No. 607-A玅法蓮華經新註敘
Preface to the New Annotation of the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra
法華之王諸經也。孩提之童。亦能言之。至於說其所以為王。則雖大才宏智。亦弗能也。其故何也。盖法華者佛乘也。佛乘者佛知見也。佛知見者佛境界也。以凡智說佛境界宜乎。弗能也。震旦諸師。釋之者數十家。惟天台大師。為得其說。大師者靈山同聞眾。而所謂降德為如來所使者也。夫得其說。不亦宜乎。大師之後。採摘其疏者亦多。惟若一如新註。則略而取之。引而伸之。於其折中。頗得宜當矣。一如號一庵。明永樂中。為僧錄司。住上天竺。甞奉勅探討大藏。撰三藏法數。我應永之間。奉使來于本朝。時與津絕海遊。和應制三山詩。其人品可知耳。余甞得新註一本。把玩不已。自惜不與人俱。遂弗顧固陋。竊訓其傍。授剞劂氏。夫一心之妙。散而為語言。結而為文字。語言及文字。祗是一心之玅焉耳矣。上機乃神而解之。下根乃信而入之。但如中智與愚者。則覺知而分別之。若夫神解與信入者。不取語言文字之相。直聞經文。亦可領焉。至乎覺知分別者。非疏愈惑。非訓難導。倘或尋之文義。偶發一句解。生一念信。而染其神。則其利益不可量。是吾流通之志也。
The Lotus Sutra is the king of all scriptures. Even a small child can speak of it. Yet, to explain why it is the king—even a person of great talent and vast wisdom cannot do so. Why is this? Because the Lotus Sutra is the Buddha Vehicle. The Buddha Vehicle is the Buddha's knowledge and vision. The Buddha's knowledge and vision is the realm of the Buddha. To explain the realm of the Buddha with ordinary wisdom is, of course, impossible. Among the numerous commentaries by masters in China, only the Great Master Tiantai truly grasped its meaning. The Great Master was one of those who listened to the Buddha on Vulture Peak, and it is said he lowered his spiritual rank, acting as an envoy of the Tathagata. So it was fitting that he understood its meaning. After the Great Master, many have drawn from his commentaries. But only the New Commentary by Yiruyi is concise in its selections, expansive in its explanations, and hits a balanced and fitting middle ground.
Yiru, also known as Yi'an, lived during the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty. He served in the Office of Buddhist Monastics and resided at Upper Tianzhu Temple. He was once ordered by the emperor to examine the Buddhist canon and compiled the *Numbers of the Dharma from the Three Treasuries*. During the Ōei era, he came to Japan as an envoy. At the time, he traveled with the monk Zetsukai and composed poems in response to an imperial command, entitled *Three Mountain Poems*. From this, one can understand his character.
I once obtained a copy of the *New Commentary* and could not stop reading it. Regretting that I could not share this gem with others, I set aside my own limited understanding and privately wrote notes in the margins, then had it carved onto printing blocks. Now, the wondrous nature of the single mind spreads out as language and solidifies into written text. Language and writing are nothing other than the wondrous nature of this single mind. Those of the highest capacity understand it through spiritual insight. Those of lesser capacity enter it through faith. However, those of middling intelligence or those who are dull must come to know it through analysis and discrimination. As for those who understand through spiritual insight or enter through faith, they do not cling to the form of language or written text; by directly hearing the sutra's words, they can also comprehend it. But for those who rely on awareness and discrimination, without a commentary they are more confused, and without notes they are hard to guide. If, by any chance, they follow the text and its meaning, and happen to spark a moment of understanding, give rise to a single thought of faith, and this touches their spirit—then the benefit is immeasurable. This is the purpose of my circulating this work.
旹寬文丁未季秋之穀僧不可思議書於霞谷蘭若之西庵
In the autumn of the Dingwei year of the Kanbun era, a season of blessings, the monk Fukashigi wrote this at the western hermitage of Kasuya hermitage.