御製大乘妙法蓮華經序
Imperial Preface to the Lotus Sutra
昔如來於耆闍崛山中，與大阿羅漢阿若憍陳如、摩訶迦葉無量等眾，演說大乘真經，名無量義。是時天雨寶華布濩充滿，慧光現瑞洞燭幽顯，普佛世界六種震動，一切人天得未曾有，咸皆歡喜讚歎，以為是經乃諸佛如來祕密之藏，神妙叵測，廣大難名，所以拔滯溺之沈流，拯昏迷之失性，功德弘遠莫可涯涘。泝求其源，肇彼竺乾流於震旦，爰自西晉沙門竺法護者初加翻譯，名曰正法華；暨東晉龜茲三藏法師鳩摩羅什重翻，名曰妙法蓮華；至隋天竺沙門闍那笈多所翻者，亦名妙法。雖三經文理重沓互陳，而惟三藏法師獨得其旨。第歷世既遠不無訛謬，匪資刊正漸致多疑，用是特加讐校，仍命鏤梓以廣其傳。
In the past, the Tathāgata was at Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa, together with the great arhats such as Ājñātakauṇḍinya, Mahākāśyapa, and countless others, expounding the true Mahāyāna sūtra called the *Infinite Meanings*. At that time, heavenly jeweled flowers rained down, spreading and filling everywhere; the light of wisdom manifested auspicious signs, illuminating both the hidden and the manifest; all Buddha‑worlds trembled in six ways. All humans and devas experienced what they had never experienced before, and all rejoiced, praised, and exclaimed, considering this sūtra to be the secret treasury of all Buddhas and Tathāgatas, unfathomably profound and mysteriously wondrous, so vast and boundless that it is difficult to name. It is that which rescues beings from the deep currents of stagnation and drowning, and saves those who are lost in delusion from losing their true nature. Its merit and virtue are vast and far‑reaching, without limit or shore.
Tracing its source, it began in India and flowed to China. First, during the Western Jin dynasty, the śramaṇa Dharmarakṣa translated it, naming it the *Zheng Fahua* (True Dharma Flower). Then, in the Eastern Jin dynasty, the Tripiṭaka Master from Kucha, Kumārajīva, retranslated it, naming it the *Miaofa Lianhua* (Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower). Later, in the Sui dynasty, the Indian śramaṇa Jñānagupta translated it, also calling it the *Wonderful Dharma*. Although the three versions overlap in text and meaning, only the Tripiṭaka Master [Kumārajīva] uniquely grasped its essential purport. However, as ages passed, errors inevitably arose. Without careful revision, doubts gradually multiplied. Therefore, it has been specially collated and corrected, and ordered to be carved on printing blocks to spread it widely.
嗚呼！如來愍諸眾生有種種性、種種欲、種種行、種種憶想分別，歷劫纏繞無有出期，乃為此大事因緣現世，敷暢妙旨，作殊勝方便，俾皆得度脫超登正覺，此誠濟海之津梁而燭幽之慧炬也。善男子、善女人，一切眾生，能秉心至誠持誦佩服頂禮供養，即離一切苦惱，除一切業障，解一切生死之厄。不啻如飢之得食，如渴之得飲，如寒之得火，如熱之得涼，如貧之得寶，如病之得醫，如子之得母，如渡之得舟，其為快適欣慰，有不可言。
Alas! The Tathagata, seeing that sentient beings are entangled in countless dispositions, desires, behaviors, and deluded thoughts—bound through countless ages with no hope of liberation—manifested in this world for this great cause. He expounded the profound teaching and devised sublime skillful means so that all may be delivered and ascend to perfect enlightenment. This is truly the bridge across the sea of suffering and the torch of wisdom that illuminates the darkness.
Good men and women, all sentient beings, if you uphold this with utmost sincerity—reciting, revering, prostrating, and making offerings—you will immediately leave behind all suffering, remove all karmic obstacles, and be freed from all perils of birth and death.
It is no less than the hungry receiving food, the thirsty receiving drink, the cold receiving fire, the hot receiving coolness, the poor receiving treasure, the sick receiving medicine, a child receiving its mother, a traveler receiving a boat. The joy and comfort this brings are beyond words.
噫！道非經無以寓，法非經無以傳。緣經以求法，緣法以悟道，方識是經之旨清淨微妙第一希有。遵之者則身臻康泰，諸種善根圓滿具足，如蓮華出水不染淤泥，即得五蘊皆空、六根清淨，遄躋上善以成於正覺者不難矣。苟或沈迷膠固，甘心墮落絕滅善根，則身罹苦趣，輪回於生死之域者，其有紀極哉？雖然善惡兩途由人所趨，為善獲吉，為惡獲凶，幽明果報不爽錙銖。觀於是經者，尚戒之哉！尚勉之哉！
Ah! The Way cannot be embodied without the scriptures, and the Dharma cannot be transmitted without the scriptures. Through the scriptures we seek the Dharma, and through the Dharma we awaken to the Way—only then can we recognize that the essence of this scripture is pure, subtle, and supremely rare. Those who follow it will attain physical well-being, and all virtuous roots will be fully perfected. Like a lotus rising from the water unstained by mud, they will realize the emptiness of the five aggregates and the purity of the six senses. Ascending swiftly to the highest goodness, they will find it not difficult to achieve true enlightenment.
But if one becomes stubbornly attached, willingly falls into degradation, and severs all virtuous roots, then they will suffer in the realms of misery, cycling endlessly through birth and death—is there any limit to this? Nevertheless, the two paths of good and evil are chosen by people themselves. Doing good brings auspiciousness; doing evil brings misfortune. The retribution in this life and the next is precise, without the slightest error. Those who study this scripture—take heed! Strive diligently!
永樂十八年四月十七日
The seventeenth day of the fourth month in the eighteenth year of the Yongle reign.