辯中邊論 卷首導讀
辯中邊論（彌勒頌·世親釋）漢無傳序——玄奘、真諦二譯本卷首皆無序文（不同於《解深密經》之借流支《深密解脫經序》）。其卷首之實，在於論本之歸敬頌（造釋者之歸敬·世親·真諦舊譯各有），與古德主疏窺基《辯中邊論述記》之卷首釋題（傳承·論題·七品意·譯史）。本單元逐字輯此三源為辯中邊論之卷首，一仍藏經之舊。
一、歸敬頌（論本）
世親《辯中邊論》（玄奘譯）
〔T31n1600 0464b08〕稽首造此論，善逝體所生，及教我等師，當勤顯斯義。
真諦《中邊分別論》（舊譯）
〔T31n1599 0451a08〕恭敬善行子，能造此正論，為我等宣說，今當顯此義。
二、釋題（窺基《辯中邊論述記》卷上首）
傳承（慈氏→無著→世親）
〔T44n1835 0001a06〕佛滅度後九百年間。無著菩薩挺生於世。往慈氏所請說大論。因緣如別處說。慈氏為說此論本頌。名辯中邊頌。無著既受得已。便付世親使為廣釋。故此長行世親所造。名辯中邊論。
釋論題（辯·中·邊）
〔T44n1835 0001a10〕辯者顯了分別異名。中者正善離邊之目。邊者邪惡有失之號。即是明顯正邪論也。
〔T44n1835 0001a12〕今言中邊。顯處中道離二邊執契當正理。故標此名。
〔T44n1835 0001a16〕中邊之辯。蘇漫多聲中第六轉攝。六離合釋中依士釋也。舊云世親所造非也。中邊分別論者。言不順此也。
七品意（境·行·果）與譯史
〔T44n1835 0001a23〕然初二品是境。次三品是行。後二品是果。是七品意。
〔T44n1835 0001a24〕又初歸敬世親所為。自此下頌皆慈氏說。彌勒本有一百一十三頌。初一總攝。後一結釋。中為正宗。
〔T44n1835 0001b01〕即舊真諦已譯於梁朝。文錯義違。更譯茲日。諸不同處至下當知。
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.
這一篇用今天的話，把《辯中邊論》的「來歷、書名、結構」講清楚，給初讀的人一個入口。要看古德原文與出處，見同夾〔卷首·原典〕與〔卷首·考據〕。
這部論從哪裡來
依窺基《辯中邊論述記》所記：佛滅度後約九百年，無著菩薩出世，上兜率天向慈氏菩薩（彌勒）請法。彌勒說了這部論的本頌，叫《辯中邊頌》；無著領受之後，交給弟弟世親菩薩作詳細的長行解釋，就成了《辯中邊論》。
所以這部論有三層作者：頌是彌勒說的，釋是世親造的，本頌的傳出與付囑經過無著。開頭的「歸敬頌」（世親「稽首造此論……」）是世親造釋時的禮敬之辭；底下的頌，才都是彌勒所說。
「辯中邊」是什麼意思
窺基逐字解書名：
- 辯——分別、顯了（把道理辨明）。
- 中——正而離邊（不落兩頭的正道）。
- 邊——偏邪、有過失（兩頭的偏執）。
合起來：這是一部「顯明正道、辨破偏邪」的論——讓人看清「處中道、離二邊」的正理。為什麼不叫「辯邪正」而叫「辯中邊」？因為光是「正」還不夠：偏執「有」、偏執「空」的說法雖也算「善」，卻不是「中」；唯有離此二邊，才是中道。所以標名「中邊」。（窺基並指出：舊譯題作「中邊分別論」，於義不順。）
全論七品的結構
窺基把七品分成「境、行、果」三段——這也是本論逐品考據（科判定位）所依的古德綱領：
| 三段 | 品 | 講什麼 |
|---|---|---|
| 境（所觀） | 一 辯相品 · 二 辯障品 | 諸法的真相、遮蔽真相的障 |
| 行（能修） | 三 辯真實品 · 四 辯修對治品 · 五 辯修分位品 | 十種真實、對治道、修行位次 |
| 果（所得） | 六 辯得果品 · 七 辯無上乘品 | 修行的果、無上大乘之所以無上 |
彌勒本頌共一百一十三頌：第一頌總攝全論、最後一頌結釋，中間是正宗。
兩個漢譯
這部論先有真諦譯出（題作《中邊分別論》，陳代，約 557–569；窺基《述記》記云「譯於梁朝」），後有玄奘重譯（《辯中邊論》＋單行的《辯中邊論頌》）。玄奘以舊譯「文錯義違」而重譯；二譯逐處的不同，在各品考據中隨文對讀。本譯注以玄奘譯為底本，真諦譯為對讀古證。
In plain language: where the Madhyāntavibhāga comes from, what its title means, and how it is built — an entry point for first readers. For the patristic source and locators, see 〈Prefatory · Source〉 and 〈Prefatory · Apparatus〉.
Where this treatise comes from
As recorded in Kuiji's Commentarial Record on the Madhyāntavibhāga: about nine hundred years after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, the bodhisattva Asaṅga appeared and ascended to request the teaching from the bodhisattva Maitreya (Cí-shì). Maitreya spoke the root verses of this treatise, the Verses Discerning Middle and Extremes (辯中邊頌); Asaṅga received them and entrusted them to his younger brother, the bodhisattva Vasubandhu, who composed the detailed prose commentary — the Madhyāntavibhāga (辯中邊論).
So the work has three authorial layers: the verses are Maitreya's, the commentary is Vasubandhu's, and the transmission passed through Asaṅga. The opening "verse of homage" (Vasubandhu's 「稽首造此論……」) is Vasubandhu's reverence as he composed the commentary; the verses that follow are all Maitreya's.
What "辯中邊 / Madhyānta-vibhāga" means
Kuiji glosses the title word by word:
- 辯 (vibhāga) — to discern, to clarify (to lay a truth bare).
- 中 (madhya) — the right that departs from extremes (the correct path that falls on neither side).
- 邊 (anta) — the deviant and faulty (grasping at either extreme).
Together: this is a treatise that clarifies the right path and discerns away the biased — letting one see plainly the truth of "dwelling in the Middle Way, apart from the two extremes." Why "Middle-and-Extremes" rather than "Wrong-and-Right"? Because being merely "right" is not enough: views biased toward existence or toward emptiness, though "good," are still not the "Middle"; only departing from both is the Middle Way. (Kuiji also notes that the old title, Treatise Distinguishing Middle and Extremes, fits the sense poorly.)
How the seven chapters are built
Kuiji groups the seven chapters into three phases — object, practice, fruit — which is also the patristic framework underlying each chapter's Doctrinal Outline (科判定位):
| Phase | Chapters | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Object (what is contemplated) | 1 Characteristics · 2 Obscurations | the true nature of things; the obscurations veiling it |
| Practice (what cultivates) | 3 Reality · 4 Antidotes · 5 Stages | the ten realities, the antidote-path, the stages of cultivation |
| Fruit (what is attained) | 6 Attainment · 7 Unsurpassed Vehicle | the fruit of practice; why the Great Vehicle is unsurpassed |
Maitreya's root has 113 verses: the first totalizes the whole, the last concludes, and the middle is the main body.
The two Chinese translations
The treatise was first rendered by Paramārtha (titled 中邊分別論; in the Chen period, c. 557–569 — Kuiji's Shuji places the rendering "in the Liang") and later re-translated by Xuanzang (辯中邊論, with the verses also issued separately as 辯中邊論頌). Xuanzang re-translated it because the old version was "garbled in text and astray in sense"; the point-by-point differences are read side by side within each chapter's apparatus. This translation takes Xuanzang's rendering as its base text and Paramārtha's as the ancient comparative witness.
考據Apparatus
一、歸敬頌
| 譯本 | 歸敬頌逐字 | 出處 |
|---|---|---|
| 世親《辯中邊論》（玄奘） | 「稽首造此論，善逝體所生，及教我等師，當勤顯斯義。」 | T31n1600 0464b08 |
| 真諦《中邊分別論》（舊譯） | 「恭敬善行子，能造此正論，為我等宣說，今當顯此義。」 | T31n1599 0451a08 |
窺基判：「又初歸敬世親所為。自此下頌皆慈氏說。」（T44n1835 0001a24）——歸敬頌乃世親造釋之禮敬，非彌勒本頌；本頌自第二（標目）以下方為慈氏所說。
二、傳承（慈氏→無著→世親）
窺基《述記》（T44n1835 0001a06）：「佛滅度後九百年間。無著菩薩挺生於世。往慈氏所請說大論。因緣如別處說。慈氏為說此論本頌。名辯中邊頌。無著既受得已。便付世親使為廣釋。故此長行世親所造。名辯中邊論。」
→ 三層作者：彌勒（慈氏）說本頌《辯中邊頌》· 無著受而付囑 · 世親作長行釋《辯中邊論》。
三、釋論題（辯·中·邊·依士釋）
窺基（T44n1835 0001a10）：「辯者顯了分別異名。中者正善離邊之目。邊者邪惡有失之號。即是明顯正邪論也。」
（T44n1835 0001a12）「今言中邊。顯處中道離二邊執契當正理。故標此名。」——簡偏有偏空之教（雖正善而非中），故標「中邊」不云「邪正」。
（T44n1835 0001a16）「中邊之辯。蘇漫多聲中第六轉攝。六離合釋中依士釋也。」——「中邊」為所明之理（第六轉·屬主），「辯」為能顯之教；六合釋中屬依士釋。
四、辨舊題（窺基正真諦）
窺基（T44n1835 0001a18）：「舊云世親所造非也。中邊分別論者。言不順此也。」——真諦舊譯題《中邊分別論》，窺基謂其題於義不順（論名當顯「處中離邊」之辯，非「分別」）。〔古德判，如實記。〕
五、七品意與譯史
窺基（T44n1835 0001a23）：「然初二品是境。次三品是行。後二品是果。是七品意。」——七品判為境（相·障）· 行（真實·對治·分位）· 果（得果·無上乘）三段（各品科判定位所本）。
（T44n1835 0001a25）「彌勒本有一百一十三頌。初一總攝。後一結釋。中為正宗。」——彌勒頌 113：首頌總攝、末頌結釋、中為正宗。
（T44n1835 0001b01）「即舊真諦已譯於梁朝。文錯義違。更譯茲日。」——真諦梁朝譯《中邊分別論》在先，玄奘以「文錯義違」重譯；二譯異處隨品對讀（〈譯名〉）。
校本定位
| 來源 | 出處 |
|---|---|
| 世親《辯中邊論》歸敬頌（玄奘） | T31n1600 0464b08 |
| 真諦《中邊分別論》歸敬偈（舊譯） | T31n1599 0451a08 |
| 窺基《辯中邊論述記》卷上 釋題 | T44n1835 0001a06–0001b02 |
1. Verse of Homage (the treatise's own)
| Edition | Verse of homage (verbatim) | Loc |
|---|---|---|
| Vasubandhu's 辯中邊論 (Xuanzang) | 「稽首造此論，善逝體所生，及教我等師，當勤顯斯義。」 | T31n1600 0464b08 |
| Paramārtha's 中邊分別論 (old transl.) | 「恭敬善行子，能造此正論，為我等宣說，今當顯此義。」 | T31n1599 0451a08 |
Kuiji's ruling: 「又初歸敬世親所為。自此下頌皆慈氏說。」(T44n1835 0001a24) — the verse of homage is Vasubandhu's reverence in composing the commentary, not part of Maitreya's root verses; the root verses proper begin from the second (the uddāna) onward.
2. Transmission (Maitreya → Asaṅga → Vasubandhu)
Kuiji (T44n1835 0001a06): 「佛滅度後九百年間。無著菩薩挺生於世。往慈氏所請說大論。因緣如別處說。慈氏為說此論本頌。名辯中邊頌。無著既受得已。便付世親使為廣釋。故此長行世親所造。名辯中邊論。」
→ Three authorial layers: Maitreya (Cí-shì) spoke the root verses, the 辯中邊頌; Asaṅga received and entrusted them; Vasubandhu composed the prose commentary, the 辯中邊論.
3. Exegesis of the Title (辯 · 中 · 邊 — a tatpuruṣa)
Kuiji (T44n1835 0001a10): 「辯者顯了分別異名。中者正善離邊之目。邊者邪惡有失之號。即是明顯正邪論也。」 — 辯 = discerning/clarifying; 中 = the right that departs from extremes; 邊 = the deviant-and-faulty (the two extremes).
(T44n1835 0001a12) 「今言中邊。顯處中道離二邊執契當正理。故標此名。」 — it manifests dwelling in the Middle Way, departing from grasping at the two extremes; teachings biased toward existence or toward emptiness, though "good," are not yet "Middle" — hence the name 「中邊」 rather than 「邪正」.
(T44n1835 0001a16) 「中邊之辯。蘇漫多聲中第六轉攝。六離合釋中依士釋也。」 — 「中邊」 is the principle expounded (sixth case-inflection · the governed term), 「辯」 the teaching that displays it; among the six compound-analyses (ṣaṭ-samāsa) this is a dependent determinative (tatpuruṣa, 依士釋).
4. On the Old Title (Kuiji corrects Paramārtha)
Kuiji (T44n1835 0001a18): 「舊云世親所造非也。中邊分別論者。言不順此也。」 — Paramārtha's old title 《中邊分別論》 ("Treatise Distinguishing Middle and Extremes") is, in Kuiji's judgment, ill-fitting in sense (the title should display the discerning of dwelling-in-the-Middle-apart-from-extremes, not "distinguishing"). 〔A patristic ruling, recorded as such.〕
5. The Seven Chapters' Intent · and Translation History
Kuiji (T44n1835 0001a23): 「然初二品是境。次三品是行。後二品是果。是七品意。」 — the seven chapters divide as object (Characteristics · Obscurations) · practice (Reality · Antidotes · Stages) · fruit (Attainment · Unsurpassed Vehicle) — the basis of each chapter's Doctrinal Outline (科判定位).
(T44n1835 0001a25) 「彌勒本有一百一十三頌。初一總攝。後一結釋。中為正宗。」 — Maitreya's root has 113 verses: the first totalizes, the last concludes, the middle is the main body.
(T44n1835 0001b01) 「即舊真諦已譯於梁朝。文錯義違。更譯茲日。」 — Paramārtha translated it earlier in the Liang (《中邊分別論》); Xuanzang re-translated it as "garbled in text and astray in sense"; the two renderings are read against each other per chapter (〈Translation-Terms〉).
Witnesses
| Source | Loc |
|---|---|
| Vasubandhu 辯中邊論, verse of homage (Xuanzang) | T31n1600 0464b08 |
| Paramārtha 中邊分別論, verse of homage (old transl.) | T31n1599 0451a08 |
| Kuiji 辯中邊論述記, fasc. 1, title-exegesis | T44n1835 0001a06–0001b02 |