科南本涅槃經序
Preface to the Southern Edition Nirvana Sutra
元崇聖院傳天台宗教校經沙門師正述
Master Zheng of Chong Sheng Monastery, Transmitter of Tiantai Teachings, Collator of Sutras
吾佛大聖人，最後雙林會上，為末世比丘普及大地眾生明心見性而說是經也。備明戒檢、廣開常宗，《摩訶止觀》依之為扶律顯常，喻之以贖命重寶。故經云「此經若在，佛法則在；此經若滅，佛法則滅。」佛法命脈存亡繫焉。始於沮渠蒙遜，請曇無讖及猛法師兩度翻譯，共十三品，成四十軸，行之北方。至宋文帝勅嚴、觀二師，同謝康樂更共治定，開為二十五品，縮為三十六軸，行之江南。其間說聽領悟甚眾，著述申明亦多，如《僧傳》所載也。去聖逾遙神根轉鈍，吾祖章安尊者，約龍樹宗旨，用天台義門製疏科經，深符佛意。荊溪刪補，法道重明。自四明慈雲講唱孤山作記之後，寥寥絕聞。其故何哉？蓋由經文浩博、疏義淵微，加之科未入經，卒難尋討。師正刻志斯典，有年于茲，宋之壬申寓古源法師永清輪下為座首，遂倣法華光明體例，以疏科句分標經上。凡疏不牒者，起盡難定，而與諸友往復徵折，方丈主決，必歸於是。每夜集於猊峯軒下，經科疏記輪環讀之。預斯集者，大慈懷總、報慈大成、大雲居簡、壽星文勝、龍華清正、園華懷坦、天竺法杭。始於是秋之八月，終於明年之季春。無極東堂可度重加讐訂，白雲古山僧錄、道安鋟梓流通。願與後人，受持讀誦，如說而行。上不孤於佛祖，下不負於己靈。壽祝一人，功霑九有云。時至元歲在壬午聖制日序
This is the sacred teaching spoken by our Buddha, the Great Sage, at His final assembly beneath the twin sala trees. He delivered this sutra for the sake of monks in the latter age and all living beings across the earth, that they might awaken to their true nature and see their own mind. It fully clarifies the precepts and broadly reveals the eternal truth. The *Mohe Zhiguan* relies on it to uphold the precepts and reveal the eternal, likening it to a precious treasure that redeems one's life. Thus, the sutra says: "If this sutra exists, the Buddha Dharma exists; if this sutra perishes, the Buddha Dharma perishes." The very lifeblood of the Buddha Dharma depends upon it.
Its transmission began when Juqu Mengxun requested the two translations by Dharmakṣema and Master Meng, comprising thirteen chapters in forty scrolls, which circulated in the north. Later, Emperor Wen of the Song dynasty ordered Master Yan and Master Guan, together with Xie Kangle, to revise and settle the text, expanding it into twenty-five chapters and condensing it to thirty-six scrolls, which circulated south of the Yangtze. During this time, many who heard and taught it attained understanding, and numerous commentaries and expositions appeared, as recorded in the *Biographies of Eminent Monks*.
As we grow ever more distant from the Sage, our spiritual faculties become increasingly dull. Our patriarch, Venerable Zhang'an, following the tenets of Nāgārjuna and using the interpretive framework of the Tiantai school, composed commentaries and structured the sutra, deeply accordant with the Buddha's intent. Jingxi then revised and supplemented, and the path of the Dharma shone once more. After the sermons of Siming and Ciyun and the commentary of Gushan, however, the tradition fell into silence for a long time. Why was this? Because the sutra text is vast and profound, the commentaries are deep and subtle, and moreover, the structural divisions were not incorporated into the sutra text itself, making it difficult to search and study.
Master Shizheng set his mind on this scripture and devoted himself to it for many years. In the ren shen year of the Song dynasty, while residing at Master Guyuan Yongqing's assembly as chief seat, he modeled the approach of the *Lotus Sutra* and the *Light Emitting* commentaries, dividing the commentary's sections and phrases and placing them above the sutra text. Where the commentary did not quote the original text, the boundaries were hard to determine, so he engaged in repeated debate and inquiry with his fellow practitioners, and the abbot's final decision was always incorporated. Each night they gathered beneath the Lion Peak Pavilion, reading through the sutra, the structural divisions, and the commentaries in turn. Those who joined this assembly were Daci Huai Zong, Baoci Da Cheng, Dayun Ju Jian, Shouxing Wen Sheng, Longhua Qing Zheng, Yuanhua Huai Tan, and Tianzhu Fa Hang. They began in the eighth month of that autumn and finished in the third month of the following spring.
Wuji Dongtang Kedu further collated and proofread the work, and White Cloud Monk Registrar Gu Shan and Dao An oversaw its carving and circulation. May future generations uphold, recite, and practice it as taught—not failing the Buddhas and patriarchs above, nor betraying their own true nature below. May it prolong the life of the sovereign and extend its merit throughout all realms. Written on the holy day of the ren wu year of the Zhiyuan era.
大般涅槃經疏卷第一
Great Nirvana Sutra Commentary, Scroll 1
隋章安頂法師撰
唐天台沙門湛然再治
Revised by Zhanran, the Tiantai Monk from Tang Dynasty