解深密經 卷首 序
玄奘《解深密經》（T16n0676·本書底本）漢無傳序；今借全本主對校之流支《深密解脫經》（T16n0675）卷首序為本經系譯史·源信之據。〔此序大正藏底本（麗本）無，依宋元明三本及宮本載 —— CBETA 校記 0665a03；考據見〈考據〉層。〕逐字校 CBETA。
沙門都釋曇寧造
〔T16 0665a06〕夫至迹虛微、理包言像之外，幽宗沖祕、旨絕名相之域，是以大聖秉獨悟之靈，姿鏡寰中之妙趣。實相廓然，與虛無齊其量；法性憺爾，與幽冥同其源。神輝潛映而不滅，萬相俱應而不生。然此生也，生所不能生；此之滅也，滅所不能滅。顯既非有，隱豈為無？寂焉而動、動焉而寂，出沒無方，教迹星羅者矣。
蓋《深密解脫經》者，乃兆聖之玄源、億善之淵府。論其旨也則真相不二，語其教也則湛然理一，義盡沖籍、文窮祕典，妙絕熈怡、包括群藏。自非詮于理教，何以顯茲深致？但東西音殊，理憑翻譯，非翻非譯，文義斯壅，所以久蘊而不顯者，良俟嘉運而光通矣。
大魏皇帝總六合以統天、包百王以馭宇，道邁羲唐、德超古哲，而每遊神覺典、妙翫大乘，思在翻演、鴻宣遐代。時有北天竺三藏法師菩提留支——魏音道晞，曾為此地之沙門都統也——識性內融，神機外朗，沖文玄藏，罔不該洞。以永熈二年龍次星紀，月呂蕤賓，詔命三藏於顯陽殿高陞法座，披匣揮麈，口自翻譯，義語無滯。
皇上尊經祇法，執翰輪首，下筆成句，文義雙顯，旨包群籍之祕理、含眾典之奧，但萬機淵曠，無容終訖。捨筆之後，轉授沙門都法師慧光、曇寧，在永寧上寺共律師僧辯、居士李廓等遵承上軌，歲常翻演新經諸論，津悟恒沙。
帝亦時紆尊儀，飾茲玄席，同事名儒招玄、大統法師僧令、沙門都法師僧澤、律師慧顒等十有餘僧。緇俗詵詵，法事隆盛，一言三覆，慕盡窮微，是使深密祕藏光宣於景運，解脫妙義永流於遐劫。
理教淵廓，罔測其源，旨趣中絕，焉究其宗？所謂鹿苑之唱再興，祇園之風更顯者也。寧雖識昧，忝廁倫末，敢罄庸管，祇記云爾。
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.
〔序題〕《深密解脫經》的序。沙門都、釋曇寧 作。
〔一·至理超乎言象，聖人獨悟而垂教〕那最高的覺跡幽微難見，它的道理本就在言語與形象之外；幽深的宗趣沖虛祕奧，它的旨歸超出了名相所能及的範圍。所以大聖人秉著獨自證悟的靈明，把宇宙之中那最妙的旨趣朗朗映現出來。真實之相空闊無際，和「虛無」一樣不可丈量；法的體性淡然寂靜，和那幽冥之境同一個源頭。祂的神光暗暗映照卻不曾熄滅，萬般形相一齊應現卻不曾真正生起。然而說它「生」吧——「生」並不能真使它生；說它「滅」吧——「滅」也並不能真使它滅。它顯現出來，並不就是「有」；它隱沒下去，又哪裡就是「無」？寂靜之中而有動、動之中而仍寂，出沒沒有一定的方所——於是祂教化的痕跡，便像滿天星辰一樣鋪展開來。
〔二·此經為眾善之源，久蘊待時而顯〕原來，《深密解脫經》這部經，正是萬千聖者的玄妙本源、億萬善法的深廣府庫。論它的旨趣，是真俗不二；說它的教法，是湛然一理。它的義理窮盡了一切深微的典籍，它的文句探到了最祕奧的經藏深處；妙得令人讚歎不已，把群經眾藏都包羅在內。若不藉著道理與教法去詮表，又怎能顯出這樣深的旨致？只是西方（天竺）和東方（中土）語音不同，這道理得靠翻譯才通；不翻不譯，文與義就壅塞不通了。它之所以長久埋藏而不得彰顯，實在是因為在等待一個好時運，才能放出光來、暢通於世。
〔三·大魏皇帝詔菩提留支於顯陽殿口譯〕大魏皇帝統攝天地四方而君臨天下，涵蓋歷代百王而駕馭寰宇；他的治道超過伏羲與唐堯，他的德行勝過上古的聖哲。他常常神遊於覺悟的經典、細細玩味大乘，一心想著把佛典翻譯、講演出來，向遙遠的後世廣為宣揚。當時有一位北印度的三藏法師菩提留支——魏地語言把他的名字譯作「道晞」（菩提是「道」，留支是「光明」之義），他曾擔任本地的「沙門都統」（北魏統領全國僧眾的僧官之長）——他的見識在內裡圓融，他的神思在外面朗暢，那些深奧的經文、玄祕的法藏，沒有一樣不被他透徹通曉。在永熙二年（533年，歲在癸丑，時當五月），皇帝下詔，請這位三藏法師在顯陽殿登上高高的法座；他打開經函、揮動麈尾（講經時手執的拂塵），親口翻譯，義理與言辭都流暢無礙。
〔四·帝親執筆，後轉授慧光曇寧於永寧上寺續成〕皇上尊重經典、敬奉佛法，親自執起筆來居於首位，一下筆就寫成句子，文辭與義理一齊顯豁；那旨趣包羅了一切典籍的祕理，含攝了眾多經藏的深奧。只是國家萬機深廣繁重，皇上沒有餘暇把它從頭做到尾。放下筆之後，便把這件事轉交給沙門都法師慧光、曇寧；他們在永寧上寺，與律師僧辯、居士李廓等人一同，遵循著皇上開下的軌則，年年翻譯講演新出的經與論，所度化、啟悟的人多如恒河沙數。
〔五·帝亦親臨譯席，十餘德反覆校定〕皇帝也時時屈尊降貴、親臨這玄妙的譯席。一同共事的，有名儒招玄、大統法師僧令、沙門都法師僧澤、律師慧顒等，共十多位高僧。出家與在家的人濟濟一堂，法事興隆盛大；對每一個字都再三斟酌覆核，一心想把那最精微的義理探究到底。就這樣，使「深密」的祕藏在這昌明的時運中放出光來、廣為宣揚，「解脫」的妙義永遠流傳於久遠的劫世。（「深密」「解脫」皆扣本經之名。）
〔六·結語·歸美與自謙〕這道理與教法深廣無際，沒有人能測到它的源頭；它的旨趣高遠得彷彿中途就斷了去路，又怎能窮究它的宗極呢？這真可說是：鹿野苑（世尊初轉法輪之地）的法音重新興起、祇園（祇樹給孤獨園，世尊長年說法之處）的教化再度彰顯了。我曇寧雖然見識昏昧、慚愧地忝列在同輩的末位，卻還是斗膽竭盡這管窺之見，聊且這樣記下罷了。
[Title] Preface to the Sūtra of Unravelling the Profound Mystery (深密解脫經). Composed by the Śramaṇa-Director, the monk Tanning [釋曇寧].
[1 · The ultimate principle lies beyond word and image; the sage, awakening alone, hands down the teaching] The ultimate trace is empty and subtle, its principle encompassing what lies beyond words and images; the hidden source is deep and secret, its purport transcending the realm of name-and-form. Therefore the Great Sage, wielding the numinous light of his solitary awakening, mirrors forth the wondrous import within the cosmos. True reality is vast and open, equal in measure to the Void; the Dharma-nature is still and quiet, sharing one source with the dark-unseen. His divine radiance shines in secret yet never perishes; the myriad images all respond, yet are never [truly] born. Yet of this "arising" — arising cannot make it arise; of this "ceasing" — ceasing cannot make it cease. Made manifest, it is not thereby existent; hidden away, how could it be non-existent? Still, it moves; moving, it is still — appearing and vanishing with no fixed quarter; and so the traces of his teaching are spread abroad like the stars.
[2 · This sūtra is the source of all good, long stored, biding its time to shine] Now, the Sūtra of Unravelling the Profound Mystery is the mysterious source of the myriad sages, the deep treasury of a hundred million goods. Speak of its purport — true reality is non-dual; speak of its teaching — serene, the principle is one. Its meaning exhausts the deepest books, its text plumbs the most secret canon; wondrous past all delight, it embraces every storehouse [of scripture]. Were it not set forth through principle and teaching, how could so profound an import be revealed? But the sounds of West [India] and East [China] differ, and the principle must rely on translation; untranslated, text and meaning are dammed up. That it long lay stored and unmanifest was truly because it looked to an auspicious destiny to break into light and pass freely through the world.
[3 · The Emperor of Great Wei decrees Bodhiruci to translate orally in the Xianyang Hall] The Emperor of Great Wei gathers the six directions to rule under Heaven and embraces the hundred [former] kings to govern the realm; his Way surpasses [Fu]xi and [Yao of] Tang, his virtue exceeds the ancient sages. Ever he roams in spirit through the scriptures of awakening and wondrously savours the Great Vehicle, his thought set on translating and expounding, on broadly proclaiming [the Dharma] to distant ages. At that time there was a Master of the Three Baskets of North India, Bodhiruci — whose name the Wei tongue renders "Daoxi" [道晞, "Path-Light": bodhi = "Path," ruci = "radiance"] — who had served as the Śramaṇa Director-General [沙門都統, the chief monastic official over the whole realm] of this land. His discernment was fused within and his spiritual acumen bright without; of the deep texts and the mysterious storehouse [of teachings] there was none he did not penetrate. In the second year of Yongxi [533, the year-star in Xingji — i.e. the year guichou; the month at Ruibin — i.e. the fifth month], the Emperor by decree commanded the Master of the Three Baskets to ascend the high Dharma-seat in the Xianyang Hall; opening the scripture-casket and wielding the whisk [the deer-tail fly-whisk held while expounding], he translated aloud himself, meaning and wording without a hitch.
[4 · The Emperor takes up the brush, then entrusts the work to Huiguang and Tanning at Yongning Upper Monastery] His Majesty, honouring the scripture and revering the Dharma, took up the brush as the foremost, and as the brush came down it formed sentences, text and meaning both made plain; the purport embraced the secret principles of all writings and held the depths of the many canons. But the myriad affairs [of state] were deep and vast, leaving no room to see it through to the end. After he laid down the brush, [the task] was handed over to the Śramaṇa-Director Dharma-masters Huiguang [慧光] and Tanning [曇寧]; at Yongning Upper Monastery, together with the Vinaya-master Sengbian [僧辯] and the layman Li Kuo [李廓] and others, they carried on along the track the Emperor had laid down, year upon year translating and expounding newly-brought sūtras and treatises, ferrying beings to awakening as numberless as the sands of the Ganges.
[5 · The Emperor too attends the translation-seat; more than ten worthies collate it word by word] The Emperor too would at times bend his honoured presence to grace this mysterious seat. His fellow-workers were the renowned scholar Zhao Xuan [招玄], the Grand-Director Dharma-master Sengling [僧令], the Śramaṇa-Director Dharma-master Sengze [僧澤], the Vinaya-master Huiyong [慧顒], and others — more than ten monks in all. Clergy and laity gathered in throngs, and the Dharma-work flourished in grandeur; for each single word they went back over it three times, longing to exhaust the subtle to its very end. Thus they caused the secret treasury of the "Profound Mystery" to shine forth in this glorious age, and the wondrous meaning of "Liberation" to flow on forever through the distant aeons. ["Profound Mystery" and "Liberation" both echo the sūtra's title 深密／解脫.]
[6 · Closing · praise and self-deprecation] The principle and teaching are deep and vast — none can fathom their source; their purport stands so remote it seems cut off midway — how then could one exhaust their tenet? This is what may be called: the proclamation of the Deer Park [where the Buddha first turned the Dharma-wheel] revived anew, and the influence of the Jeta Grove [where the Buddha long taught] made manifest once more. I, Ning [Tanning], dull though I am in understanding and shamefully ranked at the tail of my peers, yet make bold to spend out my narrow "tube"-view [the view of one peering through a pipe] and merely set this down — so it is.
考據Apparatus
本序乃流支《深密解脫經》（T16n0675·全本主對校）之卷首序；玄奘《解深密經》（T16n0676·本書底本）漢無傳序，故借此序為本經系譯史·源信之據——譯人·詔·場·年·與校諸德，皆序自證而以古德經錄、僧傳互核。
一、譯史（序自證·古德經錄互核）
| 項 | 序文所載（出處） | 互核（古德經錄·僧傳） |
|---|---|---|
| 譯主 | 北天竺三藏法師菩提留支，魏音道晞，曾為此地之沙門都統（0665a21–22） | 續高僧傳 T50n2060 有傳（留支／流支二寫並見） |
| 帝室 | 大魏皇帝（元魏）詔命翻演（0665a18–20·0665a24） | 永熙＝元魏孝武帝年號 |
| 譯場 | 顯陽殿高陞法座，口自翻譯（0665a24–25） | — |
| 年時 | 永熙二年（533），龍次星紀（太歲在丑），月呂蕤賓（五月）（0665a23–24） | 經錄繫延昌三年（514）洛陽——見〈二〉年代二說 |
| 帝執筆 | 皇上尊經祇法，執翰輪首，下筆成句（0665a26） | — |
| 轉授 | 捨筆之後，轉授沙門都法師慧光、曇寧（0665a28–29） | 慧光：續高僧傳 T50n2060 有傳 |
| 譯場與校 | 在永寧上寺共律師僧辯、居士李廓等遵承上軌（0665a29–0665b01） | 僧辯「筆受」、李廓並見開元錄 T55n2154 0540c17–18·續高僧傳 |
| 同事十餘僧 | 名儒招玄、大統法師僧令、沙門都法師僧澤、律師慧顒等十有餘僧（0665b02–04） | — |
| 撰序 | 沙門都釋曇寧造（0665a05·序末「寧雖識昧」0665b08 自稱「寧」） | 曇寧亦轉授受經者之一（0665a28–29），序作者即與校之人 |
序自證之要：本經由帝親啟（執翰輪首）、菩提留支口譯，後轉沙門都慧光·曇寧於永寧上寺續成，僧辯筆受、李廓等與校。撰序者曇寧身與其事，故序非後世轉述，近於同時記。
二、年代二說（並錄·唯徵引·不判）
序與古德經錄於翻譯年代有二說，並錄如次，不判：
| 說 | 出處 | 所載 |
|---|---|---|
| 永熙二年（533） | 本序（流支序·曇寧造） | 「以永熈二年龍次星紀，月呂蕤賓，詔命三藏於顯陽殿高陞法座〔…〕口自翻譯」（T16n0675 0665a23–25） |
| 延昌三年（514）·洛陽 | 開元釋教錄 T55n2154 | 「深密解脫經五卷，全本初譯，延昌三年於洛陽出，僧辯筆受，與唐譯解深密經及相續解脫節經等並同本，見法上錄及續高僧傳」（0540c17–18） |
| 延昌三年（514·甲午）·雒陽 | 歷代三寶紀 T49n2034 | 「甲午〔…〕深密解脫經五卷。菩提流支於雒陽出」（0045a05） |
二說並見古德典籍：序繫永熙二年顯陽殿帝啟之事，經錄繫延昌三年洛陽初譯。二說並錄，不裁孰是。 經錄與序所同者，足相互證者三：（一）僧辯筆受／與校（序「共律師僧辯」↔ 開元錄「僧辯筆受」）；（二）全本（序全經↔ 開元錄「全本初譯」）；（三）與玄奘解深密經、求那相續解脫等同本異譯（開元錄「並同本」↔ 本書§異譯對勘）。
三、典故·名相（隨段·標其所出）
- 真相不二·湛然理一（0665a14 段）：序立本經宗趣——真俗不二、一理湛然；可與品 4 三性、品 5 三無性作主題互讀。若稱三性三無性會通有、空於非有非空中道，則屬窺基古德判讀〔T45n1861 0249a10–14〕，不是此序原句。
- 東西音殊，理憑翻譯（0665a16–17）：東＝震旦，西＝天竺；明翻譯之必要——「非翻非譯，文義斯壅」（0665a17）。
- 龍次星紀（0665a23–24）：太歲紀年。星紀為十二次之一（當丑），永熙二年歲在癸丑，故曰「龍次星紀」（龍＝太歲）。
- 月呂蕤賓（0665a24）：蕤賓為十二律呂之第七、當仲夏五月；「月呂蕤賓」謂時在五月。
- 魏音道晞（0665a21–22）：菩提留支（梵 Bodhiruci），魏言譯作「道晞」（菩提＝道，留支＝晞／希，光明義）。
- 沙門都統·沙門都·大統（0665a22·a28–29·b03）：北魏僧官。沙門統（道人統）為一代僧官之長，下有都維那等；序稱留支「曾為此地之沙門都統」、慧光等為「沙門都法師」、僧令為「大統法師」。〔僧官名號，徵引之據；制度詳出別籍，此唯標名。〕
- 披匣揮麈（0665a25）：披匣，開經函；揮麈，揮麈尾（講說所執之拂）。狀口譯講說之儀。
- 執翰輪首（0665a26）：執筆居首；謂帝親任筆削之首。
- 鹿苑之唱·祇園之風（0665b07–08）：鹿苑，鹿野苑，世尊初轉法輪處；祇園，祇樹給孤獨園，世尊長宣法處。喻本經之譯弘＝初轉之唱再興、祇園之化更顯。
- 忝廁倫末·敢罄庸管（0665b08–09）：撰者曇寧自謙之辭；庸管，管窺之喻（所見狹）。「祇記云爾」（0665b09）＝聊記如此而已。
四、撰者與校本
撰者：序末署「沙門都釋曇寧造」（0665a05），文末自稱「寧」（「寧雖識昧，忝廁倫末」0665b08）。曇寧亦本經轉授受經、與校者之一（0665a28–29「轉授沙門都法師慧光、曇寧」），序作者即與譯之人，故所記譯場諸事近同時之證。〔曇寧之專傳，續高僧傳未見立目；其名唯由本序及譯事自證。誠實記，缺不偽補。〕
校本定位：
| 項 | 所載 |
|---|---|
| 序之版本依據 | 此序大正藏底本（高麗本）無；依宋、元、明三本及宮本載（校記 0665a03：「此序依宋元明三本及宮本載」） |
| 留／流二寫 | 序文作「菩提留支」（0665a21）；經錄·今題多作「菩提流支」。〈原典〉層存序文「留支」逐字原文，異寫並見，不改。 |
| 流支本品次 | 《深密解脫經》全本，品次與玄奘八品異（流支十一品·序品起）；本書以流支 T16n0675 為全本主對校 |
This is the head-preface of Bodhiruci's Shenmi jietuo jing (T16n0675 · the full-text primary cross-collation); Xuanzang's Saṃdhinirmocana (T16n0676 · the base text of this project) carries no transmitted preface, so this preface is borrowed as the family's evidence for translation-history · source-trust — the translator · the imperial decree · the translation-site · the year · and the collating worthies are all attested by the preface itself and cross-checked against the ancient masters' scripture-catalogues and monk-biographies.
I. Translation history (preface self-attestation · cross-checked against the ancient masters' scripture-catalogues)
| Item | As recorded in the preface (locus) | Cross-check (ancient masters' catalogues · monk-biographies) |
|---|---|---|
| Translator | The Dharma-master of the Three Baskets of North India, 菩提留支 [Bodhiruci], in the Wei tongue 道晞 [Daoxi], who had served as the 沙門都統 [Śramaṇa Director-General] of this land (0665a21–22) | The Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks T50n2060 carries his biography (both spellings 留支／流支 are seen) |
| Imperial house | The 大魏皇帝 [Emperor of Great Wei] (the Northern Wei) decreed the translation-and-exposition (0665a18–20 · 0665a24) | 永熙 [Yongxi] = the reign-title of Emperor Xiaowu of the Northern Wei |
| Translation-site | At the 顯陽殿 [Xianyang Hall] he ascended the high Dharma-seat and translated aloud himself (0665a24–25) | — |
| Year | The second year of Yongxi (533), the year-star in Xingji (the year guichou), the month at Ruibin (the fifth month) (0665a23–24) | The catalogues date it to the third year of Yanchang (514), at Luoyang — see 〈II〉 the two datings |
| Emperor wielding the brush | His Majesty, honouring the scripture and revering the Dharma, took up the brush as the foremost [執翰輪首] and brought it down to form sentences (0665a26) | — |
| Handing over | After he laid down the brush, the task was handed over to the Śramaṇa-Director Dharma-masters 慧光 [Huiguang] and 曇寧 [Tanning] (0665a28–29) | 慧光 [Huiguang]: the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks T50n2060 carries his biography |
| Translation-site & collation | At 永寧上寺 [Yongning Upper Monastery], together with the Vinaya-master 僧辯 [Sengbian] and the layman 李廓 [Li Kuo] and others, they carried on along the track [the Emperor had laid down] (0665a29–0665b01) | 僧辯「筆受」 [Sengbian "received it by brush"] and 李廓 [Li Kuo] both appear in the Kaiyuan Catalogue T55n2154 0540c17–18 · the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks |
| The dozen-odd fellow monks | The renowned scholar 招玄 [Zhao Xuan], the Grand-Director Dharma-master 僧令 [Sengling], the Śramaṇa-Director Dharma-master 僧澤 [Sengze], the Vinaya-master 慧顒 [Huiyong], and others — more than ten monks in all (0665b02–04) | — |
| Composing the preface | Made by the Śramaṇa-Director 釋曇寧 [the monk Tanning] (0665a05 · at the preface's close "寧雖識昧" 0665b08 he names himself "Ning") | Tanning is also one of those to whom the sūtra was handed over and entrusted (0665a28–29); the preface's author is one of the collators |
The crux of the preface's self-attestation: this sūtra was opened by the Emperor in person (he took up the brush as the foremost), translated aloud by Bodhiruci, then handed over to the Śramaṇa-Directors Huiguang and Tanning to be carried through at Yongning Upper Monastery, with Sengbian receiving it by brush and Li Kuo and others collating. The preface's composer Tanning was himself a party to the affair, so the preface is not a later retrospect but close to a contemporaneous record.
II. Two datings (recorded, not adjudicated)
The preface and the ancient masters' scripture-catalogues give two accounts of the year of translation; both are recorded as follows, not adjudicated:
| Account | Source | As recorded |
|---|---|---|
| The second year of Yongxi (533) | This preface (Bodhiruci's preface · made by Tanning) | 「以永熈二年龍次星紀，月呂蕤賓，詔命三藏於顯陽殿高陞法座〔…〕口自翻譯」 ["in the second year of Yongxi, the year-star in Xingji, the month at Ruibin, by decree he commanded the Master of the Three Baskets to ascend the high Dharma-seat in the Xianyang Hall… and translate aloud himself"] (T16n0675 0665a23–25) |
| The third year of Yanchang (514) · at Luoyang | The Kaiyuan Catalogue of the Śākya Teaching [開元釋教錄] T55n2154 | 「深密解脫經五卷，全本初譯，延昌三年於洛陽出，僧辯筆受，與唐譯解深密經及相續解脫節經等並同本，見法上錄及續高僧傳」 ["The Shenmi jietuo jing in five scrolls, the full text first translated, brought out in the third year of Yanchang at Luoyang, Sengbian receiving it by brush, of the same original as the Tang-translated Saṃdhinirmocana and the Xiangxu jietuo jie jing and the rest; see the Faxiang Catalogue and the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks"] (0540c17–18) |
| The third year of Yanchang (514 · jiawu) · at Luoyang | The Record of the Three Treasures Through the Ages [歷代三寶紀] T49n2034 | 「甲午〔…〕深密解脫經五卷。菩提流支於雒陽出」 ["in jiawu … the Shenmi jietuo jing in five scrolls, brought out by Bodhiruci at Luoyang"] (0045a05) |
Both accounts appear in the ancient masters' texts: the preface ties [the work] to the second year of Yongxi and to the Emperor's opening it at the Xianyang Hall; the catalogues tie the first translation to the third year of Yanchang at Luoyang. This layer only records; it does not adjudicate which is so. Three points where the catalogues and the preface agree, sufficient to corroborate one another: (1) Sengbian receiving-by-brush / collating (the preface's 「共律師僧辯」 ["together with the Vinaya-master Sengbian"] ↔ the Kaiyuan Catalogue's 「僧辯筆受」 ["Sengbian receiving it by brush"]); (2) the full text (the preface's whole sūtra ↔ the Kaiyuan Catalogue's 「全本初譯」 ["the full text first translated"]); (3) the same original, differently translated as Xuanzang's Saṃdhinirmocana, Guṇabhadra's Xiangxu jietuo and the rest (the Kaiyuan Catalogue's 「並同本」 ["of the same original"] ↔ this project's §cross-translation collation).
III. Allusions & terms (per passage · marking each source)
- 真相不二·湛然理一 [true reality is non-dual; serene, the principle is one] (the 0665a14 passage): the preface sets out this sūtra's tenet — true-and-conventional non-dual, the one principle serene; this may be read thematically alongside the three natures in Chapter 4 and the three non-natures in Chapter 5. Reading those doctrines as reconciling existence and emptiness in a Middle Way that is neither existent nor empty is Kuiji's ancient exegetical judgment 〔T45n1861 0249a10–14〕, not the wording of this preface.
- 東西音殊，理憑翻譯 [the sounds of East and West differ, and the principle must rely on translation] (0665a16–17): East = Zhendan [China], West = Tianzhu [India]; making plain the necessity of translation — 「非翻非譯，文義斯壅」 ["untranslated, text and meaning are dammed up"] (0665a17).
- 龍次星紀 [the year-star in Xingji] (0665a23–24): year-reckoning by the year-star [Taisui]. Xingji is one of the twelve stations (corresponding to chou); in the second year of Yongxi the year fell in guichou, hence 「龍次星紀」 (龍 [dragon] = the year-star Taisui).
- 月呂蕤賓 [the month at Ruibin] (0665a24): Ruibin is the seventh of the twelve pitch-pipes, corresponding to mid-summer, the fifth month; 「月呂蕤賓」 means the time was the fifth month.
- 魏音道晞 [in the Wei tongue, Daoxi] (0665a21–22): 菩提留支 [Bodhiruci] (Skt Bodhiruci), rendered in the Wei tongue as "Daoxi" (菩提 = "Path," 留支 = "Xi/Xī," the sense of brightness/light).
- 沙門都統·沙門都·大統 [Śramaṇa Director-General · Śramaṇa-Director · Grand-Director] (0665a22 · a28–29 · b03): Northern Wei monastic offices. The 沙門統 (道人統) [Śramaṇa-Director] was the head of the monastic officialdom of an age, with subordinates such as the 都維那 [Steward-General] beneath him; the preface calls Bodhiruci one who 「曾為此地之沙門都統」 ["had served as the Śramaṇa Director-General of this land"], Huiguang and the others 「沙門都法師」 [Śramaṇa-Director Dharma-masters], and Sengling 「大統法師」 [a Grand-Director Dharma-master]. 〔These are monastic office-titles, cited as attested; the institution is detailed in separate works, here the name only is marked.〕
- 披匣揮麈 [opening the casket and wielding the whisk] (0665a25): 披匣, opening the scripture-casket; 揮麈, wielding the deer-tail whisk (the fly-whisk held while expounding). It depicts the manner of translating-aloud and expounding.
- 執翰輪首 [taking up the brush as the foremost] (0665a26): to hold the brush and stand first; meaning the Emperor took in person the foremost place in the brushwork of redaction.
- 鹿苑之唱·祇園之風 [the proclamation of the Deer Park · the influence of the Jeta Grove] (0665b07–08): 鹿苑, the Deer Park, where the World-Honoured One first turned the Dharma-wheel; 祇園, the Jeta Grove donated by Anāthapiṇḍada (給孤獨), where the World-Honoured One long proclaimed the Dharma. A figure for this sūtra's translation-and-propagation = the proclamation of the first turning revived, the influence of the Jeta Grove made manifest anew.
- 忝廁倫末·敢罄庸管 [shamefully ranked at the tail of my peers · making bold to spend out my narrow "tube"-view] (0665b08–09): the composer Tanning's words of self-deprecation; 庸管, the figure of peering through a tube (a narrow view). 「祇記云爾」 (0665b09) = "merely set this down — so it is."
IV. Author & witness-collation
Author: the preface's close is signed 「沙門都釋曇寧造」 ["made by the Śramaṇa-Director, the monk Tanning"] (0665a05), and at the text's end he names himself "Ning" (「寧雖識昧，忝廁倫末」 ["I, Ning, dull though I am in understanding, shamefully ranked at the tail of my peers"] 0665b08). Tanning is also one of those to whom this sūtra was handed over and entrusted and one of its collators (0665a28–29 「轉授沙門都法師慧光、曇寧」 ["handed over to the Śramaṇa-Director Dharma-masters Huiguang and Tanning"]); the preface's author is one of those party to the translation, so what he records of the translation-site is evidence close to the contemporaneous. 〔No dedicated biography of Tanning is found set up in the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks; his name is attested only by this preface and by the translation affair itself. Recorded honestly; what is lacking is not falsely supplied.〕
Witness-collation placement:
| Item | As recorded |
|---|---|
| The preface's editional basis | This preface is not in the Taishō base text (the Goryeo edition); it is carried from the Song, Yuan, and Ming three editions and the Palace edition (collation-note 0665a03: 「此序依宋元明三本及宮本載」 ["this preface is carried from the Song, Yuan, and Ming three editions and the Palace edition"]) |
| The 留／流 two spellings | The preface writes 「菩提留支」 ["Bodhi-liu-zhi"] (0665a21); the catalogues and the present title mostly write 「菩提流支」 ["Bodhi-liu-zhi"]. The 〈Source-Text〉 layer keeps the preface's "留支" word-for-word; the variant spellings are both shown, and not altered. |
| The chapter-order of Bodhiruci's text | The Shenmi jietuo jing being the full text, its chapter-order differs from Xuanzang's eight chapters (Bodhiruci has eleven chapters · beginning with an Introductory Chapter); this project takes Bodhiruci's T16n0675 as the full-text primary cross-collation |