英語訳
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Unless one such as Vasubandhu Bodhisattva — who embodies complete understanding and stands proximate to wisdom — were to expound the profound depths and draw out the deepest meanings, the definitive teaching of the nature of emptiness would very nearly have fallen silent.
The following [passage] is the second section, which clarifies how Vasubandhu Bodhisattva composed the *Triṃśikā* [Thirty Verses] to expound the teaching of the mind-only principle found in the Buddha's sūtras.
*Fei* 匪 means "not" (*fei* 非). *Zhǔ* 屬 means "to attach to; to be attributed to." [The subject of *zhǔ*] is Vasubandhu Bodhisattva. "Embodying complete understanding and standing proximate to wisdom" (*jùtǐ línzhì* 具体隣智): this is a general praise of Vasubandhu Bodhisattva's complete ability to grasp the principle of consciousness-only and to explain the mind-only teaching of the sūtras. Hence the term "embodying complete understanding" (*jùtǐ*). His position is at the end of the Ten Dedications (*daśa-pariṇāmanā*), and his mind is proximate to the uncontaminated wisdom (*anāsrava-jñāna*) of the Path of Seeing (*darśana-mārga*). Hence the term "proximate to wisdom" (*línzhì*).
"Expounding the profound and drawing out the deep" (*yǎn zé gōu shēn* 演賾鉤深) comes from the text of the *Zhouyi*. The *Yi* states: "Probing the profound [*zé*, pronounced *shìmài*, meaning 'deep and hidden'], searching out the hidden, drawing out [*gōu*, in Japanese: *kaki-idasu*] the deep, reaching to the far." When a thing is lodged in a deeply hidden place behind heavy doors, one seeks out the key and causes it to come forth. When a fish is at the bottom of a deep spring, one takes a hook and draws it out. A bodhisattva composing a treatise to explain a sūtra is likewise the same.
Regarding "would very nearly fall silent" (*jīhū xī yǐ* 幾乎息矣): *jī* 幾 means "near to; on the verge of." This means: if the bodhisattva had not composed a treatise to explain the deep meaning of the Buddha's sūtras, the meaning of the Buddha's sūtras would have been on the verge of ceasing and disappearing. Hence the phrase "were it not for one who embodies complete understanding and stands proximate to wisdom" (*fěi zhǔ jùtǐ línzhì*, etc.).
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**"The *Vijñaptimātratā-triṃśikā* [Thirty Verses on Consciousness-Only] is one branch among the ten branches, composed by Vasubandhu Bodhisattva."**
The above praised the person who composed the treatise. What follows identifies the treatise that was composed. It is said that Vasubandhu Bodhisattva, guided by [his elder brother] Asaṅga, deeply repented his former errors, refined his thought and plumbed the depths of contemplation, and composed over one hundred treatises on Mahāyāna. Later he moved to the country of Kauśāmbī, where he widely disseminated the profound and wondrous principles, expressed the deepest of meanings, gathered together the hidden and subtle points, and mastered the essence of the profound — and thus composed the *Vijñaptimātratā-triṃśikā*. He refuted and rejected the other vehicles and subdued the heterodox teachings, proclaiming the wondrous import of the Mahāyāna. Though the verses in summary were completed, the extensive commentary was not yet finished when he ascended to Tuṣita Heaven.
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He was born among the inner assembly of Maitreya [in Tuṣita], born within a lotus flower. The moment the lotus opened, the Compassionate One [Maitreya] praised him, saying: "Welcome, O one of vast wisdom!" After six days [in heavenly time], he descended and reported back to Asaṅga. At that time, two great masters of the treatises — Dharmapāla (*Huibian* 火辨) and Bandhuprabha (*Qinsheng* 親勝) — were composing their own commentaries on the root verses, probing the intention of the treatise. This is as recorded in the *Da Tang Xiyuji* [*Great Tang Records of the Western Regions*] (etc.).
Regarding "ten branches" (*zhī* 支): *zhī* means "a branch" or "subdivision." These are the subsidiary branches of the *Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra* [*Yugaron*]. The *Cheng Weishi lun Shu ji* [*Lamp* commentary, i.e., *Zhangzhong Shuyao*] states: "[They are] the *Bǎifǎ* [*Mahāyāna-śata-dharma*], *Wùyùn* [*Pañcaskandhaka*], *Xiǎnyáng* [*Prakaraṇāryavācā*], *Shè Dàchéng* [*Mahāyānasaṃgraha*], *Záji* [*Abhidharmasamuccaya*], *Zhōngbiān* [*Madhyāntavibhāga*], *Èrshí Wéishí* [*Viṃśatikā*], *Zhuāngyán* [*Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra*], and *Fēnbié Yúqié* [*Yogavibhāga*]." Alternatively, removing the *Mahāyānasaṃgraha* and adding the *Nyāyamukha* [*Zhèng Lǐ Mén Lùn*], the total again comes to ten.
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**"White rainbows fly amid the auspicious vapors; white [light of] the tuft [of hair between the Buddha's brows] dissolves into shadow. The thread-strung-flower wondrous import is distorted as the phoenix is mistaken for the wind-character. The sacred texts on palm leaves go astray, mistaking fish for sun. [One variant text writes 魯 (*lǔ*) for 日 (*rì*).]"**
Regarding "white rainbows fly amid the auspicious/inauspicious vapors" (*bái hóng fēi jìn* 白虹飛祲): *jìn* (pronounced *zǐzhèn*) — at the time of the Buddha's *parinirvāṇa*, in the western regions there were twelve paths of white rainbow that stretched across the sky above. *Jìn* refers to the mutual encroachment of yin and yang qi, which gradually becomes a calamity; it also means an ominous vapor. In the *Lǐjì* [*Book of Rites*] there is a chapter on "observing *jìn*": the Grand Historian (*dàshǐ*) would ascend a high tower and observe the heavens; if there were uncanny and inauspicious *jìn* vapors in the sky, he would know that an ill-omened event was occurring.
The *Zhōushū Yìjì* [*Extraordinary Records of the Zhou Documents*] states: "In the fifty-third year of King Mu of Zhou, in the *rénshēn* year, on the fifteenth day of the second month at dawn, a sudden violent wind arose, damaging houses and breaking trees. Mountains, rivers, heaven and earth all shook. In the afternoon, the sky turned overcast; in the western regions there were twelve paths of white rainbow passing from north to south. Throughout the night there was no clarity. King Mu asked the Grand Historian Páoduō: 'What omen is this?' Páoduō replied: 'In the west there is a holy man — this is the sign of his *parinirvāṇa*. He has entered nirvāṇa at this time. From this point to the time of Emperor Ming of Han, it will amount to one thousand and twenty years combined.'"
Regarding "white [light of the uṣṇīṣa tuft] dissolves into shadow" (*sù háo xiāo jǐng* 素毫銷景): this refers to the disappearance of the *ūrṇā* [the white tuft of hair between the Buddha's brows], such that there is no longer any time when its light will be emitted. *Sù* 素 means "white," *xiāo* 銷 means "to disappear/fade," and *jǐng* 景 means "light."
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Regarding "thread-strung-flower wondrous import" (*xiàn huá ào zhǐ* 綫華奧旨): [*jīng* 経 means a sūtra] like a thread (*xiàn*) strung through flowers (*huá*). This is one of the five meanings used to explain the word *jīng* ("sutra/scripture").
Regarding "distorted as the phoenix is mistaken for the wind-character, and so on to 'mistaking the sun'" (*chuǎn fèng é fēng* 舛鳳訛風, etc.): this refers to the many errors and distortions made by those who transmitted the sūtras after the Buddha's *parinirvāṇa*. Just as a person writing the character for "wind" (*fēng* 風) might mistakenly write "phoenix" (*fèng* 鳳) due to their similarity — hence "mistaking the phoenix for the wind."
Regarding "the sacred texts on palm leaves go astray, mistaking the fish for the sun" (*bèi yè líng piān, guāi yú miù rì* 貝葉靈篇乖魚謬日): Some people say, "The slabs of the Sanskrit texts resemble shells (*bèi*), and the leaves resemble tree bark" — but this is incorrect. Examining the *Yīnyì* [*Pronunciation and Meaning*] by Master Huiyuan, in the upper volume [appended to] the new [translation of the] *Avataṃsaka-sūtra*, it says: "*Bèi-dié*: *bèi* is pronounced *běigài*; *dié* is pronounced *tújiá*. *Bèi* refers to the leaves of the *pātra* tree [*pattra* in Sanskrit, i.e., palm leaves], referring to Sanskrit-language sūtras. *Dié* means a tablet (*jiǎn*); *dié* is thus a general name for sūtra texts." (Above.)
Upon examination: the word *bèi* — "*bèidā*" is a Sanskrit word (from *pātra*), and "*bèiduōluó*" is a tree-name [*pattra*]. Since it is already a Sanskrit word, how can one say it "resembles a *bèi* (shell)"? (One cannot.)
As for the character *lǔ* 魯: originally it is one character, but someone who does not understand suddenly divides it into two characters, claiming it is "fish" (*yú* 魚) and "sun" (*rì* 日). The common saying goes: "Copy a text three times, and 帝 (*dì*, 'emperor') becomes 虎 (*hǔ*, 'tiger'), and 魚 (*yú*, 'fish') becomes 魯 (*lǔ*)." The Buddhist sūtras are likewise: as one moves ever farther from the [time of the] sage [Buddha], those who transmit [the texts] make many errors, and it becomes difficult to distinguish correct from incorrect. The character *xiě* 寫 ("to copy") is pronounced *sūyú* (蘇於切).
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**"Reflecting on the treasure of the Dharma — this literature was on the verge of falling into ruin. Then one who blended understanding [*róng shí* 融識] was born here, leaving outstanding traces and transmitting the lamp [of the Dharma]."**
This passage praises both Vasubandhu and [his] parents together. [Reading the glosses:] *wéi* 惟 [Japanese: *omoimeba*]; *xíng zhuì* 行墜 [Japanese: *ochinamu to suru ni*]; *dàn* 誕 [Japanese: *umarete*]; *xiù* 秀 [Japanese: *hiidete*]; *jì* 迹 [Japanese: *ato wo*]. The character *xíng* 行 in its proper sense means "about to; on the verge of" (*jiāng* 將). In ancient letters of the Great Kings, the phrase *xíng lǎo* 行老 appears, meaning simply "about to become old." The present usage is the same: reflecting on how this sūtra literature was about to fall into ruin and oblivion [Vasubandhu appeared].
As for "born here, blending understanding" (*dàn zī róng* 誕玆融): *dàn* refers to —
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— [the text] clarifying that Vasubandhu Bodhisattva appeared and arose in the world during [approximately] nine hundred years [after the Buddha's *parinirvāṇa*], composing treatises to explain the sūtras. "*Róng shí*" 融識 means that the bodhisattva himself was able to make his mental consciousness perfectly open and fluid (*xū-róng*), transmitting the lamp of the Dharma to the world. He is the twentieth among the twenty-four persons who transmitted the Dharma.
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**"Concealing [his] solitary brilliance within the *Abhidharmakośa*, [he] identified with the dust and spoke of existence. Untying the bonds of [fixed] understanding through the *Mahāyānasaṃgraha*, [he] followed the sage[s] and discoursed on emptiness."**
This bodhisattva [Vasubandhu] was a person from the country of Gāndhāra. He originally took monastic ordination within the Sarvāstivāda (*Youbu* 有部) tradition and received and maintained the Tripiṭaka of that school. It was not that he [truly] failed to understand the principle of the true emptiness (*zhēnkōng*); rather, as a skillful means (*upāya*), he remained within that assembly and taught existence (*you* 有).
Hence the *Xīmíng Bì Jì* [*Wall Record of the Xīmíng Monastery*] states: "This bodhisattva initially studied Hīnayāna, became thoroughly steeped in names and characteristics (*nāma-lakṣaṇa*), attached to the notion that dharmas possess self-nature (*dharmasvabhāva*), and composed approximately five hundred Hīnayāna treatises. The bodhisattva had an elder brother named Asaṅga [*Wúzhuó* 無著], who deeply pitied his younger brother and sought to turn him away from the lesser vehicle. [Asaṅga] feigned illness in order to awaken [his brother's] confused mind. Hearing that his elder brother was gravely ill, [Vasubandhu] came immediately to visit and asked: 'What is [causing you] this [distress]?' [Asaṅga] answered: 'Because of your small ambitions and single-minded study of Hīnayāna, you have no share in entering the great path. This is why I grieve.' Vasubandhu said: 'I have concealed the Mahāyāna and displayed the Hīnayāna — this sin is deeply rooted in my tongue. Since my tongue is the root of this transgression, I should now cut it off.' He immediately seized a sharp blade and was about to sever his own tongue. Asaṅga said: 'You used this tongue to display the lesser and conceal the greater; now use this same tongue to illuminate the greater and clarify the lesser — then my illness will be healed without further effort.' And so [Vasubandhu] did not cut off his tongue and instead followed [Asaṅga's counsel]. He then went on to compose five hundred Mahāyāna treatises. As a result, the Mahāyāna spread ever more widely day by day, and the people of the time gave him the epithet 'Master of a Thousand Treatises' (*qiānbù lùnshī* 千部論師). Thereafter, through careful reflection and compassionate concern, he transmitted the *Daśabhūmika-sūtra* [*Shìdì jīng* 十地経] and the *Mahāyānasaṃgraha* [*Shèlùn* 攝論], and at last achieved awakening and understanding. Relying on the real (*shí* 實 = *tathatā*) —"