新收一切藏經音義序
Preface to the Newly Compiled Phonetic Glossary of the Complete Buddhist Canon
處士顧齊之
Hermit Gu Qizhi
慧琳法師。俗姓裴氏。疎勒國人也。夙蘊儒術。弱冠歸於釋氏。師不空三藏。至於經論。尤精字學。建中末乃著經音義一百卷。約六十萬言。始於大般若經。終於小乘記傳。國初有沙門玄應及太原郭處士。竝著音釋。例多漏略。有西明寺玄暢上人。克紹前烈晦明不倦。志奪秋霜之淨。心涵止水之鑒。乃尋其遺逸。蘊而藏諸。焚之以栴檀。飾之以綺繡。光前絕後。駭目驚心。福祉生焉。弘利博矣。齊之不敏欲窺藏經。乃詢於暢公蒙示音義。齊之以為。文字之有音義。猶迷方而得路。慧燈而破闇。潛雖伏矣。默而識之。於是審其聲。而辯其音。有喉腭齗齒脣吻等。有宮商角徵羽等音。曉之以重輕。別之以清濁。而四聲遞發五音迭用。其間雙聲疊韻循環反覆。互為首尾參差勿失。而義理昭然。得其音則義通。義通則理圓。理圓則文無滯。文無滯則千經萬論如指諸掌而已矣。朝凡暮聖豈假終日。所以不離文字而得解脫。無師之智肇自心源拆。疑滯之胸襟。燭昏蒙於倏忽。真詮俗諦。於此區分梵語唐言自茲明白。又音雖南北。義無差別。秦人去聲似上。吳人上聲似去。其間失於輕剽傷於重濁。罕分魚魯之謬。多傳豕亥之誤。至如四十二字母及十二字音。從毘盧遮那佛心生。則鳥跡蟲文之所不逮。然源流有異音義無殊。披沙揀金從理證性。性得而言可遣。言可遣而文字亦忘。同歸一真如則筌蹄弃矣。上座明秀寺主契元都維那玄測。皆精慤真乘護持聖典。文華璀璨經論弘贍。或道情深遠獨得玄珠。或律行清高孤標戒月。上以愜聖賢之意。下以旌勤懇之心。因命匪才敬而為序(時開成五年九月十日)。
Master Huilin. His lay surname was Pei. He was a man of the Shule Kingdom. From youth, he was steeped in Confucian learning. In his youth, he took refuge in the Buddha's teachings. He was a disciple of the Tripitaka Master Bukong. As for the sutras and treatises, he was especially proficient in the study of characters. Towards the end of the Jianzhong era, he composed the *Sutra Phonetics and Meanings* in one hundred scrolls, comprising about six hundred thousand words. It begins with the *Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra* and ends with the records and biographies of the Hinayana. At the beginning of our dynasty, there were the monk Xuanying and the retired scholar Guo of Taiyuan, who both composed works on pronunciation and exegesis, but their examples were mostly incomplete and sketchy. There was the Venerable Xuanchang of Ximing Temple, who succeeded the former masters, tirelessly working day and night. His resolve was as pure as autumn frost, his mind as clear as still water. He then sought out what was lost or omitted, gathered and stored it away. He burned it with sandalwood, adorned it with brocade and embroidery. It outshone the past and surpassed the future, startling the eyes and astonishing the mind. Blessings and benefits arise from it, its widespread benefit is vast. I, Qi, though dull-witted, wished to explore the canon. I thus inquired of Venerable Chang, who graciously showed me the *Phonetics and Meanings*. I, Qi, believe that having phonetics and meanings for written characters is like finding the way when lost, like a lamp of wisdom dispelling darkness. Though hidden, it is silently recognized. Thus, one examines their sounds and distinguishes their pronunciations: there are throat, palate, gum, teeth, lips, and mouth sounds; there are the notes *gong, shang, jiao, zhi, yu*. One understands them through heaviness and lightness, distinguishes them through clarity and turbidity. The four tones are produced in succession, the five notes are used alternately. Among them, alliteration and rhyming circulate and repeat, serving as each other's beginning and end, varied yet without error. And the meaning and principle become clear. Attaining the sound, the meaning is understood; the meaning understood, the principle is complete; the principle complete, the text is unobstructed; the text unobstructed, then the myriad sutras and treatises are as clear as pointing at one's palm. To become a sage by evening from a commoner in the morning—how could it take a whole day? Therefore, without leaving behind written characters, one attains liberation. The wisdom without a teacher originates from the source of the mind, dismantling the chest of doubts and obstructions, illuminating obscurity in an instant. The true meaning and the worldly truth are distinguished here; Sanskrit terms and Tang words are made clear from this point. Furthermore, though pronunciations differ between north and south, the meaning has no distinction. People of Qin make the departing tone resemble the rising tone; people of Wu make the rising tone resemble the departing tone. Among them, errors arise from excessive lightness or injury from excessive heaviness and turbidity. Rarely are the mistakes between 'fish' and 'Lu' distinguished; often the errors of 'pig' and 'hai' are transmitted. As for the forty-two seed letters and the twelve vowel sounds, they arise from the mind of Vairocana Buddha, which even bird tracks and insect scripts cannot reach. Yet, though their origins and streams differ, their sounds and meanings are not different. Sifting sand to pick gold, one proceeds from principle to verify nature. Nature attained, words can be dismissed; words dismissed, written characters are also forgotten. Returning to the one true suchness, the trap and the snare are discarded. The Chief Seat Mingxiu, the Abbot Qiyuan, and the Chief Administrator Xuance—all were pure and sincere in the true vehicle, protecting and upholding the sacred canon. Their literary brilliance is resplendent, their knowledge of sutras and treatises vast and ample. Some had profound and far-reaching understanding of the Way, uniquely attaining the Mysterious Pearl; some had pure and lofty conduct in the Vinaya, standing alone like the moon of precepts. Above, to satisfy the intention of sages and worthies; below, to commend the hearts of diligence and earnestness. Therefore, they commanded my unworthy talent to reverently compose this preface. (Dated the tenth day of the ninth month, in the fifth year of the Kaicheng era.)