句子，再讀長行怎樣把它們數成二十九件事，又怎樣收成一句。
想知道修了止觀之後該做什麼——03 → 04 → 05。迴向為什麼叫巧方便，三種相違法與三種隨順心怎樣一一相對，四種心怎樣生出一個國土，五種門怎樣入了四步再出一步。
二、六單元的閱讀地圖
| 單元 | 名 | 閱讀焦點 |
|---|---|---|
| 00 | 偈頌部 | 我一心·歸命·二十九種莊嚴之偈·普共諸眾生 |
| 01 | 長行總說及五念門 | 願偈大意·云何觀云何生信心·五門之名與體·門者入出義 |
| 02 | 觀察門三種莊嚴 | 不可思議力·十七種·八種·四種·一法句·二種清淨 |
| 03 | 善巧迴向 | 柔軟心·巧方便·三種相違·三種隨順·名義攝對 |
| 04 | 入出五門 | 四心生淨土·五業和合·近門至園林遊戲地門·入四出一 |
| 05 | 五門總結及尾題校記 | 自利利他互成·速得·尾題二名·界男之議 |
三、三條主題讀路
一、從一個「我」到「諸眾生」：00 第一偈 → 00 末偈 → 03 巧方便迴向 → 05 自利利他。這條路看一個人的發心怎樣從自己轉向眾生，而不丟掉自己。
二、從看到入：00 觀察諸偈 → 02 二十九種 → 04 五種門。這條路看「觀察」怎樣從偈裡的看，變成長行裡的數，再變成一步一步走進去的門。
三、從門到路：01 五念門 → 04 五種門 → 05 入四出一。這條路把兩組「五門」並排讀：行門與果門一一相對，前四入是自利，第五出是利他。
四、五層怎麼用
| 層 | 所守 | 適合何時讀 |
|---|---|---|
| 原典 | T26n1524 底本文字與頁錨 | 要看論究竟說了什麼，或核一句的起訖 |
| 白話 | 逐句轉成今語，偈一偈一段 | 初讀全段，確認每一句、每一偈是否讀全 |
| 考據 | 九目並列科判、經論宗依、曇鸞逐文、術語、承衍與校本 | 要核一個引文、一個錨、一處異文 |
| 義疏 | 以論為主語開講，末節另交代曇鸞承衍 | 白話已通，想看論句如何連成一條路 |
| 心要 | 另取一條可貫穿本單元的心線 | 時間少，或讀完後收攏方向 |
初讀可依白話、心要、義疏前行；遇到一句過強、過快或似乎省略的話，立即回到原典與考據。曇鸞之判與論之自說，在義疏裡分得清楚：正文各節是論自己說，末節才是鏡。
I. Choose an Entrance
With only a quarter of an hour—read the Opening Essentials, then the Essentials of 00 (The Verses) and 05 (Conclusion of the Five Gates). Head and tail hold “with one mind” and “benefiting himself and benefiting others.”
To learn what the five gates of mindful practice are—01. Here the prose asks itself “How does one contemplate? How does one give rise to faith?” and then gives the name and substance of five gates; behind each gate stands a “because” that says where it leads.
To see how that land is looked over—00 → 02. First read the twenty-one verses that look at the land, the Buddha, and the bodhisattvas; then read how the prose counts them as twenty-nine things, and how it gathers them into one phrase.
To learn what to do after śamatha and vipaśyanā—03 → 04 → 05. Why dedication is called skillful means; how the three contrary dharmas and the three according minds answer one another; how four minds give birth to a land; how the five gates are entered by four steps and exited by one.
II. Reading Map of the Six Units
| Unit | Name | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 00 | The Verses | with one mind · taking refuge · the verses of twenty-nine adornments · together with all beings |
| 01 | The Prose Commentary: General Statement and the Five Gates of Mindful Practice | the intent of the verse · how to contemplate, where faith comes from · the name and substance of the five gates · a gate is for entering and exiting |
| 02 | The Gate of Contemplation: The Three Kinds of Adornment | inconceivable power · seventeen · eight · four · one dharma-phrase · two kinds of purity |
| 03 | Skillful Dedication and Direction | the soft and pliant mind · skillful means · three contrary · three according · names and meanings |
| 04 | The Five Gates of Entering and Exiting | four minds give birth to a pure land · five karmas combined · from the gate of approach to the garden-grove playground · four in, one out |
| 05 | Conclusion of the Five Gates; Closing Title and Collation Note | self-benefit and benefiting others complete each other · swiftly · two names of the work · the debate over realm and man |
III. Three Thematic Routes
One: from an “I” to “all beings.” First verse of 00 → last verse of 00 → 03 dedication by skillful means → 05 self-benefit and benefiting others. This route watches one person’s aspiration turn from himself toward beings without losing himself.
Two: from looking to entering. The verses of contemplation in 00 → the twenty-nine in 02 → the five gates in 04. This route watches “contemplation” change from looking in the verses, to counting in the prose, to gates one walks through step by step.
Three: from gates to a road. The five gates of mindful practice in 01 → the five gates in 04 → four in and one out in 05. This route reads the two sets of five gates side by side: gates of practice against gates of result, the first four entering as self-benefit, the fifth exiting as benefiting others.
IV. Use the Five Layers
| Layer | What it keeps | When to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Source Text | the wording and loci of T26n1524 | to see what the treatise actually says, or to check where a sentence begins and ends |
| Plain Reading | sentence by sentence in modern language; one verse, one paragraph | on a first reading, to confirm that every sentence and every verse has been read in full |
| Apparatus | nine topics setting out the outline, scriptural grounding, Tanluan line by line, terms, carrying forward, and recensions | to check a quotation, a locus, or a variant |
| Exposition | teaching with the treatise as its subject, Tanluan’s carrying forward kept to the final section | once the Plain Reading is clear, to see how the sentences join into one road |
| Essentials | a separate thread that runs through the unit | when time is short, or to gather direction after reading |
On a first reading, go forward with the Plain Reading, the Essentials, and the Exposition; when a sentence seems too strong, too quick, or to have left something out, return at once to the Source Text and the Apparatus. Tanluan’s judgments and the treatise’s own words are kept distinct in the Exposition: the body sections are the treatise speaking; only the final section is the mirror.
凡例Conventions
一、底本、範圍與尾題校語
底本為《大正新脩大藏經》T26n1524。本文自首題「無量壽經優波提舍願生偈」〔T26n1524 0230c13〕起，至卷末校語止；題名、署譯、尾題俱在其內，藏本後附校勘記不混入正文。底本文字照錄，不據鏡註或同軸他經改字。
卷末一段「大乘善根界 天台智者即曰……故今存之」〔T26n1524 0233a27〕在正文之內，非行間小注，亦非論文；本編照錄其位置，另標其身分為後人附記之校語。完整讀流 70 個正文區塊、3,724 個字元。
二、六單元與五層分工
六單元依論文次序相接：偈頌一單元，長行五單元。每單元均有五層：
原典——照錄底本，保留題署、標點與頁錨。
白話——逐句轉成現代漢語；偈體一偈一段，逐句對譯；條件、數目、次第與反覆均不省略。
考據——列證據、歸屬與界線，曇鸞之語全額具名並附頁錨。
義疏——以論為主語開講；曇鸞具名集中於開篇定位與末節承衍。
心要——另起一條進路，不掛注家名，不縮寫成義疏摘要。
三、白話、義疏與心要
白話先守原句，不以解說代替論文。名目、數目、次第、「故」字所繫之因由皆逐項保留。為讀通而補出的主語或關係詞，只能顯明原義，不得另添論文未說的保證。
義疏每一項實質義理須回到本論或具名古德；論沒有說明之處照實說未答。正文各節以論為主語，曇鸞之判歸開篇與末節『承衍』。心要從本單元自具的一句或一線出發，與義疏保持不同的教學角色。
四、考據九目
每一單元的考據層固定九目：①科判定位；②異譯對勘；③經論宗依；④本段釋要；⑤諸家異釋；⑥術語；⑦譬喻·修辭；⑧徵引承衍；⑨校本定位。
本論在漢地無第二譯本，第二目誠實記無；偈頌所依之《無量壽經》經文歸第三目。第四目逐文牒曇鸞之釋；第五目收曇鸞自議譯語、自引他說之處並錄不判。某目確無材料時明說其無，不以沉默代替。
五、逐字引文與頁錨
雙角引號只放逐字引文；單角引號只作今語提挈。逐字引文的字形、標點、內層引號與夾注照來源保留，不把節譯或概括放進雙角引號。
頁錨取所引首字之前最近的藏本行界。考據中的完整引文用全式，如〔T40n1819 0827a02〕；原典段首可用短式〔T26 0231b07〕。同一段內另起一則引文，另附自己的錨。頁錨的作用是讓讀者回到實際所引之本，不以附近段落代替。
六、無異譯與一面古鏡
《無量壽經優波提舍》在所查漢藏範圍內止此一譯，故無異譯可勘。T12n0360《佛說無量壽經》、T12n0365《佛說觀無量壽佛經》、T12n0366《佛說阿彌陀經》只在曇鸞所引之處作同軸經證，各守其本文。
曇鸞 T40n1819 為逐文全鏡，唯鏡用，不另譯。義疏承其開講，考據逐條附其頁錨；鏡可以照論，不取代論。
七、歧異與存疑
論與鏡牒之異文（如「焰」「炎」、「語」「悟」、「即見彼佛」一句之差文）、底本與宋元明三本之異讀、偈文「花」「華」二形，依各條校記與鏡文實錄，並錄不判。曇鸞自數「盡二十四行」與二十四偈之數不盡相應，誌錄不判。
作者繫屬、譯年、曇鸞之世系年代，依七部經錄與《續高僧傳》所載並錄；經錄所無者記其無。
八、梵形、引據與語言
引據以經、論與古德注疏為限。梵形只依曇鸞所出（優婆提舍、婆藪槃頭、菩提薩埵）或今譯注諸帙已立之通例作注音之助；曇鸞未出者（迦旃隣陀、迦羅求羅）保留漢音，不以現代校本重構。
中文使用現代漢文與全形標點；英文姊妹本以英語自然成文。論文、曇鸞、今譯三種聲音須可分辨：本文不借古德之名，古德不失其歸屬，今語不冒充逐字引文。
I. Base Text, Extent, and the Closing Collation Note
The base text is the Taishō canon, T26n1524. The text runs from the opening title “The Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life, with Verses of Aspiration for Birth” (0230c13) to the collation note at the end of the fascicle; title, attributions, and closing title are all within it, and the collation apparatus appended in the canon is not mixed into the body. The wording of the base text is reproduced as it stands, and is not emended from the mirror commentary or from same-axis scriptures.
The passage at the end, “A realm of Mahāyāna roots of good—Zhiyi, the Master of Tiantai, said . . . and so it is kept here” (0233a27), stands inside the body; it is neither an interlinear note nor the treatise. This edition reproduces it in place and marks it separately as a collation note by a later hand. The complete reading flow comprises 70 text blocks and 3,724 characters.
II. Six Units and Five Layers
Six units follow the order of the treatise: one unit for the verses, five for the prose. Each unit has five layers:
Source Text—the base text reproduced as it stands, with title, attributions, punctuation, and loci.
Plain Reading—sentence by sentence in modern language; in the verses, one verse to a paragraph, line by line; conditions, numbers, sequence, and repetition are never omitted.
Apparatus—evidence, attribution, and limits; Tanluan is named in full and given a locus every time.
Exposition—teaching with the treatise as its subject; Tanluan is named only in the opening placement and in the final section on carrying forward.
Essentials—a separate approach that names no commentator and is not an abridgment of the Exposition.
III. Plain Reading, Exposition, and Essentials
The Plain Reading keeps to the original sentence and does not replace the treatise with explanation. Names, numbers, sequence, and the reasons attached to each “because” are all preserved item by item. A subject or connective supplied for readability may only make the original meaning plain; it may not add a guarantee the treatise does not give.
Every substantive point of doctrine in the Exposition must return to the treatise or to a named ancient master; where the treatise does not explain, the Exposition says so. The body sections keep the treatise as their subject; Tanluan’s judgments belong to the opening placement and the final section, Carrying Forward. The Essentials start from a line or a thread the unit itself provides, and keep a teaching role distinct from the Exposition.
IV. Nine Apparatus Topics
The Apparatus of every unit has nine fixed topics: I. doctrinal-outline placement; II. collation with the alternate translations; III. scriptural and treatise grounding; IV. essentials of the commentary on this passage; V. divergent readings of the commentators; VI. terms; VII. similes and rhetoric; VIII. citation and carrying forward; IX. placement among the recensions.
The treatise has no second Chinese translation; the second topic honestly records none, and the sūtra passages on which the verses rely belong to the third topic. The fourth topic cites Tanluan’s explanation line by line; the fifth records, side by side and without adjudication, the places where Tanluan debates a rendering or cites another view. Where a topic has no material, it says so; silence is not used in its place.
V. Quotations and Loci
Corner brackets 「」 hold only verbatim quotations; single corner brackets 『』 only mark a modern paraphrase. Character forms, punctuation, inner quotation marks, and inline notes within a verbatim quotation are kept as in the source; a paraphrase or summary is never put inside double corner brackets.
A locus is the nearest line boundary in the canon before the first character quoted. Complete quotations in the Apparatus use the full form, such as 〔T40n1819 0827a02〕; at the head of a Source Text paragraph the short form 〔T26 0231b07〕 may be used. A second quotation within the same paragraph receives its own locus. The locus exists so that the reader can return to the text actually quoted; a nearby passage is not accepted in its place.
VI. No Alternate Translation and One Ancient Mirror
Within the Chinese canon as examined, the Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life exists in this one translation only, so there is no alternate translation to collate. T12n0360, the Sūtra of Measureless Life; T12n0365, the Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life; and T12n0366, the Amitābha Sūtra, serve as same-axis scriptural evidence only where Tanluan cites them, each keeping to its own text.
Tanluan’s T40n1819 is the line-by-line mirror for the whole; it serves only as a mirror and is not separately translated. The Exposition opens its teaching through it, and the Apparatus attaches its loci item by item; a mirror may reflect the treatise, but does not replace it.
VII. Variants and Unresolved Questions
Variants between the treatise and the mirror’s citations (such as the two forms of “blaze,” “words” against “awakening,” and the differing wording of the sentence “on seeing that Buddha”), variants between the base text and the Song, Yuan, and Ming witnesses, and the two forms of the character for “flower” in the verses are recorded from the collation notes and the mirror as they stand, side by side and without adjudication. Tanluan’s own count, “to the twenty-fourth line,” does not match the count of twenty-four verses exactly; this too is recorded without adjudication.
Authorship, the year of translation, and Tanluan’s dates are recorded as the seven canonical catalogues and the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks give them; where a catalogue is silent, its silence is recorded.
VIII. Indic Forms, Sources, and Language
Sources are limited to sūtras, treatises, and the commentaries of the ancient masters. Indic forms are given only where Tanluan supplies them (upadeśa, Vasubandhu, bodhisattva) or where the present translation series has an established convention, and only as an aid to pronunciation; where Tanluan gives none (Jiazhanlintuo, Jialuoqiuluo), the Chinese sound is kept and no modern reconstruction is made.
The Chinese uses modern literary Chinese with full-width punctuation; the English sister text is written as natural English. Three voices must remain distinguishable—the treatise, Tanluan, and the present translation: the text does not borrow the name of an ancient master, the ancient master does not lose his attribution, and modern paraphrase does not pass itself off as verbatim quotation.
譯者Translator
一、卷端署造與署譯
T26n1524 卷端署「婆藪槃豆菩薩造」〔T26n1524 0230c15〕「元魏天竺三藏菩提流支譯」〔T26n1524 0230c16〕。本編以此二署指稱論之造者與傳譯者，字形照錄；曇鸞作「婆藪槃頭」，並錄不改。
七部經錄之中，《開元釋教錄》同繫婆藪槃豆造；《出三藏記集》不載此論；餘錄或繫菩提留支譯而不載造者。譯年諸錄不一，本編並錄。曇鸞釋「婆藪槃頭」為「天親」〔T40n1819 0826c11〕，本編在考據中保存此釋，不以近人之說代之。
二、同軸經典與論之邊界
本論在漢地無第二譯本。曇鸞所引之 T12n0360《佛說無量壽經》、T12n0365《佛說觀無量壽佛經》、T12n0366《佛說阿彌陀經》，是淨土同軸經典，不是本論的替代傳本。
論依經造偈，偈依經而說國土、佛、菩薩之莊嚴；同軸經典可互證這些義位，卻不把經所有、論所無的句式補進論文。經是經，論是論，鏡是鏡，三者各守其本。
三、曇鸞一鏡
曇鸞——《無量壽經優婆提舍願生偈註》T40n1819，二卷，為本編逐文全鏡。卷上以龍樹難行易行二道開篇，解論名目，分偈章門，逐偈釋二十四偈；卷下分長行為十重，逐文牒論而釋。十七種國土莊嚴底下各問「此云何不思議？」，卷末以三願證阿彌陀如來為增上緣，以劣夫跨驢、乘轉輪王行之譬示自力他力。
《續高僧傳》本傳〔T50n2060 0470a13〕記曇鸞雁門人，卒於魏興和四年，春秋六十有七；不載生年，本編不代擬。本傳不載註往生論一事，而《歷代三寶紀》《法經錄》《大唐內典錄》皆繫其註於曇鸞；本編據後者，誌錄前者之無。
註不是論的替代答案。曇鸞之判、之引、之譬，在考據九目與義疏末節逐條可核；義疏正文以論為主語。
四、本編譯注者
譯者 釋慧鏡。AI 於指月計畫各端之角色，總說維護於 waken.org/methodology。
本編的白話、考據、義疏、心要與英文姊妹本，均由釋慧鏡負責最後取捨。底本文字與古德硬引不因今語改寫；今語的句法、段落與教學次第，則以忠於本文、守住歸屬、誠實保留限界為準。
I. The Fascicle-Front Attributions
The front of the fascicle of T26n1524 reads “composed by the bodhisattva Vasubandhu” (0230c15) and “translated by Bodhiruci, Tripiṭaka master from India, under the Northern Wei” (0230c16). This edition uses these two attributions to name the treatise’s author and translator, reproducing their character forms; Tanluan writes the author’s name with a different final character, and both forms are recorded.
Among the seven canonical catalogues, the Kaiyuan Catalogue likewise attributes composition to Vasubandhu; the Collection of Records concerning the Tripiṭaka does not list the treatise; the others attribute translation to Bodhiruci without naming the author. The catalogues differ on the year of translation, and this edition records them side by side. Tanluan glosses the author’s name as “Tianqin,” “kin of heaven” (T40n1819 0826c11); this edition preserves his gloss in the Apparatus and does not replace it with modern opinion.
II. Same-Axis Scriptures and the Treatise Boundary
The treatise has no second Chinese translation. The scriptures Tanluan cites—T12n0360, the Sūtra of Measureless Life; T12n0365, the Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life; T12n0366, the Amitābha Sūtra—are same-axis Pure Land scriptures, not substitute witnesses for the treatise.
The treatise composes its verses on the basis of the sūtra, and the verses speak of the adornments of land, Buddha, and bodhisattvas according to the sūtra; the same-axis scriptures may confirm these points, but no wording that the sūtra has and the treatise lacks is supplied into the treatise. Sūtra, treatise, and mirror each keep to their own text.
III. Tanluan
Tanluan—Commentary on the Treatise on Birth in That Land, T40n1819, two fascicles, the line-by-line mirror of this edition. The first fascicle opens with Nāgārjuna’s two paths, the difficult and the easy, explains the title, divides the verses into their sections, and explains the twenty-four verses one by one; the second divides the prose into ten sections and explains the treatise line by line. Under each of the seventeen adornments of the land it asks “In what way is this inconceivable?”; at its close it proves from three vows that the Tathāgata Amitābha is the dominant condition, and shows self-power and other-power by the simile of the feeble man who cannot mount a donkey and the retinue of a wheel-turning king.
His biography in the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks (T50n2060 0470a13) records that he was a man of Yanmen and died in the fourth year of Xinghe under the Wei at the age of sixty-seven; it gives no year of birth, and this edition supplies none. The biography does not mention the commentary on this treatise, while the Record of the Three Treasures through the Ages, the Fajing Catalogue, and the Great Tang Catalogue of the Inner Canon all attribute the commentary to him; this edition follows the latter and records the former’s silence.
The commentary is not a substitute answer for the treatise. Tanluan’s judgments, citations, and similes can be checked item by item in the nine apparatus topics and in the final section of each Exposition; the body of the Exposition keeps the treatise as its subject.
IV. Present Translator
Translator · Shi Huijing. The full statement of AI's role across the 指月 project is maintained at waken.org/methodology.
The Plain Reading, Apparatus, Exposition, Essentials, and the English sister text of this edition are all finally decided by Shi Huijing. The wording of the base text and the verbatim quotations from the ancient masters are not rewritten for the sake of modern phrasing; the syntax, paragraphing, and teaching order of the modern prose are governed by fidelity to the text, preservation of attribution, and honest retention of limits.
書目Bibliography
一、本編底本
- 《無量壽經優波提舍》 一卷 · 卷端署婆藪槃豆菩薩造、元魏天竺三藏菩提流支譯 · T26n1524。本文自
0230c13首題至0233a29卷末校語；尾題作「無量壽經論一卷」。
本編六個原典單元與所有論文頁錨皆回到此一漢文流。大正藏後附校記作考據見證，不改寫底本文字。
二、同軸經典
- 《佛說無量壽經》 二卷 · T12n0360（曇鸞所稱「王舍城所說《無量壽經》」；四十八願、三輩與聞名往生之經證）。
- 《佛說觀無量壽佛經》 一卷 · T12n0365（曇鸞所引法界身、下下品十念之經證）。
- 《佛說阿彌陀經》 一卷 · T12n0366（曇鸞所稱「舍衛國所說《無量壽經》」；佛自解阿彌陀名號之經證）。
三經只在曇鸞所引之處作同軸經證。本論漢地無第二譯本，以上諸經均不稱作本論異譯，也不提供補改本論的文字。
三、承衍古鏡
- 曇鸞《無量壽經優婆提舍願生偈註》 二卷 · T40n1819（逐文全鏡；卷上逐偈，卷下十重）。
註唯鏡用，不另譯。引用時具名附頁錨；曇鸞自議譯語與自引他說之處，入考據第五目並錄。
四、經論所依與後出見證
- 《妙法蓮華經》 · T09n0262（曇鸞所引「分一為三」之據）。
- 《大智度論》 · T25n1509（曇鸞所稱《釋論》；迦羅求羅蟲、好堅樹二喻與之同文，曇鸞未標所承）。
- 《大寶積經》無量壽如來會 · T11n0310（「高原陸地不生蓮華」同喻之見證）。
- 善導《觀無量壽佛經疏》 · T37n1753（引本論偈三、偈四之後出見證）。
- 智顗《觀無量壽佛經疏》 · T37n1750（以「二乘不得生」質中輩之見證）。
- 慧遠《無量壽經義疏》 · T37n1745（舉「女人根缺及二乘種」為問之見證）。
- 憬興《無量壽經連義述文贊》 · T37n1748（以偈句配經之見證；卷首題作「釋璟興撰」）。
- 窺基《阿彌陀經疏》 · T37n1757；窺基《阿彌陀經通贊疏》 · T37n1758（舉五念門全目、以「二乘種不生」為問端之見證）。
- 《藥師經疏》 · T85n2767（引偈十四之後出見證）。
上述經論只在各單元實際相關處引入。後出見證只證本論被引之實，不作本論義理的反向根據；不因後出引文而回改底本。
五、引用方式
經典與古疏引用使用冊號、部號及頁欄行，如 T40n1819 0835a21。每一漢文硬引屬於所標來源；同一段內另起引文，另取其首字之前最近行界。
同軸經證歸考據第三目，曇鸞逐文釋歸第四目，其自議與所引他說歸第五目，後出徵引歸第八目，底本異讀歸第九目。分類為讀者標示證據所在，不表示諸本互相等同。
六、取用範圍
本書目列本編實際所依的漢文經論與古德注疏。現代梵文校訂本不作論文或名形來源，近人考訂不作本編義理權威，後世宗派敘事不代曇鸞之語。
經與古德未回答的問題仍保留未答；書目提供追查入口，不以收錄某本為理由強令各本相合。
I. Base Text
- Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life · one fascicle · attributed at the front of the fascicle to the bodhisattva Vasubandhu, translated by Bodhiruci under the Northern Wei · T26n1524. The text runs from the opening title at
0230c13to the collation note at0233a29; the closing title reads “The Treatise on the Sūtra of Measureless Life, in one fascicle.”
The six Source Text units and every treatise locus in this edition return to this one Chinese flow. The collation apparatus appended in the Taishō canon serves as witness in the Apparatus and does not rewrite the base text.
II. Same-Axis Scriptures
- Sūtra of Measureless Life · two fascicles · T12n0360 (what Tanluan calls “the Sūtra of Measureless Life spoken at Rājagṛha”; scriptural evidence for the forty-eight vows, the three grades, and birth through hearing the name).
- Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life · one fascicle · T12n0365 (Tanluan’s evidence for the body of the dharma-realm and the ten thoughts of the lowest birth of the lowest grade).
- Amitābha Sūtra · one fascicle · T12n0366 (what Tanluan calls “the Sūtra of Measureless Life spoken at Śrāvastī”; scriptural evidence for the Buddha’s own explanation of the name Amitābha).
The three scriptures serve as same-axis evidence only where Tanluan cites them. The treatise has no second Chinese translation; none of these scriptures is called an alternate translation of it, and none supplies wording to emend it.
III. The Ancient Commentarial Mirror
- Tanluan, Commentary on the Treatise on Birth in That Land · two fascicles · T40n1819 (the line-by-line mirror for the whole; the first fascicle verse by verse, the second in ten sections).
The commentary serves only as a mirror and is not separately translated. It is cited by name with a locus every time; where Tanluan debates a rendering or cites another view, the fifth apparatus topic records it side by side.
IV. Later Witnesses
- Lotus Sūtra · T09n0262 (Tanluan’s ground for “dividing the one and teaching three”).
- Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom · T25n1509 (what Tanluan calls the Explanatory Treatise; the similes of the kālakula insect and the Haojian tree share its wording, and Tanluan does not mark the source).
- Great Jewel-Heap Sūtra, Assembly of the Tathāgata of Measureless Life · T11n0310 (witness to the same simile of the lotus not growing on high ground).
- Shandao, Commentary on the Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life · T37n1753 (later witness citing the third and fourth verses).
- Zhiyi, Commentary on the Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life · T37n1750 (witness questioning the middle grade by “the two vehicles are not born there”).
- Huiyuan, Commentary on the Sūtra of Measureless Life · T37n1745 (witness raising “women, the deficient in faculties, and the seed of the two vehicles” as a question).
- Jingxing, Linked-Meaning Exposition and Praise of the Sūtra of Measureless Life · T37n1748 (witness matching verse lines to the sūtra; the head of the fascicle writes the author’s name with a variant character).
- Kuiji, Commentary on the Amitābha Sūtra · T37n1757; Kuiji, Comprehensive Praise Commentary on the Amitābha Sūtra · T37n1758 (witnesses listing the five gates of mindful practice in full and raising “the seed of the two vehicles does not arise” as a question).
- Commentary on the Medicine Buddha Sūtra · T85n2767 (later witness citing the fourteenth verse).
These scriptures and treatises are brought in only where a unit actually requires them. Later witnesses prove only that the treatise was cited; they are not used as grounds for its doctrine in reverse, and no later citation is used to emend the base text.
V. Citation Practice
Scriptures and ancient commentaries are cited by volume, text number, and page-column-line, as in T40n1819 0835a21. Every verbatim Chinese quotation belongs to the source marked; a second quotation within the same paragraph takes its own nearest preceding line boundary.
Same-axis scriptural evidence belongs to the third apparatus topic, Tanluan’s line-by-line explanation to the fourth, his debated renderings and cited views to the fifth, later citations to the eighth, and base-text variants to the ninth. The classification marks where the evidence lies for the reader; it does not imply that the texts are equivalent.
VI. Scope and Exclusions
This bibliography lists the Chinese scriptures, treatises, and ancient commentaries that actually govern this edition. Modern critical editions of Sanskrit texts are not used as sources for the treatise or for the forms of names; modern reconstructions are not treated as doctrinal authority; later sectarian narrative is not substituted for Tanluan’s own words.
Questions that scripture and the ancient masters do not answer remain unanswered; the bibliography provides points of entry for further inquiry and does not use the inclusion of a text as a reason to force agreement among the texts.
索引Indices
本索引列六個實文單元及每單元的完整五層連結。起訖依 T26n1524 的實際頁欄行；六單元合計 70 blocks、3,724 code points。
一、六單元
| 單元 | 結構位置 | 名 | T26n1524 起訖 | 五層 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | 偈頌部 | 偈頌部 | 0230c13–0231b06 | 原典 · 白話 · 考據 · 義疏 · 心要 |
| 01 | 長行（解義分） | 長行總說及五念門 | 0231b07–0231b24 | 原典 · 白話 · 考據 · 義疏 · 心要 |
| 02 | 長行（解義分） | 觀察門三種莊嚴 | 0231b24–0232c02 | 原典 · 白話 · 考據 · 義疏 · 心要 |
| 03 | 長行（解義分） | 善巧迴向 | 0232c03–0232c29 | 原典 · 白話 · 考據 · 義疏 · 心要 |
| 04 | 長行（解義分） | 入出五門 | 0233a01–0233a22 | 原典 · 白話 · 考據 · 義疏 · 心要 |
| 05 | 長行（解義分） | 五門總結及尾題校記 | 0233a22–0233a29 | 原典 · 白話 · 考據 · 義疏 · 心要 |
二、全經結構讀路
| 結構 | 單元 | 讀路 |
|---|---|---|
| 偈頌部 | 00 | 偈頌部 |
| 長行（解義分） | 01–05 | 長行總說及五念門 → 觀察門三種莊嚴 → 善巧迴向 → 入出五門 → 五門總結及尾題校記 |
三、典據速查
| 要查什麼 | 到哪裡 |
|---|---|
| 一句經文屬古疏何科 | 該單元考據 目一 |
| 本論有無異譯、偈所依之經在何處 | 目二 |
| 一項義理出於何經、論或古鏡 | 目三 |
| 曇鸞如何逐文開解本段 | 目四 |
| 曇鸞自議譯語與所引他說 | 目五 |
| 一個名相的釋義與限界 | 目六 |
| 經文的譬喻與修辭 | 目七 |
| 本段如何被後文或古德承衍 | 目八 |
| 底本異讀與卷帙位置 | 目九 |
四、卷首卷末導航
This index lists the six textual units and the complete five-layer link set for each. Every range gives the actual page-column-line loci in T26n1524; together the units comprise 70 textual blocks and 3,724 code points.
I. Six Units
| Unit | Structural Place | Name | T26n1524 Locus | Five Layers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | The Verses | The Verses | 0230c13–0231b06 | Source · Plain Reading · Apparatus · Exposition · Essentials |
| 01 | The Prose Commentary | The Prose Commentary: General Statement and the Five Gates of Mindful Practice | 0231b07–0231b24 | Source · Plain Reading · Apparatus · Exposition · Essentials |
| 02 | The Prose Commentary | The Gate of Contemplation: The Three Kinds of Adornment | 0231b24–0232c02 | Source · Plain Reading · Apparatus · Exposition · Essentials |
| 03 | The Prose Commentary | Skillful Dedication and Direction | 0232c03–0232c29 | Source · Plain Reading · Apparatus · Exposition · Essentials |
| 04 | The Prose Commentary | The Five Gates of Entering and Exiting | 0233a01–0233a22 | Source · Plain Reading · Apparatus · Exposition · Essentials |
| 05 | The Prose Commentary | Conclusion of the Five Gates; Closing Title and Collation Note | 0233a22–0233a29 | Source · Plain Reading · Apparatus · Exposition · Essentials |
II. Structural Reading Routes
| Structure | Units | Reading Route |
|---|---|---|
| The Verses | 00 | The Verses |
| The Prose Commentary | 01–05 | The Prose Commentary: General Statement and the Five Gates of Mindful Practice → The Gate of Contemplation: The Three Kinds of Adornment → Skillful Dedication and Direction → The Five Gates of Entering and Exiting → Conclusion of the Five Gates; Closing Title and Collation Note |
III. Quick Reference to the Evidence
| What You Want to Find | Where to Go |
|---|---|
| Where a sentence falls in an ancient outline | Topic I of the unit’s Apparatus |
| Whether a second translation exists, and where the sūtras behind the verses are treated | Topic II |
| Which scripture, treatise, or ancient mirror grounds a claim | Topic III |
| How Tanluan opens the passage line by line | Topic IV |
| Tanluan’s own comments on renderings and the other views he cites | Topic V |
| The meaning and limit of a term | Topic VI |
| The passage’s similes and rhetoric | Topic VII |
| Its later citation and carrying forward | Topic VIII |
| Base-text variants and fascicle placement | Topic IX |
IV. Front- and Back-Matter Navigation
題署Colophon
一、題署
書名作《無量壽經優波提舍》。本編各單元末行統一署式為：
*釋慧鏡 · 指月 · 無量壽經優波提舍 · {單元} · 2026 秋*
卷首各篇以篇名代單元。漢文題名依 T26n1524；英文題名作 Treatise on Birth in That Land: The Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life。
二、底本與鏡
原典依 T26n1524 一卷。論文自 0230c13 至 0233a29；卷端署婆藪槃豆菩薩造、元魏天竺三藏菩提流支譯。本編逐文所依之鏡為曇鸞《往生論註》，T40n1819。
三、六單元與雙語五層
全編六單元：偈頌部一單元，長行五單元。每單元有一件漢文原典，以及中文、英文各四層白話、考據、義疏與心要；英文不另造原典層。
卷首卷末另具雙語卷首心要、緒論、讀法導引、凡例、譯者與古鏡、詞彙、書目、索引與本題署。
四、引用本編
引用本編之文，請具譯者、書名、單元與層名。例如：
釋慧鏡，《無量壽經優波提舍》譯注（指月），單元 02〈觀察門三種莊嚴〉·義疏。
引用卷首篇章，可作：
釋慧鏡，《無量壽經優波提舍》譯注（指月），〈讀法導引〉。
五、引用原典與古鏡
引用本編所錄原典，宜逕列原書藏經編號與頁錨，不必把本編當作古籍來源。例如：
《無量壽經優波提舍》，T26n1524，0230c13。
曇鸞《往生論註》，T40n1819，0826b27。
逐字引文跨行時，頁錨仍取首字之前最近行界。古說相違，引用須保留作者，不以『古疏云』抹去歸屬。
六、授權與更正
除另有標示者外，本編所作白話、考據、義疏、心要、英譯與編排，依 CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 授權使用：須具名、限非商業使用，改作須以相同方式分享。藏經原文與古籍引文各依其原有權利情形。
若發現底本文字、逐字引文或頁錨有誤，依所引藏本改正；若今語誤傳原句條件、次序或歸屬，回到原典與具名古鏡修正。古說相違不以更正之名抹平，所有取捨由釋慧鏡負責。
釋慧鏡 · 指月 · 無量壽經優波提舍 · 題署 · 2026 秋
I. Title
Treatise on Birth in That Land: The Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life renders 無量壽經優波提舍, the title transmitted in T26n1524.
II. Base and Mirror
The Source Text follows T26n1524 in one fascicle, from 0230c13 to 0233a29. The received fascicle-front wording attributes the treatise to Bodhisattva Vasubandhu and its translation to the Indian Tripiṭaka master Bodhiruci in the Northern Wei. The edition reads line by line through Tanluan’s Commentary on the Treatise on Birth in That Land, T40n1819.
III. Six Units and Five Layers
The reading stream is presented in six units: one for the verses and five for the prose commentary. Each unit contains one Chinese Source Text and four authored layers in Chinese and English: Plain Reading, Apparatus, Exposition, and Essentials. No English Source Text is invented.
The bilingual front and back matter provides Opening Essentials, Introduction, Reading Guide, Conventions, translator and ancient-mirror record, Glossary, Bibliography, complete Indices, and this Colophon.
IV. Ancient Mirror
The edition reads through Tanluan’s T40n1819 as its line-by-line mirror. His outline, interpretations, and the views he cites remain visibly attributed. A commentarial classification is not presented as a statement made by the treatise itself.
V. Citation
Suggested citation: Shi Huijing, trans. and annot., Treatise on Birth in That Land: The Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life: A Bilingual Five-Layer Reading Edition (指月, 2026), citing the unit, layer, and canonical locus where relevant.
For the canonical text itself, cite T26n1524 and its page-register-line locus. For an ancient interpretation, retain the commentator’s name and the locus in T40n1819 rather than citing the present edition as the ancient source.
VI. License and Correction
The authored translation, annotation, and arrangement are made available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike 4.0 International. Canonical source texts and ancient quotations remain subject to their existing rights and conditions of use.
Errors in base wording, quotations, or loci are corrected against the named canonical witness. Errors in contemporary rendering are corrected by returning to the source and attributed ancient mirror. Divergent ancient readings are not erased under the name of correction. Responsibility for all choices belongs to Shi Huijing.
Shi Huijing · 指月 · Treatise on Birth in That Land: The Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Measureless Life · Colophon · Autumn 2026
- 00偈頌部The Verses〔T26 0230c13〕
- 01長行總說及五念門The Prose Commentary: General Statement and the Five Gates of Mindful Practice〔T26 0231b07〕
- 02觀察門三種莊嚴The Gate of Contemplation: The Three Kinds of Adornment〔T26 0231b24〕
- 03善巧迴向Skillful Dedication and Direction〔T26 0232c03〕
- 04入出五門The Five Gates of Entering and Exiting〔T26 0233a01〕
- 05五門總結及尾題校記Conclusion of the Five Gates; Closing Title and Collation Note〔T26 0233a22〕