大乘起信論 歸敬偈・標五分・因緣分
這一段裡有一句話，把這部論為什麼會存在講得最清楚：
「如來在世眾生利根，能說之人色心業勝，圓音一演異類等解，則不須論。」
佛在世的時候，眾生根器銳利，說法的人色心業勝——一種圓滿的音聲一經演說，各類眾生都能同等聽懂。
那個時候，不需要論。
論之所以出現，是因為那個時代過去了
「若如來滅後」——四個字一轉，接下來是四種人：
有的「能以自力廣聞而取解者」——自己有力量，廣泛聽聞就能理解。
有的「亦以自力少聞而多解者」——同樣憑自力，聽得少而解得多。
有的「無自心力因於廣論而得解者」——自己沒有力量，要靠廣大的論才能得解。
還有的「復以廣論文多為煩，心樂總持少文而攝多義能取解者」——嫌廣論文字太多太煩，喜歡以少的文字含攝多的義。
這部論是為第四種人寫的。
它自陳其職：「為欲總攝如來廣大深法無邊義故，應說此論。」
不是要說經沒說過的話，是把經已說的話收攏成少的文字。
這四種人，是答一個難問時說出來的
難問是：「修多羅中具有此法，何須重說？」
——經裡都有了，何必再說一遍。
而論主的回答沒有抬高論的地位。他先承認：經裡確實已有。差別不在法，在人——「以眾生根行不等、受解緣別」。
而全論的第一個詞，也是為這件事設的
偈頌之後，正文的第一個詞是「論曰」。
不是那句經首常見的話。
從第一個詞起，這部書就把身分交代清楚了：這不是佛親口說的。
八個理由，是按人分的
論主自問「有何因緣而造此論」，答了八種。而那八種讀下來會發現：不是按義理的高低排的，是按人分的。
善根成熟的——「為令善根成熟眾生於摩訶衍法堪任不退信故」。
善根微少的——「為令善根微少眾生修習信心故」。
業障重的——「為示方便消惡業障善護其心，遠離癡慢出邪網故」。
心有過失的——「為示修習止觀，對治凡夫二乘心過故」。
心力怯弱的——「為示專念方便，生於佛前必定不退信心故」。
而第一條罩住其餘：「為令眾生離一切苦得究竟樂，非求世間名利恭敬故」。
所以歸敬偈在最前面
十二句偈，三寶各得其位，然後才說為什麼造論：「為欲令眾生，除疑捨邪執，起大乘正信，佛種不斷故。」
一個要對這麼多種人說話的人，先把自己的位置放低。
論不與經爭位置。它只做經做不了的那件事——在那個不須論的時代過去之後。
One sentence in this passage explains more clearly than any other why this treatise exists:
“When the Tathāgata was in the world, sentient beings had keen capacities, the one able to teach was excellent in body and mind, and when the single perfect voice was proclaimed, beings of every kind understood it equally. Then no treatise was needed.”
Three conditions stand behind that last clause, and all three are conditions of a time, not of a doctrine: the hearers were sharp, the speaker was supreme, and one voice sufficed for every kind of listener at once.
Where those three hold, a treatise has nothing to do.
A Treatise Appears Because That Age Has Passed
“After the Tathāgata’s nirvāṇa”—with that turn, four kinds of people appear:
Some “can gain understanding by hearing widely through their own power.” They possess strength of their own, and wide hearing brings understanding.
Some “likewise hear little yet understand much through their own power.” They too rely on themselves, but hear little and understand much.
Some “have no power in their own minds and gain understanding through an extensive treatise.” They lack strength of their own and need a broad treatise in order to understand.
And some “find the many words of an extensive treatise burdensome and delight in comprehensive retention, few words that embrace many meanings.” A broad treatise feels too long and troublesome; they prefer few words holding many meanings.
This treatise was written for the fourth kind.
It states its own office: “Because it is intended to gather together the boundless meanings of the Tathāgata’s vast and profound Dharma, this treatise should be spoken.”
It does not seek to say something the scriptures never said. It gathers what the scriptures have already said into few words.
The Four Kinds Appear in Answer to a Challenge
The challenge is: “The scriptures already contain these dharmas. Why say them again?”
If it is all already in scripture, why repeat it?
The author does not elevate the treatise in reply. He first concedes that the scriptures do indeed contain it. The difference lies not in the Dharma but in people—“sentient beings are not equal in capacity and practice, and the conditions under which they receive and understand differ.”
The First Word of the Body Was Chosen for the Same Reason
After the stanzas, the first words of the body are “the treatise says.”
Not the familiar opening of a scripture.
From its first words, the book makes its identity clear: this is not spoken directly by the Buddha.
Eight Reasons, Distinguished by People
The author asks, “On what occasions was this treatise composed?” and answers with eight. Read them in sequence and one thing becomes clear: they are not ranked by the height of doctrine. They are distinguished by people.
For those whose wholesome roots have matured: “to enable sentient beings whose wholesome roots have matured to be capable of non-retrogression in their faith in the Mahāyāna.”
For those whose wholesome roots are slight: “to enable sentient beings whose wholesome roots are slight to cultivate the mind of faith.”
For those burdened by karmic obstruction: “to disclose skillful means for removing karmic obstruction, guarding the mind well, departing from ignorance and pride, and escaping the net of deviant views.”
For those whose minds carry faults: “to disclose the cultivation of calming and contemplation, countering the faults in the minds of ordinary beings and those of the two vehicles.”
For those whose strength of mind is frail: “to disclose the skillful means of focused recollection, so that they may be born in the presence of a buddha and assuredly attain non-retrogression in faith.”
And the first reason encompasses all the rest: “to enable sentient beings to leave all suffering and attain ultimate bliss, not to seek worldly fame, gain, and reverence.”
This Is Why Homage Comes First
Across twelve lines of verse, each of the Three Treasures receives its place. Only then does the author say why the treatise must be composed: “Wishing that sentient beings may remove their doubts, relinquish deviant attachments, give rise to true faith in the Great Vehicle, and keep the seed of buddhahood from being cut off.”
A person about to speak to so many kinds of people first lowers his own position.
A treatise does not compete with scripture for its place. It performs the work that scripture no longer performs by itself for every reader—after the age that needed no treatise has passed.
馬鳴菩薩造·梁西印度三藏法師真諦譯《大乘起信論》〈歸敬偈・標五分・因緣分〉· 大正藏 T32n1666〔起 T32 0575b08〕。段／行首〔T32 …〕＝大正藏頁・欄・行錨。
〔T32 0575b08〕大乘起信論一卷 馬鳴菩薩造 梁西印度三藏法師真諦譯 歸命盡十方，最勝業遍知， 色無礙自在，救世大悲者， 及彼身體相，法性真如海， 無量功德藏，如實修行等。 為欲令眾生，除疑捨邪執， 起大乘正信，佛種不斷故。 論曰：有法能起摩訶衍信根，是故應說。說有五分。云何為五？一者、因緣分，二者、立義分，三者、解釋分，四者、修行信心分，五者、勸修利益分。 初說因緣分。 問曰：「有何因緣而造此論？」 答曰：「是因緣有八種。云何為八？一者、因緣總相，所謂為令眾生離一切苦得究竟樂，非求世間名利恭敬故。二者、為欲解釋如來根本之義，令諸眾生正解不謬故。三者、為令善根成熟眾生於摩訶衍法堪任不退信故。四者、為令善根微少眾生修習信心故。五者、為示方便消惡業障善護其心，遠離癡慢出邪網故。六者、為示修習止觀，對治凡夫二乘心過故。七者、為示專念方便，生於佛前必定不退信心故。八者、為示利益勸修行故。有如是等因緣，所以造論。」 問曰：「修多羅中具有此法，何須重說？」 答曰：「修多羅中雖有此法，以眾生根行不等、受解緣別。所謂如來在世眾生利根，能說之人色心業勝，圓音一演異類等解，則不須論。若如來滅後，或有眾生能以自力廣聞而取解者；或有眾生亦以自力少聞而多解者；或有眾生無自心力因於廣論而得解者；自有眾生復以廣論文多為煩，心樂總持少文而攝多義能取解者。如是此論，為欲總攝如來廣大深法無邊義故，應說此論。」 已說因緣分。
The canonical text stands in Chinese only. This edition renders the essence, the plain reading, the exposition and the apparatus into English — never the sūtra itself. Switch to 漢讀本 or 並行雙語 above to read it.
馬鳴菩薩造·梁西印度三藏法師真諦譯《大乘起信論》，自卷端論題至「已說因緣分」。段首（…）＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔一·論題與造譯之人〕（0575b08）大乘起信論一卷。（0575b10）馬鳴菩薩造。（0575b11）梁·西印度三藏法師真諦譯。
〔二·歸敬偈〕（0575b12）
歸命遍盡十方的——
那業行最勝、遍知一切的，
色身無礙而自在、救護世間的大悲者；
以及那位覺者的身與體相，
法性真如的大海，
無量功德的寶藏，
和如實修行的眾人。
為的是要使眾生
除去疑惑、捨掉邪執，
生起大乘的正信，
使佛的種子不斷絕。
〔三·標舉五分〕（0575b18）論說：有一個法，能生起摩訶衍——大乘——的信根，所以應當把它說出來。所說的共有五分。（0575b19）哪五分？第一是因緣分，第二是立義分，第三是解釋分，第四是修行信心分，（0575b20）第五是勸修利益分。
〔四·先說因緣分〕（0575b22）先說第一分，因緣分。
〔五·問：為何造論〕（0575b23）問：『有什麼因緣，而要造這部論？』
〔六·答：八種因緣〕（0575b24）答：『這因緣有八種。哪八種？第一，是因緣的總相——就是為了使眾生離開一切苦、得到究竟的樂，（0575b26）不是為求世間的名利與恭敬。第二，是為了解釋如來根本的義理，使眾生正確理解而不謬誤。（0575b27）第三，是為了使善根已經成熟的眾生，對摩訶衍法擔當得起、信而不退。（0575b29）第四，是為了使善根還微少的眾生，修習信心。（0575c01）第五，是為了開示方便，消除惡業的障礙、好好護住自己的心，遠離愚癡與憍慢，走出邪見的網。（0575c02）第六，是為了開示修習止與觀，對治凡夫與二乘在心上的過失。（0575c03）第七，是為了開示專念的方便，使人生到佛前、必定不退失信心。（0575c04）第八，是為了開示利益，勸人修行。（0575c05）有這樣種種的因緣，所以造這部論。』
〔七·問：經中已有，何必重說〕（0575c07）問：『修多羅——佛所說的經——裡面已經具備這些法了，何必再說一遍？』
〔八·答：眾生的根與緣不同〕（0575c08）答：『經裡雖然已有這些法，但眾生的根器與行持不相等，領受理解的因緣也各別。（0575c09）就是說：如來在世的時候，眾生根器銳利，能說法的人色身與心業都殊勝，一種圓滿的音聲一經演說，各類眾生都能同等理解，那就不需要論。（0575c11）若在如來滅度之後：有的眾生能憑自己的力量廣聞而取得理解；（0575c12）有的眾生同樣憑自己的力量，聽得少而理解得多；（0575c13）有的眾生沒有自心的力量，要靠廣大的論才能得解；（0575c14）也有的眾生反而嫌廣論文字太多、太煩，心裡喜歡總持——用少的文字含攝多的義理——才能取得理解。（0575c15）像這樣，這部論是為了總攝如來廣大深法的無邊之義，所以應當說這部論。』
〔九·因緣分結〕（0575c18）以上，因緣分說完了。
Composed by the Bodhisattva Aśvaghoṣa and translated by Paramārtha, Tripiṭaka Master of Western India, under the Liang. The Awakening of Faith in the Great Vehicle, from the title at the head of the scroll through “The part on the occasion has been spoken.” The figures in parentheses at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line.
〔1 · Title, author, and translator〕（0575b08）The Awakening of Faith in the Great Vehicle, in one scroll.（0575b10）Composed by the Bodhisattva Aśvaghoṣa.（0575b11）Translated under the Liang by Paramārtha, Tripiṭaka Master of Western India.
〔2 · Stanzas of homage〕（0575b12）
I entrust my life to those who fill the ten directions—
the one whose activity is supreme and whose knowing embraces all,
whose form is unobstructed and sovereign, the greatly compassionate one who saves the world;
and to that awakened one’s body, substance, and marks,
the ocean of Dharma-nature and suchness,
the treasury of immeasurable qualities,
and all those who practice in accord with reality.
I do so wishing that sentient beings
may remove their doubts and relinquish deviant attachments,
give rise to true faith in the Great Vehicle,
and keep the seed of buddhahood from being cut off.
〔3 · Setting out the five parts〕（0575b18）The treatise says: there is a dharma able to give rise to the root of faith in the Mahāyāna—the Great Vehicle—and therefore it should be spoken. What is spoken has five parts.（0575b19）Which five? First, the part on the occasion; second, the part on setting up the meaning; third, the part on explication; fourth, the part on practicing the mind of faith;（0575b20）and fifth, the part exhorting to practice and its benefit.
〔4 · The part on the occasion comes first〕（0575b22）First is spoken the first part, the part on the occasion.
〔5 · Question: why compose the treatise〕（0575b23）Question: “On what occasions was this treatise composed?”
〔6 · Answer: eight occasions〕（0575b24）Answer: “There are eight occasions. Which eight? First is the general mark of the occasions: to enable sentient beings to leave all suffering and attain ultimate bliss,（0575b26）not to seek worldly fame, gain, and reverence. Second, to explain the Tathāgata’s fundamental meaning, so that sentient beings may understand correctly and without error.（0575b27）Third, to enable sentient beings whose wholesome roots have matured to be capable of non-retrogression in their faith in the Mahāyāna.（0575b29）Fourth, to enable sentient beings whose wholesome roots are still slight to cultivate the mind of faith.（0575c01）Fifth, to disclose skillful means by which they may remove karmic obstruction, guard their minds well, depart from ignorance and pride, and escape the net of deviant views.（0575c02）Sixth, to disclose the cultivation of calming and contemplation, countering the faults in the minds of ordinary beings and those of the two vehicles.（0575c03）Seventh, to disclose the skillful means of focused recollection, so that people may be born in the presence of a buddha and assuredly attain non-retrogression in faith.（0575c04）Eighth, to disclose the benefit and exhort people to practice.（0575c05）Because there are these various occasions, this treatise was composed.”
〔7 · Question: if it is already in the scriptures, why say it again〕（0575c07）Question: “The scriptures—the teachings spoken by the Buddha—already contain these dharmas. Why say them again?”
〔8 · Answer: beings differ in capacity and conditions〕（0575c08）Answer: “Although the scriptures already contain these dharmas, sentient beings are not equal in capacity and practice, and the conditions under which they receive and understand them also differ.（0575c09）That is to say: when the Tathāgata was in the world, sentient beings had keen capacities, the one able to teach was excellent in body and mind, and when the single perfect voice was proclaimed, beings of every kind could understand it equally. Then no treatise was needed.（0575c11）After the Tathāgata’s nirvāṇa, some sentient beings can gain understanding by hearing widely through their own power;（0575c12）some, likewise through their own power, hear little yet understand much;（0575c13）some have no power in their own minds and can gain understanding only through an extensive treatise;（0575c14）and some, on the contrary, find the abundant words of an extensive treatise too numerous and burdensome, and delight in comprehensive retention—few words that embrace many meanings—through which they can gain understanding.（0575c15）Thus, because this treatise is intended to gather together the boundless meanings of the Tathāgata’s vast and profound Dharma, it should be spoken.”
〔9 · Conclusion of the part on the occasion〕（0575c18）With this, the part on the occasion has been spoken.
一部論真正的開頭，不是宗旨，是一個姿勢：歸命。
十二句偈，佛、法、僧三寶各得其位，然後才說為什麼要造論。偈完了才是「論曰」，才進入正文。
一個要教人起信的人，自己先把身體放低。這不是儀式上的客套。論主接下來要說的東西極重——一個心、兩道門、體相用、真如與無明如何互相熏習——這些話若從一個自立門戶的人口中說出，讀的人憑什麼信？所以他先歸命：我說的不是我的。
第一句：「歸命盡十方」
偈的第一句只有五個字，卻已經把範圍定了。
「歸命」是把命交出去；「盡十方」是不限一佛一土。歸的對象不是某一尊、某一處，是遍在十方的三寶。
起手處先把界限拿掉——這一著看似只是措辭，其實與後面那句「是心則攝一切世間法、出世間法」是同一個氣度。若一開始就把所歸縮小到一角，後面說一個心攝一切，就接不上了。
佛：三句話說一位覺者
歸命之後，前四句說佛，用了三個面向：
- 「最勝業遍知」——業是所作，遍知是所證。先說他做的事最勝，再說他所知無不遍。次第是先行後智，不是先立一個全知者的名號。
- 「色無礙自在」——就身相說。無礙，是不被質礙所限；自在，是不被處所所拘。
- 「救世大悲者」——就用說。前兩句還可以是自證的境界，這一句把方向轉向眾生。
三句連起來，是行、身、悲三面：他做了什麼、他以什麼身現、他為誰而現。你若把這三句倒過來讀，就成了先立名號再補內容——偈不那樣寫。一位覺者被這樣描述，讀的人心裡才有一個可歸的具體對象，而不只是一個抽象的「佛」字。
法：一個「海」字
第五、六句「及彼身體相，法性真如海」——「彼」承上指佛，說的是佛之身與體相；而所歸的法，稱為「法性真如海」。
用「海」字，不是修飾。海是無邊、是含容、是諸流所歸。這部論後面要說「真如」二字說到六十多次，此處先以海為喻，把它的無邊與含容一次交代。
法不是一套道理，是一個能容得下一切的體。 這個印象在偈裡先立好，到立義分說「體大」時就不必再費詞。
僧：用行相來指，不用身分來指
第七、八句「無量功德藏，如實修行等」——這是第三寶。
偈裡沒有出現「僧」字。它說的是：無量功德的寶藏，以及照著實際去修行的那一類人。
這是用行相來指僧，不是用身分來指僧。 誰是僧？如實修行的人。
這一點在後出的另一個譯本裡被改直了：那個本子在同一位置明寫「無邊德藏僧」。兩個本子都在，一含蓄、一直白；哪個更近原文，此處不判。但含蓄的那個寫法，恰好與這部論後面的說法相應——它講信、講熏習、講不退，講的從來不是身分，是行。
發願的四句
後四句轉為發願：「為欲令眾生，除疑捨邪執，起大乘正信，佛種不斷故。」
四句是四層，一層扣一層：
- 為欲令眾生——動機在他人，不在自己。
- 除疑捨邪執——先去掉兩樣東西：疑是猶豫不定，邪執是抓錯了方向。二者不同：疑的人還沒站定，執的人站錯了地方。
- 起大乘正信——去掉之後才立。正信不是新添一個見解，是疑與執除掉以後自然現出來的那個。
- 佛種不斷故——落到最遠處。不是這一代的事，是種子不斷絕。
先破後立，立而及遠——一部論的發願，寫得比許多結論都完整。
歸敬的六個理由，一個也不能少
古來的注家把『為什麼要先歸敬』拆成六條。六條各有其重，逐條看才知道這個姿勢不是虛設：
一、為荷恩。 「若無佛說。法起無由。若無其法。無所生解。若無僧傳。己則不聞。」——沒有佛說，法無從生起；沒有法，無所生解；沒有僧傳，自己根本聽不到。三重恩加起來，才有今日之慧悟。今天要傳這個法，理當先念恩。
二、為請加護。 末代之時，傳化不易；不仰請三寶的威力，「無由自通」。這一條說的是造論者的自知：靠自己通不了。
三、為生信。 這一條最直接——論主本是一個「不足之人」，自己動筆造論，人不會信受；歸依三寶，是「示有宗承」，好讓人生起信心。歸敬在這裡是一種交代：我所說的有來歷。
四、為敬儀。 好比世間的「忠臣孝子。凡有所作。先啟白君父」。造論這件事既然是要「光暉佛日」，怎麼可以不先啟白。這一條是禮，也是分寸。
五、為表勝。 三寶是吉祥境界，「標之在首。以顯勝故」——把最勝的標在最前面，讓人一眼看見所歸者的分量。
六、為益物。 「為令眾生於三寶中。發心趣求。信解觀察。供養歸依。是故頂禮。」——歸敬本身就是一段示範：讀的人看見作者如此，自己也就知道該往哪裡發心。
六條連起來看，沒有一條是玄的：報恩、請加被、讓人肯信、合乎禮數、顯所歸之勝、利益讀者。歸敬不是門面，是一個作者對自己位置的判斷。
「論曰」兩個字，是一道界線
偈之後，正文的第一個詞是「論曰」。
這兩個字看起來只是發語詞，其實是一道界線。有一種讀法把它點得很準：「論曰」是用來簡別「論」不同於「經」的說法。經是佛所說，開頭是『如是我聞』；論是後人所造，開頭是「論曰」。一部論從第一個詞起就把身分交代清楚：這不是佛親口說的，這是一個人把佛所說的收攏起來說。
這一點與後面那個問答是連著的。有人難問『經裡已經有了，何必再說』，論主的答覆之所以站得住，正因為他從來沒有把自己說成經。論不與經爭位置，它只做經做不了的那件事。
五分：一部論先把骨架交出來
「有法能起摩訶衍信根，是故應說。說有五分。」
先看這句話的次第：先有「法」，這個法能生起大乘的信根，所以應當說。不是先有一個宗派要立，是先有一個東西能讓人起信。 那個「有法」是什麼，此處不說，留到下一分才揭曉——就是「眾生心」。
接著骨架一次交出：
- 因緣分——為什麼造這部論。
- 立義分——把所要說的綱領立起來。
- 解釋分——把已立的一層層解開，全論七成的篇幅在此。
- 修行信心分——立了、解了，怎麼下手修。
- 勸修利益分——修與不修，各有什麼結果。
有一種讀法把「分」字解得很平實：文章不會無故而起，必有由來，所以叫「因緣」；「章別餘段故稱為分」——一段與另一段要分得開，所以叫分。第二分則是「由致既興。次略標綱要」——來由既已交代，接著把綱領簡要標出。
我們今天讀書習慣先看目錄。這部論把目錄放進正文，而且放在最前面——它要你一開始就知道自己站在哪一段路上。
八種因緣，逐條都有它要接的那一段
「有何因緣而造此論？」——論主自問，然後答八種。
這八種不是八句客套。有一種讀法指出：「初一是總。後七是別」——第一條總說，其餘七條各為一種人、各接論後的一段文。所以這八條其實是全論的另一份目錄。
第一，因緣總相：「為令眾生離一切苦得究竟樂，非求世間名利恭敬故。」離苦，是離三苦二死；得樂，是得無上菩提大涅槃之樂。而「非求世間名利恭敬」一句有兩層讀法：一是不為使眾生求後世的人天福樂，二是論主自陳——我為益生而造此論，不為名利。這一條「通於一切菩薩之心。非局此論」，所以稱總相。
第二，為欲解釋如來根本之義：接的是立義分與解釋分裡「顯示正義」「對治邪執」兩段。何以稱「如來根本」？因為那裡說「依一心法有二種門。各攝一切法」，這正是如來所說法門的根本。有一種讀法還就生滅門解此四字：本覺名如，始覺名來，始本不二，故名如來——如來即依此心而成，所以稱此心為如來根本之義。使人正解，即顯示正義；使人不謬，即對治邪執。
第三，為令善根成熟眾生堪任不退信：接的是「分別發趣道相」。這是為根器已熟的人說的——信位將滿，進入十住正定聚，使先前的信心站得住而不退。
第四，為令善根微少眾生修習信心：接的是修行信心分前半的四種信心與四種修行。這是為信位未滿的人說的：善根還少，所以要一步一步修信。
第五，為示方便消惡業障：「善護其心，遠離癡慢出邪網故」——接的是修行信心分第四門之末。這是為業重惑多、善根難發的人說的：以禮懺等方便消去業障，障輕了，內離愚癡憍慢，外出邪魔的網。有一種讀法把第五、六、七三條配為下、中、上三品之機，此條當下品。
第六，為示修習止觀：「對治凡夫二乘心過故」——接的是修行信心分的止觀門。凡夫著有、二乘著空，止觀雙運正對治這兩種心過。此條當中品。
第七，為示專念方便：「生於佛前必定不退信心故」——接的是修行信心分末勸生淨土的那一段。何以要往生？因為眾生「恐後報遷遇緣成退」，怕來世遇著壞緣就退了，所以令其往生佛前，使信心不退。此條當上品。
第八，為示利益勸修行：接的是勸修利益分。舉出修與不修的損益，勸人取捨，「即總策成前諸行」——它是把前面所有的行總策一遍。
我們把八條讀下來會發現一件事：它們是按人分的，不是按義理的高低排的。有一種讀法點出其中的用心：前三種人根器較勝，「進易退難」，所以各以一門攝之；後面幾條所對的人「根劣。退易進難」，容易退而難以進，所以要多備幾種方便。
一部論肯為最難進的人多開三道門，這件事本身就是它的義理。
『經裡已經有了，何必再說』
第二個問答，是這一分裡最耐讀的一段。
有人難問：修多羅中具有此法，何須重說？論主的回答沒有抬高論的地位，反而先承認：經裡確實已有。他把差別放在人身上——「眾生根行不等、受解緣別」：根有同有異，緣有增有微。
然後他分兩種情形說。先說如來在世時：眾生根利，說法的人「色心業勝」，「圓音一演異類等解」——一種聲音出去，各類人各自聽懂，那時候「則不須論」。
再說如來滅後，此時有四種人：
- 能以自力廣聞而取解者——自己有力量，廣泛地聽聞就能理解。
- 亦以自力少聞而多解者——同樣憑自力，但聽得少、解得多。
- 無自心力因於廣論而得解者——自己沒有力量，要靠廣大的論才能得解。
- 復以廣論文多為煩，心樂總持少文而攝多義能取解者——反而嫌廣論文字太多太煩，喜歡以少的文字含攝多的義理。
前兩種人不需要論；第三種人需要廣論；這部論是為第四種人寫的。它自陳其職：「為欲總攝如來廣大深法無邊義故，應說此論。」
不是要說經沒說過的話，是要把經已說的話收攏成少的文字。一部論肯這樣界定自己，讀的人也就知道該用什麼態度讀它：它是路標，不是目的地。
承衍——注家如何讀這一段
上來是這一段自身的義。此下另以注家之眼旁照——注非論，只是同一樁事，換一個位置來看。
法藏《大乘起信論義記》以十門玄談統攝全論，到第十門才逐句釋文。他判全論為序、正宗、流通三分，而以論首三頌為序：「論首三頌歸敬請加。即是論主起行所依。」入偈之前，他先立五重——明諸論有無、歸敬之意、能歸儀式、所歸勝相、釋文。上文所述六種敬意，出其第二重；他還在第一重舉了諸論的體例作對照：有具敬三寶的，如智論、攝論；有唯歸佛寶的，如地持論；有但歸人法的，如十地論；也有直說無歸的，如十二門論——「此並作者之意。廣略無在」。歸與不歸，各隨作者，不成優劣。第三重論能歸之相，說禮敬不出身、語、意三業，並隨見聞之異而有三業、二業、一業之別。
「論曰」以下，《義記》另起一科，稱為正陳所說，再分標數、列名、辨相三重；上文所引「一言不自起製必有由」「初一是總。後七是別」，以及八條因緣各自所接的論後之文，皆出其手。他牒「論曰」二字而釋為「簡論異經之辭」——一道界線，也是他點出來的。
元曉《起信論疏》的分判與法藏一致——初三行偈歸敬述意、論曰以下正立論體、最後一頌總結迴向——只是他的疏不重錄論文，是隨科而釋，故逐句的對讀之用不及《義記》。他釋分名處說「因緣分者。非無所以」，與法藏「不自起製必有由」同趣而語各異。
兩位注家在這一段沒有分歧。而論自己那句「有法能起摩訶衍信根」也還立在那裡，等著下一分把那個「法」字說破。
The true beginning of a treatise is not a thesis. It is a posture: entrusting one’s life.
Across twelve lines of verse, Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha each receive their place. Only then does the author say why the treatise must be composed. The stanzas end; only after them comes “the treatise says,” and only then does the body begin.
A person who would teach others to awaken faith first lowers himself. This is not ceremonial courtesy. What he is about to say carries immense weight—one mind and its two aspects, substance, mark, and function, and the way suchness and ignorance perfume one another. If such words came from someone claiming a school of his own, why should the reader believe them? He therefore begins by entrusting his life: what I am about to say is not mine.
The First Line: “I Entrust My Life to Those Who Fill the Ten Directions”
The first line of the stanza is only five characters long, yet it has already fixed the range.
To “entrust my life” is to hand one’s very life over. “Those who fill the ten directions” sets no limit of one buddha or one land. The objects of homage are not one figure in one place, but the Three Treasures throughout all ten directions.
The opening removes the boundary first. This may seem a matter of diction, but its reach is the same as the later sentence, “this mind holds all mundane and supramundane dharmas.” If the object of refuge were narrowed to one corner at the outset, the claim that one mind holds all things could no longer follow in the same breath.
The Buddha: Three Lines for One Awakened One
After the act of homage, the first four lines speak of the Buddha from three sides:
- “Whose activity is supreme and whose knowing embraces all”—activity is what he has done; knowing is what he has realized. What he does is named before what he knows. The stanza proceeds from practice to wisdom; it does not first establish a title of omniscience and then look for its content.
- “Whose form is unobstructed and sovereign”—this speaks in terms of embodied appearance. Unobstructed means not confined by material resistance; sovereign means not bound to any location.
- “The greatly compassionate one who saves the world”—this speaks in terms of function. The first two descriptions might still belong to a realization for oneself; this line turns the whole direction toward sentient beings.
Taken together, the three are practice, body, and compassion: what he has done, the body in which he appears, and those for whom he appears. Reverse them and one begins with a title and supplies its content afterward. The stanza does not do that. An awakened one described in this way becomes a concrete object to whom the reader can entrust himself, not merely the abstract word Buddha.
The Dharma: A Single Word, “Ocean”
The fifth and sixth lines speak of “that awakened one’s body, substance, and marks—the ocean of Dharma-nature and suchness.” The word that carries forward the Buddha just named, while the Dharma to which homage is paid is called the “ocean of Dharma-nature and suchness.”
Ocean is not decoration. An ocean has no visible boundary; it contains; all streams return to it. The treatise will use the word suchness more than sixty times. Here the stanza first gives it the ocean as a figure and presents its boundlessness and capacity to hold in a single stroke.
The Dharma is not a set of propositions. It is a substance capacious enough to hold all things. Once that impression has been established in the stanza, the part on setting up the meaning can speak of “greatness of substance” without beginning again.
The Saṅgha: Indicated by Practice, Not Status
The seventh and eighth lines speak of “the treasury of immeasurable qualities, and all those who practice in accord with reality.” This is the third treasure.
The stanza does not use the word Saṅgha. It points instead to a treasury of immeasurable qualities and to those who practice in accord with reality.
The Saṅgha is indicated by the mark of practice, not by the mark of status. Who belongs to the Saṅgha? Those who practice in accord with reality.
A later recension makes this direct. In the same position it explicitly says, “the Saṅgha that is a treasury of boundless qualities.” Both recensions remain: one implicit, the other explicit. Which lies nearer the source is not adjudicated here. Yet the implicit wording accords closely with what the treatise will later emphasize. When it speaks of faith, perfuming, and non-retrogression, its concern is never status. Its concern is practice.
Four Lines of Aspiration
The final four lines turn to aspiration: “Wishing that sentient beings may remove their doubts, relinquish deviant attachments, give rise to true faith in the Great Vehicle, and keep the seed of buddhahood from being cut off.”
The four lines form four successive levels:
- Wishing that sentient beings may—the motive lies with others, not oneself.
- Remove their doubts and relinquish deviant attachments—two things are removed first. Doubt is irresolution; deviant attachment is holding firmly in the wrong direction. They are not the same: one who doubts has not found a place to stand, while one who clings stands in the wrong place.
- Give rise to true faith in the Great Vehicle—only after removal comes establishment. True faith is not one more opinion added to the mind; it is what appears when doubt and attachment have been removed.
- Keep the seed of buddhahood from being cut off—the aspiration reaches its furthest point. It is not only for this generation, but for the seed not to end.
Remove first, establish afterward, and let what is established reach far. The aspiration of the treatise is more complete than many conclusions.
Six Reasons for Homage, with None Left Unsaid
The commentators of old divided the question “why begin with homage?” into six reasons. Each carries its own weight. Taken one by one, they show that the posture is not ornamental.
First, to bear in mind the kindness received. “Without the Buddha’s teaching, the Dharma would have no cause to arise. Without that Dharma, understanding could not be born. Without the Saṅgha’s transmission, one would never hear it.” The three kindnesses together make the wisdom of the present possible. One who is about to transmit the Dharma rightly begins by remembering them.
Second, to request aid and protection. In the latter age, transmitting and transforming are difficult. Without looking up to the power of the Three Treasures, “there would be no way to penetrate by oneself.” This is the author’s knowledge of his own measure: he cannot carry the matter through by himself.
Third, to give rise to faith. This is the most direct. The author of a treatise is “an insufficient person.” If he simply takes it upon himself to compose, people will not believe or accept him. By taking refuge in the Three Treasures he “shows that he has a lineage and inheritance,” so that people may give rise to faith. Here homage is an accounting: what I say has a source.
Fourth, because it is the form of reverence. It is like “loyal ministers and filial children in the world: whatever they do, they first report it to ruler or father.” If composing the treatise is meant to make the sun of the Buddha shine, how could one begin without first making this report? This reason concerns ritual, but also proportion.
Fifth, to display excellence. The Three Treasures are an auspicious sphere: “they are set at the beginning in order to reveal their excellence.” What is most excellent is placed first, so that the reader sees at once the weight of that to which the author returns.
Sixth, to benefit beings. “So that sentient beings may arouse their minds toward the Three Treasures, seek them, believe and understand, contemplate, make offerings, and take refuge, he therefore bows his head.” The homage itself is a demonstration. Seeing the author act in this way, the reader knows in which direction to arouse the mind.
Read together, none of the six is obscure: remember kindness, request aid, enable belief, observe proper reverence, display the excellence of the refuge, and benefit the reader. Homage is not a façade. It is an author’s judgment about his own position.
“The Treatise Says” Draws a Boundary
After the stanzas, the first words of the body are “the treatise says.”
They look like a conventional opening, but they draw a boundary. One old reading states their force exactly: the words “the treatise says” distinguish a treatise from a scripture. A scripture is spoken by the Buddha; its familiar opening is “thus have I heard.” A treatise is composed later and begins, “the treatise says.” From its first words this work makes its identity clear. It is not the Buddha speaking directly. It is a person gathering what the Buddha taught and speaking it in ordered form.
This point is joined to the challenge that follows: “The scriptures already contain these dharmas. Why say them again?” The author’s answer can stand precisely because he never presents his treatise as scripture. A treatise does not compete with scripture for its place. It performs the work that scripture, in a changed age, no longer performs by itself for every reader.
Five Parts: The Treatise Gives Up Its Frame at Once
“There is a dharma able to give rise to the root of faith in the Mahāyāna, and therefore it should be spoken. What is spoken has five parts.”
Notice the order. First there is a dharma; because this dharma can give rise to the root of faith in the Great Vehicle, it ought to be spoken. A school is not established first. Something capable of awakening faith comes first. What that “dharma” is remains undisclosed here. The next part will reveal it: the mind of sentient beings.
The frame is then laid out all at once:
- The part on the occasion—why the treatise was composed.
- The part on setting up the meaning—the guiding outline of what will be said.
- The part on explication—the gradual opening of what has been set up; seven tenths of the treatise is here.
- The part on practicing the mind of faith—once the meaning has been set up and explained, how practice begins.
- The part exhorting to practice and its benefit—what follows from practicing or failing to practice.
One old reading explains the word part very plainly. Words do not arise and compositions are not made without a reason, so the first is called the “occasion”; because one division is distinct from another, each is called a “part.” As for the second, “the occasion having been raised, next the guiding outline is briefly indicated”—once the reason has been given, the outline follows.
We are accustomed to consulting a table of contents before reading a book. This treatise places its table of contents inside its own body and at the very beginning. It wants you to know, from the outset, where on the road you stand.
Eight Occasions, Each Opening into a Later Passage
“On what occasions was this treatise composed?” The author asks his own question and answers with eight.
These are not eight ceremonial phrases. One old reading says, “the first is general and the latter seven are particular.” The first encompasses the whole; each of the other seven addresses a kind of person and opens into a later passage of the treatise. The eight occasions are therefore another table of contents.
First, the general mark of the occasions: “to enable sentient beings to leave all suffering and attain ultimate bliss, not to seek worldly fame, gain, and reverence.” Leaving suffering means leaving the three kinds of suffering and the two kinds of birth-and-death; attaining bliss means attaining the bliss of unsurpassed bodhi and great nirvāṇa. The denial of worldly fame, gain, and reverence can be read on two levels: the work is not intended to make sentient beings seek fortunate human or heavenly birth, and the author is also speaking for himself—I compose this to benefit beings, not for reputation or gain. Because this intention “extends to the mind of every bodhisattva and is not restricted to this treatise,” it is called general.
Second, to explain the Tathāgata’s fundamental meaning. This opens into the part on setting up the meaning and the two divisions of the part on explication called “displaying the true meaning” and “countering deviant attachments.” Why call it “the Tathāgata’s fundamental meaning”? Because the treatise there says, “in dependence upon the dharma of the one mind there are two aspects, each of which holds all dharmas.” This is the root of the Dharma-gates taught by the Tathāgata. One old reading also interprets the four words through the aspect of arising and ceasing: original awakening is the “thus,” initial awakening is the “come”; because initial and original awakening are nondual, there is Tathāgata. The Tathāgata is realized in dependence upon this mind, and so this mind is called the Tathāgata’s fundamental meaning. To enable correct understanding is to display the true meaning; to prevent error is to counter deviant attachments.
Third, to enable sentient beings whose wholesome roots have matured to be capable of non-retrogression in faith. This opens into “distinguishing the marks of setting out on the path.” It is spoken for those whose capacities have ripened. As the stage of faith approaches fullness, they enter the ten abodes and the rightly settled group, so that the faith already formed can remain in non-retrogression.
Fourth, to enable sentient beings whose wholesome roots are slight to cultivate the mind of faith. This opens into the four kinds of faith and the four forms of practice in the first half of the part on practicing the mind of faith. It is spoken for those whose stage of faith is not yet full. Their wholesome roots remain few, and so faith must be cultivated step by step.
Fifth, to disclose skillful means for removing karmic obstruction. “To guard their minds well, depart from ignorance and pride, and escape the net of deviant views” opens into the close of the fourth gate in the part on practicing the mind of faith. This is for people whose karma is heavy, whose delusion is abundant, and whose wholesome roots are difficult to arouse. Through skillful means such as reverence and repentance, karmic obstruction is lightened; inwardly they depart from ignorance and pride, outwardly they escape the net of deviant forces. One reading matches the fifth, sixth, and seventh occasions to beings of lower, middle, and higher capacity; this is the lower.
Sixth, to disclose the cultivation of calming and contemplation. “Countering the faults in the minds of ordinary beings and those of the two vehicles” opens into the gate of calming and contemplation. Ordinary beings cling to existence; those of the two vehicles cling to emptiness. Calming and contemplation practiced together directly counter these two faults of mind. This is the middle capacity.
Seventh, to disclose the skillful means of focused recollection. “So that beings may be born in the presence of a buddha and assuredly attain non-retrogression in faith” opens into the final passage of the part on practicing the mind of faith, which exhorts birth in a pure land. Why seek such birth? Because beings “fear that when the next recompense changes, the conditions they meet will make them retrogress.” Fearing that harmful conditions in a later life will cause faith to fall back, the treatise directs them to take birth in the Buddha’s presence, where their faith will not retrogress. This is the higher capacity.
Eighth, to disclose the benefit and exhort practice. This opens into the part exhorting to practice and its benefit. By setting out the gain of practice and the loss of failing to practice, it exhorts the reader to choose accordingly; “it gathers and urges all the practices above.” It is a final drawing together of everything that precedes.
Reading the eight in sequence, one fact becomes clear: they are distinguished by people, not ranked by the height of doctrine. One reading brings out the care involved. Those addressed in the earlier occasions have stronger capacities; “advancing is easy and retrogressing difficult,” so one approach can hold each. Those addressed later have weaker roots; “retrogressing is easy and advancing difficult,” and several kinds of skillful means must be prepared for them.
That a treatise opens more paths for the person who finds advance most difficult is itself part of its teaching.
“It Is Already in the Scriptures—Why Say It Again?”
The second question and answer is the most enduring passage in this part.
The challenge is simple: the scriptures already contain these dharmas; why say them again? The author does not elevate the treatise. He first concedes that the scriptures do indeed contain them. He places the difference in people: “sentient beings are not equal in capacity and practice, and the conditions under which they receive and understand differ.” Capacities may be alike or unlike; conditions may be abundant or slight.
He then presents two situations. First, when the Tathāgata was in the world: sentient beings had keen capacities, the one who taught was excellent in body and mind, and “when the single perfect voice was proclaimed, beings of every kind understood it equally.” At that time “no treatise was needed.”
After the Tathāgata’s nirvāṇa there are four kinds of people:
- Those who can gain understanding by hearing widely through their own power—they possess strength of their own, and broad hearing is enough.
- Those who likewise hear little yet understand much through their own power—they too rely on themselves, but a little hearing yields much understanding.
- Those with no power in their own minds who gain understanding through an extensive treatise—they need the breadth of a treatise.
- Those who find the many words of an extensive treatise burdensome and delight in comprehensive retention, few words that embrace many meanings—they need concentration rather than breadth.
The first two do not require a treatise. The third requires an extensive one. The Awakening of Faith is written for the fourth. It states its own office: “because it is intended to gather together the boundless meanings of the Tathāgata’s vast and profound Dharma, this treatise should be spoken.”
It does not claim to say what the scriptures never said. It gathers what the scriptures have said into few words. When a treatise defines itself so carefully, the reader also learns how to read it: it is a signpost, not the destination.
Carrying Forward—How the Commentators Read This Passage
The foregoing is the sense of this passage in itself. What follows lets the commentators’ eyes shine on it from the side—a commentary is not the treatise, only the same matter seen from another position.
Fazang’s Record of the Meaning of the Awakening of Faith in the Great Vehicle encompasses the treatise in ten introductory approaches and begins line-by-line explanation only with the tenth. He divides the whole into preface, main discourse, and transmission, taking the three homage stanzas as preface: “the three stanzas at the beginning pay homage and request aid; they are what the author relies upon in commencing his undertaking.” Before entering the stanzas, he establishes five considerations: whether treatises include homage, the intent of homage, the form of the one paying homage, the excellent marks of those to whom homage is paid, and explanation of the text. The six intentions of homage set out above belong to the second. Under the first he compares other treatises: some honor all Three Treasures, such as the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom and the Compendium of the Great Vehicle; some honor only the Buddha treasure, such as the Treatise on the Bodhisattva Stages; some honor person and dharma, such as the Treatise on the Ten Stages; some speak directly without homage, such as the Treatise on the Twelve Gates. “All this follows the authors’ intent; there is no rule concerning fullness or brevity.” Homage and its absence follow each author and establish no scale of superiority. Under the third consideration he explains that the act of homage never departs from body, speech, and mind, while differences in seeing and hearing yield homage through three activities, two, or one.
From “the treatise says” onward, the Record of the Meaning opens a new division called “the teaching properly stated,” itself divided into indicating the number, listing the names, and distinguishing the marks. The explanations cited above—“words do not arise and compositions are not made without a reason,” “the first is general and the latter seven are particular,” and the later passages to which the eight occasions correspond—all come from Fazang. He takes up the two characters “the treatise says” and explains them as “words distinguishing a treatise from a scripture.” That boundary too is one he makes visible.
Wonhyo’s Commentary on the Awakening of Faith agrees with Fazang’s division: the first three lines of verse pay homage and state the intent, from “the treatise says” onward the body is set up, and the final stanza concludes with dedication. His commentary does not repeat the text but follows its outline, and so it is less suited than the Record of the Meaning to word-by-word comparison. In explaining the name of the part, he says, “the part on the occasion is not without a reason,” pointing in the same direction as Fazang’s “compositions are not made without a reason,” though in different words.
The two commentators do not diverge in this passage. And the treatise’s own sentence—“there is a dharma able to give rise to the root of faith in the Mahāyāna”—still stands where it was spoken, waiting for the next part to open the word dharma.
考據Apparatus
一、科判定位
本單元為全論十六單元之第二，範圍〔T32 0575b08–0575c18〕，計四百九十三字（含論題七字與二題署十六字、歸敬偈六十字、標五分五十二字、因緣分三百五十八字）。
法藏《大乘起信論義記》以十門玄談統攝，至第十門方逐句釋文：「第十隨文解釋者。此論三分。謂序正流通。」〔T44n1846 0246b09〕其第一門即以三頌為序：「論首三頌歸敬請加。即是論主起行所依。」〔T44n1846 0246b11〕入偈之前，他先立五重：「今釋此文。略作五明。一明諸論有無。二歸敬之意。三能歸儀式。四所歸勝相。五釋文。」〔T44n1846 0246b25〕
「論曰」以下，《義記》另判為正宗：「第二正陳所說。於中有三。先標數。二列名。三辨相。」〔T44n1846 0248c14〕
元曉《起信論疏》判法相同而語各異：「文有三分。初三行偈。歸敬述意。論曰以下。正立論體。最後一頌。總結迴向。」〔T44n1844 0203b08〕釋分名處云：「云何以下。列其章名。因緣分者。非無所以。」〔T44n1844 0204c15〕
故本單元跨二科：三頌屬序，「論曰」以下屬正宗之首。二疏於此界一致。
二、異譯對勘
實叉難陀本 T32n1667 之歸敬偈與本段全異其詞，且句數不同：
| 本段（真諦本） | 實叉難陀本 | |
|---|---|---|
| 偈 | 「歸命盡十方，最勝業遍知，色無礙自在，救世大悲者，及彼身體相，法性真如海，無量功德藏，如實修行等。」〔0575b12〕 | 「歸命盡十方，普作大饒益，智無限自在，救護世間尊，及彼體相海，無我句義法，無邊德藏僧，勤求正覺者。」〔0584a23〕 |
| 發願句 | 「為欲令眾生，除疑捨邪執，起大乘正信，佛種不斷故。」〔0575b16〕 | 「為欲令眾生，除疑去邪執，起信紹佛種，故我造此論。」〔0584a27〕 |
| 五分之名 | 「一者、因緣分，二者、立義分，三者、解釋分，四者、修行信心分，五者、勸修利益分。」〔0575b19〕 | 「一作因、二立義、三解釋、四修信、五利益。」〔0584b02〕 |
| 八因緣之首 | 「一者、因緣總相，所謂為令眾生離一切苦得究竟樂，非求世間名利恭敬故。」〔0575b24〕 | 「此中作因有八，一總相，為令眾生離苦得樂，不為貪求利養等故。」〔0584b03〕 |
二事誌錄不判：①本段第三寶作「無量功德藏，如實修行等」，實叉難陀本則明出「僧」字——「無邊德藏僧」；②實叉難陀本於「論曰」下先出一段散文，把偈中發願之意重說一遍（「為欲發起大乘淨信、斷諸眾生疑暗邪執，令佛種性相續不斷，故造此論。」〔0584a29〕），本段無此重出。
分名既異，對勘不得以本段之名去搜實叉難陀本——「因緣分」三字於彼本零命中。
三、經論宗依
本段自身不引經。所引者見於逐文疏：《義記》釋「諸論有無」時，舉諸論歸敬之體例為證——「或有具敬三寶。如智論攝論等。或唯歸佛寶。如地持論。或但歸人法。如十地論。或直說無歸。如十二門論。此並作者之意。廣略無在。」〔T44n1846 0246b27〕又舉「如成實論說。三寶是吉祥境界。標之在首。以顯勝故。」〔T44n1846 0246c12〕
以上為疏主之徵引，非本段之引文；此處誌其所出，不代本段立宗依。
四、本段釋要
歸敬何以在首——《義記》列六意，逐字：「一為荷恩故。」〔T44n1846 0246c02〕「二請加護故。」〔T44n1846 0246c05〕「三為生信故。謂論主自是不足之人。率己造論。人不信受。要歸三寶。示有宗承。令物生信。」〔T44n1846 0246c07〕「四敬儀故。謂如世間忠臣孝子。凡有所作。先啟白君父。」〔T44n1846 0246c09〕「五表勝故。」〔T44n1846 0246c12〕「六益物故。」〔T44n1846 0246c14〕
「論曰」二字之分寸——《義記》牒此二字而釋：「論曰者。簡論異經之辭也。」〔T44n1846 0248b29〕即以此二字簡別論體不同於經體。
「分」字之義——《義記》釋列名云：「一言不自起製必有由。名為因緣。章別餘段故稱為分。」〔T44n1846 0248c16〕又釋第二分之名：「二由致既興。次略標綱要。令物生信。故名立義分。」〔T44n1846 0248c19〕
八因緣之科——《義記》：「辨相中。初一是總。後七是別。」〔T44n1846 0249a06〕故第一「因緣總相」統攝其餘七者，非八者並列。
五、諸家異釋（分欄並錄）
| 鏡 | 逐字 | 錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 法藏《義記》（唐） | 「一言不自起製必有由。名為因緣。章別餘段故稱為分。」 | 〔T44n1846 0248c16〕 |
| 元曉《疏》（新羅） | 「因緣分者。非無所以。」 | 〔T44n1844 0204c15〕 |
二家釋「因緣」之義同趣而語各異，並錄不判。元曉《疏》為科釋體，不重錄論文；本段之逐句對讀唯《義記》可繫。
六、術語
- 摩訶衍〔0575b18〕：本段音寫，全論七見；實叉難陀本多作意譯「大乘」（其本「摩訶衍」二見）。二形並存，不取一為正。
- 信根〔0575b18〕：「有法能起摩訶衍信根」——本論所立之「有法」，即立義分之「眾生心」。
- 修多羅〔0575c07〕：即經。本段以「修多羅中具有此法，何須重說」設難，故此詞為本段之樞。
- 總持〔0575c15〕：「心樂總持少文而攝多義」——與「廣論」相對而立。
- 止觀〔0575c03〕：本段首見（八因緣之六），至修行信心分方展開。
七、譬喻·修辭
- 「圓音一演異類等解」〔0575c09〕——以一音而異類同解，喻佛在世時不須論。
- 「出邪網故」〔0575c01〕——以網喻邪見。
- 「佛種不斷故」〔0575b17〕——以種喻法之相續。
三譬皆論文自有，不另造譬。
八、徵引承衍
- 論內之前後相繫：八因緣之第六「為示修習止觀，對治凡夫二乘心過故」〔0575c02〕與第七「為示專念方便，生於佛前必定不退信心故」〔0575c03〕，是本論對其修行信心分止觀門與勝方便一節的預告——論自標其所欲說，非後人所繫。
- 疏之徵引：《義記》釋歸敬時所舉智論、攝論、地持論、十地論、十二門論、成實論諸例（目三），為唐人論歸敬體例之現成材料。
九、校本定位
本單元域〔0575b08–0575c18〕之異讀五處，並錄不判：
| 錨 | 大正作 | 他本作 |
|---|---|---|
| 〔0575b08〕 | 一卷 | 〔－〕【宋】【元】【宮】・卷下【明】 |
| 〔0575b11〕 | 西印度 | 天竺 |
| 〔0575b16〕 | 邪 | 耶【大正原】・邪【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 |
| 〔0575c13〕 | 心 | 智 |
| 〔0575c14〕 | 自 | 亦 |
〔0575b16〕一處值得注意：大正此字為編者所定，其校記另繫二出處——《釋摩訶衍論》T32n1668 0596b05 與法藏《義記》T44n1846 0248a23。即編者以二書所牒之論文為定字之據；此事誌錄，不代為判。
本單元域內：缺字標記 0、私用區字 0、夾註 0。
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
This unit is the second of the sixteen units of the whole treatise. Its range is 〔T32 0575b08–0575c18〕, comprising four hundred and ninety-three characters: seven for the title of the treatise, sixteen for the two author and translator lines, sixty for the homage stanzas, fifty-two for setting out the five parts, and three hundred and fifty-eight for the part on the occasion.
Fazang’s Record of the Meaning of the Awakening of Faith in the Great Vehicle encompasses the work through ten introductory approaches and begins its line-by-line exegesis only in the tenth: 「第十隨文解釋者。此論三分。謂序正流通。」—“Tenth, as for the explanation that follows the text: this treatise has three parts, namely preface, main discourse, and transmission” 〔T44n1846 0246b09〕. Its first division treats the three stanzas as preface: 「論首三頌歸敬請加。即是論主起行所依。」—“The three stanzas at the beginning of the treatise pay homage and request aid; they are what the author of the treatise relies upon in commencing his undertaking” 〔T44n1846 0246b11〕. Before entering the stanzas, Fazang establishes five considerations: 「今釋此文。略作五明。一明諸論有無。二歸敬之意。三能歸儀式。四所歸勝相。五釋文。」—“In explaining this text, five matters are treated briefly: first, whether other treatises include homage; second, the intent of homage; third, the form of the one paying homage; fourth, the excellent marks of those to whom homage is paid; and fifth, explanation of the text” 〔T44n1846 0246b25〕.
From 「論曰」—“the treatise says” onward, the Record of the Meaning makes a separate division for the main discourse: 「第二正陳所說。於中有三。先標數。二列名。三辨相。」—“Second, the teaching is properly stated. Within this there are three: first indicating the number, second listing the names, and third distinguishing the marks” 〔T44n1846 0248c14〕.
Wonhyo’s Commentary on the Awakening of Faith divides the text in the same way, though in different words: 「文有三分。初三行偈。歸敬述意。論曰以下。正立論體。最後一頌。總結迴向。」—“The text has three parts. First are three lines of verse, paying homage and stating the intent. From ‘the treatise says’ onward, the body of the treatise is properly set up. The final stanza concludes with a dedication” 〔T44n1844 0203b08〕. In explaining the name of the part he says, 「云何以下。列其章名。因緣分者。非無所以。」—“From ‘which’ onward, the names of its divisions are listed. As for the part on the occasion, it is not without a reason” 〔T44n1844 0204c15〕.
This unit therefore spans two divisions: the three stanzas belong to the preface, and from “the treatise says” onward begins the main discourse. The two commentaries agree at this boundary.
II. Cross-Recension Collation
The homage stanzas in Śikṣānanda’s recension, T32n1667, differ entirely in wording from the present passage and also differ in the number of lines:
| Present passage (Paramārtha’s recension) | Śikṣānanda’s recension | |
|---|---|---|
| Stanza | 「歸命盡十方，最勝業遍知，色無礙自在，救世大悲者，及彼身體相，法性真如海，無量功德藏，如實修行等。」—“I entrust my life to those who fill the ten directions: the one whose activity is supreme and whose knowing embraces all, whose form is unobstructed and sovereign, the greatly compassionate one who saves the world; and to that awakened one’s body, substance, and marks, the ocean of Dharma-nature and suchness, the treasury of immeasurable qualities, and all those who practice in accord with reality.” 〔0575b12〕 | 「歸命盡十方，普作大饒益，智無限自在，救護世間尊，及彼體相海，無我句義法，無邊德藏僧，勤求正覺者。」—“I entrust my life to those who fill the ten directions: the honored one who brings vast benefit everywhere, whose wisdom is limitless and sovereign, and who rescues and protects the world; and to that ocean of substance and marks, the dharma whose words and meaning are without self, the saṅgha that is a treasury of boundless qualities, and those who diligently seek true awakening.” 〔0584a23〕 |
| Aspirational lines | 「為欲令眾生，除疑捨邪執，起大乘正信，佛種不斷故。」—“Wishing that sentient beings may remove their doubts, relinquish deviant attachments, give rise to true faith in the Great Vehicle, and keep the seed of buddhahood from being cut off.” 〔0575b16〕 | 「為欲令眾生，除疑去邪執，起信紹佛種，故我造此論。」—“Wishing that sentient beings may remove their doubts, cast off deviant attachments, awaken faith, and continue the seed of buddhahood, I therefore composed this treatise.” 〔0584a27〕 |
| Names of the five parts | 「一者、因緣分，二者、立義分，三者、解釋分，四者、修行信心分，五者、勸修利益分。」—“First, the part on the occasion; second, the part on setting up the meaning; third, the part on explication; fourth, the part on practicing the mind of faith; fifth, the part exhorting to practice and its benefit.” 〔0575b19〕 | 「一作因、二立義、三解釋、四修信、五利益。」—“First, making the cause; second, setting up the meaning; third, explication; fourth, cultivating faith; fifth, benefit.” 〔0584b02〕 |
| First of the eight occasions | 「一者、因緣總相，所謂為令眾生離一切苦得究竟樂，非求世間名利恭敬故。」—“First is the general mark of the occasions: to enable sentient beings to leave all suffering and attain ultimate bliss, not to seek worldly fame, gain, and reverence.” 〔0575b24〕 | 「此中作因有八，一總相，為令眾生離苦得樂，不為貪求利養等故。」—“Here there are eight causes for composing the treatise. First is the general mark: to enable sentient beings to leave suffering and attain bliss, not from covetous pursuit of gain and support, and so forth.” 〔0584b03〕 |
Two matters are recorded without adjudication. First, the present passage names the third treasure through 「無量功德藏，如實修行等」—“the treasury of immeasurable qualities, and those who practice in accord with reality,” while Śikṣānanda’s recension explicitly uses the character 「僧」—“saṅgha” in 「無邊德藏僧」—“the saṅgha that is a treasury of boundless qualities.” Second, after 「論曰」—“the treatise says,” Śikṣānanda’s recension adds a prose passage that restates the aspiration of the stanza: 「為欲發起大乘淨信、斷諸眾生疑暗邪執，令佛種性相續不斷，故造此論。」—“This treatise was composed in order to awaken pure faith in the Great Vehicle, cut off sentient beings’ dark doubts and deviant attachments, and cause the buddha-lineage to continue without interruption” 〔0584a29〕. The present passage has no such restatement.
Because the names of the parts differ, collation may not proceed by searching Śikṣānanda’s recension for the names used here—the three-character expression 「因緣分」—“part on the occasion” has zero occurrences in that recension.
III. Scriptural and Treatise Basis
The passage itself cites no scripture. The citations occur in the word-by-word commentary. In explaining 「諸論有無」—“whether other treatises include homage,” the Record of the Meaning adduces the practices of other treatises: 「或有具敬三寶。如智論攝論等。或唯歸佛寶。如地持論。或但歸人法。如十地論。或直說無歸。如十二門論。此並作者之意。廣略無在。」—“Some pay homage to all Three Treasures, as do the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom and the Compendium of the Great Vehicle; some pay homage only to the Buddha treasure, as does the Treatise on the Bodhisattva Stages; some pay homage only to person and dharma, as does the Treatise on the Ten Stages; and some speak directly without homage, as does the Treatise on the Twelve Gates. All this follows the authors’ intent; there is no rule concerning fullness or brevity” 〔T44n1846 0246b27〕. He further cites, 「如成實論說。三寶是吉祥境界。標之在首。以顯勝故。」—“As the Treatise Establishing Reality says, the Three Treasures are an auspicious sphere; they are set at the beginning in order to reveal their excellence” 〔T44n1846 0246c12〕.
These are the commentator’s citations, not citations in the present passage. Their provenance is recorded here; they are not made to stand as the doctrinal basis of the passage itself.
IV. Exegesis of the Passage (the word-by-word mirror, phrase by phrase)
Why homage stands first—the Record of the Meaning lists six intentions, word for word: 「一為荷恩故。」—“First, in order to bear in mind the kindness received” 〔T44n1846 0246c02〕; 「二請加護故。」—“Second, in order to request aid and protection” 〔T44n1846 0246c05〕; 「三為生信故。謂論主自是不足之人。率己造論。人不信受。要歸三寶。示有宗承。令物生信。」—“Third, in order to give rise to faith. The author of the treatise is himself an insufficient person; if he were to compose a treatise on his own initiative, people would not believe and accept it. He must take refuge in the Three Treasures, showing that he has a lineage and inheritance, so that beings may give rise to faith” 〔T44n1846 0246c07〕; 「四敬儀故。謂如世間忠臣孝子。凡有所作。先啟白君父。」—“Fourth, because it is the form of reverence. It is like loyal ministers and filial children in the world: whatever they do, they first report it to ruler or father” 〔T44n1846 0246c09〕; 「五表勝故。」—“Fifth, in order to display excellence” 〔T44n1846 0246c12〕; and 「六益物故。」—“Sixth, in order to benefit beings” 〔T44n1846 0246c14〕.
The exact force of the two characters 「論曰」—“the treatise says”—the Record of the Meaning takes up these two characters and explains: 「論曰者。簡論異經之辭也。」—“The words ‘the treatise says’ distinguish a treatise from a scripture” 〔T44n1846 0248b29〕. The two characters thus distinguish the treatise form from the scripture form.
The meaning of the character 「分」—“part”—in explaining the list of names, the Record of the Meaning says, 「一言不自起製必有由。名為因緣。章別餘段故稱為分。」—“First, words do not arise and compositions are not made without a reason; hence it is named ‘occasion.’ Because this division is distinct from the other passages, it is called a ‘part’” 〔T44n1846 0248c16〕. It then explains the name of the second part: 「二由致既興。次略標綱要。令物生信。故名立義分。」—“Second, the occasion having been raised, next the guiding outline is briefly indicated so that beings may give rise to faith; hence it is named the part on setting up the meaning” 〔T44n1846 0248c19〕.
The outline of the eight occasions—the Record of the Meaning says, 「辨相中。初一是總。後七是別。」—“Within the distinguishing of the marks, the first is general and the latter seven are particular” 〔T44n1846 0249a06〕. Thus the first, 「因緣總相」—“the general mark of the occasions,” encompasses the other seven; the eight are not simply parallel items.
V. Divergent Readings of the Commentators (recorded side by side, without adjudication)
| Mirror | Word for word | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Fazang, Record of the Meaning (Tang) | 「一言不自起製必有由。名為因緣。章別餘段故稱為分。」—“First, words do not arise and compositions are not made without a reason; hence it is named ‘occasion.’ Because this division is distinct from the other passages, it is called a ‘part.’” | 〔T44n1846 0248c16〕 |
| Wonhyo, Commentary (Silla) | 「因緣分者。非無所以。」—“As for the part on the occasion, it is not without a reason.” | 〔T44n1844 0204c15〕 |
The two commentators explain 「因緣」—“occasion” in the same direction but in different words. Recorded side by side without adjudication. Wonhyo’s Commentary is an outline commentary and does not repeat the text of the treatise; only the Record of the Meaning can be attached to this passage for line-by-line comparison.
VI. Terms (first occurrences in this passage)
- 摩訶衍 — Mahāyāna 〔0575b18〕: a transcription in this passage, occurring seven times in the whole treatise. Śikṣānanda’s recension more often uses the rendering by sense, 「大乘」—the Great Vehicle (「摩訶衍」—Mahāyāna occurs twice in that recension). Both forms are recorded; neither is selected as correct.
- 信根 — the root of faith 〔0575b18〕: 「有法能起摩訶衍信根」—“there is a dharma able to give rise to the root of faith in the Mahāyāna.” The 「有法」—“dharma” set up by the treatise is the 「眾生心」—“mind of sentient beings” of the part on setting up the meaning.
- 修多羅 — the scriptures 〔0575c07〕: scripture. The passage frames its challenge as 「修多羅中具有此法，何須重說」—“the scriptures already contain these dharmas; why say them again?” This term is therefore pivotal to the passage.
- 總持 — comprehensive retention 〔0575c15〕: 「心樂總持少文而攝多義」—“the mind delights in comprehensive retention, few words that embrace many meanings.” It is set in contrast to an 「廣論」—“extensive treatise.”
- 止觀 — calming and contemplation 〔0575c03〕: its first occurrence in this passage, in the sixth of the eight occasions; it is unfolded only later, in the part on practicing the mind of faith.
VII. Simile and Rhetoric
- 「圓音一演異類等解」—“when the single perfect voice was proclaimed, beings of every kind could understand it equally” 〔0575c09〕—the many kinds understanding one voice figures why no treatise was needed while the Buddha was in the world.
- 「出邪網故」—“to escape the net of deviant views” 〔0575c01〕—a net figures deviant views.
- 「佛種不斷故」—“to keep the seed of buddhahood from being cut off” 〔0575b17〕—a seed figures the continuity of the Dharma.
All three figures belong to the treatise itself; none is added.
VIII. Citation and Carrying Forward
- Connections before and after within the treatise: the sixth occasion, 「為示修習止觀，對治凡夫二乘心過故」—“to disclose the cultivation of calming and contemplation, countering the faults in the minds of ordinary beings and those of the two vehicles” 〔0575c02〕, and the seventh, 「為示專念方便，生於佛前必定不退信心故」—“to disclose the skillful means of focused recollection, so that beings may be born in the presence of a buddha and assuredly attain non-retrogression in faith” 〔0575c03〕, anticipate the gate of calming and contemplation and the section on the surpassing expedient in the part on practicing the mind of faith—the treatise itself indicates what it is going to say; this is not a later attachment.
- The commentator’s citations: the examples from the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, the Compendium of the Great Vehicle, the Treatise on the Bodhisattva Stages, the Treatise on the Ten Stages, the Treatise on the Twelve Gates, and the Treatise Establishing Reality adduced by the Record of the Meaning in explaining homage (see III) are surviving materials for the Tang understanding of the conventions of homage in a treatise.
IX. Text-critical Placement
Five variant readings occur within the range of this unit 〔0575b08–0575c18〕. They are recorded side by side without adjudication:
| Anchor | Taishō | Other witnesses |
|---|---|---|
| 〔0575b08〕 | “one scroll” | absent in the Song, Yuan, and Kunaichō editions; “scroll two” in the Ming |
| 〔0575b11〕 | “Western India” | “India” |
| 〔0575b16〕 | “deviant” | a homophonous form in the original Taishō; “deviant” in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Kunaichō editions |
| 〔0575c13〕 | “mind” | “wisdom” |
| 〔0575c14〕 | “one’s own” | “also” |
One point at 〔0575b16〕 deserves notice. The Taishō reading here was established by its editors, whose collation note connects it to two further sources: the Treatise Explaining the Mahāyāna T32n1668 0596b05 and Fazang’s Record of the Meaning T44n1846 0248a23. The editors thus used the text of the treatise cited in those two works as evidence for choosing the character. This is recorded, not adjudicated here.
Within the range of this unit: lacuna markers 0, private-use-area characters 0, interlinear notes 0.