臣聞：天帝受無上之法，景福會昌；輪王致正真之道，神祇合德。是則聖人執契，玄化潛通；至誠所感，冥功斯應。皇情西顧、法海東流，如開洪範之圖、似得圓光之夢。持綫妙典，發金口而祕綸言；書葉舊章，自龍宮而升麟閣。昔迦維馭世，大啟法門，懸明鏡於無象、運虛舟於彼岸。空有兼謝、生滅俱忘，絕智希夷之表、遺形動寂之外。然隨緣利見、應跡生知，震大地而萃人天、放神光而掩日月，百億須彌俱霑聲教、三千世界盡入隄封。愍三毒之韁鎖、矜五蔭之纏蓋，惜飛電於浮生、歎懸藤於逝水。八關云闢，開慧識於幽塗；三乘方軌，運慈心於朽宅。龍興霧集，神動天隨。大道為心，望法雲而遐舉；聞聲悟道，漸初地而依仁。遷㮈苑之喬枝、入祇園之隩室，酌智水之餘潤、承慧日之末光。既而稅駕連河、歸真雙樹，聖靈逾遠、像教浸微，大義或乖、斯文將墜。穿鑿異端、分析多緒，是末非古、殊塗別派。天親初學之輩，尚致西河之疑；龍樹究竟之儔，彌深東魯之歎。仰惟法寶，盡諦無為。故經文云：佛以法為師，佛從法生、佛依法住。豈止研幾盡性、妙物窮神，出入無間、苞含元氣而已！若夫惟天為大，寒暑運其功；謂地蓋厚，山澤通其氣。是以姬文以大聖之姿幽贊易道、丘明懷同恥之德祖述微言，諸經著論、俯同斯旨。大乘莊嚴論者，無著菩薩纂焉。菩薩以如來滅度之後，含章秀發，三十二相具體而微，八千億結承風俱解，弘通正法、莊飾經王，明真如功德之宗、顯大士位行之地，破小乘執著、成大乘綱紀。其菩提一品最為微妙，轉八識以成四智、束四智以具三身，詳諸經論所未曾有，可謂聞所未聞、見所未見。

I have heard: When the Heavenly Emperor receives the supreme Dharma, blessings gather and prosperity abounds; when a Wheel-Turning King pursues the true path, gods and spirits unite in virtue. This is how sages wield the seal of Truth, and subtle transformation flows unseen; where utmost sincerity moves, hidden power responds accordingly.

The imperial heart turned westward, and the Dharma-sea flowed eastward—as if opening the blueprint of the Great Plan or dreaming of the halo of perfect light. The subtle scriptures, spoken by the golden mouth, held secret teachings; the ancient texts, transcribed from palm leaves, rose from the Dragon Palace to the Unicorn Tower.

In ancient times, Kapilavastu ruled the world and opened wide the gate of Dharma, hanging a bright mirror where no image existed, steering the empty boat to the other shore. Both being and non-being were transcended, birth and death alike forgotten, wisdom abandoned beyond the realm of stillness and subtlety, form cast aside beyond motion and rest. Yet, adapting to conditions, responding to traces, arising with awareness, the Earth trembled, and gods and humans gathered; divine light shone, covering sun and moon. Hundreds of billions of Sumerus received the teaching of sound; three thousand worlds entered the embrace of the Dharma. Compassionate toward the fetters of the Three Poisons, pitying the entanglements of the Five Aggregates, grieving for the fleeting lightning of this floating life, sighing at the hanging vine on flowing water.

When the Eight Precepts opened, they awakened spiritual wisdom on dark paths; when the Three Vehicles set forth, they carried compassion into decaying houses. Dragons arose, mists gathered; spirits stirred, heaven followed. With the Great Way as their heart, they gazed at the Dharma-cloud and soared high; hearing the sound, they awakened to the path, gradually entering the first stage and resting in benevolence. They moved the noble branches of the Nai Garden and entered the hidden chambers of the Jetavana Grove, drinking the remaining moisture of the Water of Wisdom, receiving the final light of the Sun of Enlightenment.

Then, unyoking the carriage by the River of Renunciation, returning to truth beneath the Twin Trees, the Sage's spirit grew more distant, and the image-teaching gradually weakened. Great principles sometimes deviated; this culture was about to fall. Digging and carving arose from different views, analysis multiplied into many threads: the later was deemed wrong and the ancient lost, paths diverged and schools split. The students of Vasubandhu still faced doubts like those by the Western River; the scholars of Nagarjuna deepened the sighs of the Eastern Lu even more.

Looking up with reverence to the Dharma-jewel: it is the full truth of non-action. Thus the scripture says: "The Buddha takes the Dharma as his teacher; the Buddha is born from the Dharma; the Buddha abides in the Dharma." How could it be limited to investigating subtlety, exhausting nature, understanding things, penetrating spirit, moving without edges, or containing primal energy alone?

Now, if heaven is great, cold and heat perform its work; if earth is thick, mountains and rivers connect its energy. Thus King Wen, with his great sage's nature, secretly praised the Way of Change; and Qiu Ming, with his virtue of shared shame, narrated the subtle words. The many treatises on the scriptures follow this same principle.

As for the *Mahayana Sutra-alankara*, it was compiled by Bodhisattva Asanga. After the Tathagata's passing, he unfolded his hidden brilliance—the thirty-two marks complete yet subtle, the eighty billion bonds dissolved with the wind of the teaching. He propagated the true Dharma, adorned the King of Sutras, clarified the treasury of Suchness and merit, revealed the stages and paths of the Bodhisattvas' practice, broke the attachments of the Small Vehicle, and established the great framework of the Mahayana. Among them, the chapter on *Bodhi* is the most subtle and wonderful: turning the eight consciousnesses into the four wisdoms, gathering the four wisdoms into the three bodies—it elaborates what had never been seen in any scripture or treatise. It can truly be called unheard of, unseen before.

聖上受飛行之寶命、總步驟於前王，屈天師之尊，智周萬物；應人皇之運，道照三明。慈惠外宣、神機內湛，端扆而役百靈、垂拱而朝萬國，彌綸造化之初、含吐陰陽之際，功成作樂既章韶舞，治定制禮言動翠華。金輪所王，封疆之固惟遠；芥城雖滿，龜鼎之祚無窮。光闡大猷，開導群品，凡諸內典，盡令翻譯。摩伽陀國三藏法師波羅頗蜜多羅，唐言明友，即中天竺剎利王之種姓也，以大唐貞觀元年十二月入京。法師戒行精勤、才識明敏，至德隣于初果、多能亞夫將聖，繼澄、什之清塵來儀上國，摽生、遠之逸氣高步玄門，帝心簡在，皇儲禮敬。其博聞強記、探幽洞微，京城大德莫不推許。粵以貞觀四年，恭承明詔。又

His Majesty received the mandate of flight from Heaven, continuing the enterprise of his predecessors. Though humble in demeanor like a celestial teacher, his wisdom encompasses all things. In response to the destiny of the Human Sovereign, his Way illuminates the three kinds of light. Compassion and benevolence spread outward; divine intelligence settles within. Relaxing at court yet commanding spirits, lowering his gaze yet receiving the homage of ten thousand kingdoms, he weaves through the beginning of creation and moves between yin and yang. With merit accomplished, music was made—already manifesting the dances of Shao. With order established, rites were set—now raising lustrous banners. Where the Golden Wheel reigns, the boundaries of the realm extend far. Though the mustard-seed city may be full, the turtle-and-tripod’s blessing knows no end. He brilliantly promotes the great path, guiding and enlightening all beings. All the inner scriptures have been ordered to be fully translated.

The Tripitaka Master of the Magadha kingdom, Boluopoliduoluo—whose name is translated in Tang language as "Bright Friend"—was of the Kshatriya kingly lineage of Central India. He entered the capital in the first year of the Zhenguan era of the Great Tang (627 CE). The Master’s precepts and conduct were diligent and sincere, his talent and insight sharp and clear. His supreme virtue approached the first fruit of attainment; his many abilities rivaled those of the sagely ones. Continuing the pure dust of Dao’an and Kumarajiva, he came as an honored guest to the superior land. Emulating the transcendent spirit of Zhu Fashen and Huiyuan, he strode loftily through the gate of mystery. The Emperor’s heart held him in its favor; the Crown Prince honored and revered him. His vast learning and powerful memory, his exploration of the profound and penetration of the subtle—none among the great virtues of the capital failed to esteem him. Then in the fourth year of the Zhenguan era (630 CE), he respectfully received the Imperial decree.

Mahāyāna Ornament Sutra (大乘莊嚴經論)

Mahāyāna Ornament Sutra (大乘莊嚴經論)