Chinese
大正藏第 44 册 No. 1843 大乘起信论义疏 No. 1843 [cf. No. 1666] 大乘起信论义疏上之上 净影寺沙门慧远撰 大乘起信论者盖乃宣显至极深理之妙论也。摧邪之利刀排浅之深渊立正之胜幢。是以诸佛法身菩萨皆以此法为体。凡夫二乘此理为性。改凡成圣莫不由之。是故释尊为表此法以殊胜故。超过巨海须弥山等于铁围上楞伽城中十头罗刹宫殿之中说此法也。即表其三乘绝分如法华论主。论主问言。何故住此灵鹫山中说此法耶。释言。为题此一乘法以殊胜故依处以题。又十地论中问。何故在此他化自在天摩尼宝殿中说此法门。释言。为题十地法门以殊胜故挍量胜故。此亦如是一化所说教虽众多要唯有二。一者声闻藏二者菩萨藏。教声闻法名声闻藏。教菩萨法名菩萨藏。何以故知佛教但二。有事有文。言有事者佛灭度后迦叶阿难于王舍城结集三藏名声闻藏。文殊阿难于铁围山集摩诃衍。名菩萨藏。故知佛教无出此二。言有文者涅槃经言。十二部中唯方广部菩萨所持。余十一部声闻所持。地持论中亦同此说。下复说言声闻菩萨出苦道说修多罗。结集经者谓集二藏。说声闻行为声闻藏。说菩萨行为菩萨藏。故知所说无出此二。亦名大乘小乘半满 教也。名虽有异其义不殊。此二藏中各分有三。谓修多罗毗尼毗昙。小乘三藏者如四阿含经。是修多罗藏。五部戒律是毗尼藏。毗昙成实是毗昙藏。大乘三藏者如涅槃华严等。是修多罗藏。清净毗尼方等经等是毗尼藏。十地地持等是阿毗昙藏。今此论者二藏之中菩萨藏。摄三藏之中是第三阿毗昙藏。亦名摩德勒伽藏。此云行境界。亦名摩夷此云行母。此论所明八识之理为体行法为宗。诸菩萨等依于此理得起修行。依行成德故言菩萨摩德勒伽藏也。所言大者物莫能过目之为大。既言至极焉有胜己。故言名大。所言乘者运载为义。乘有二种。一法二行。言法乘者能运他用。无自运义。即是理法。言行乘者自运运他故名为乘。今此论中具明理行故有二种乘。总而言之亦名一乘。无异趣故亦名佛乘。佛所乘故此皆是。名虽有异其实不改。故言大乘也。所言起者成立为义。所言信者决定为义。此信有二释。一云就十信位中令起真常证信也。二云即是妙法师说。是劝信也。论主是其不足之人所说之法甚深极理。恐其不顺。作烦恼缘。故言我所说大乘法应当起信。不应诽谤。故论末中我今随分总持说竟。应当敬信。若人能信是法功德无尽。何以故。理无尽故。若人诽谤获大罪苦。始终意同岂容异乎。如菩提心论中劝发品在初建也。为 现代汉语译本 教义是这样的。虽然名称不同，但其意义并无差别。这两个藏（指声闻藏和菩萨藏）中各自又分为三部分，即修多罗（Sūtra，经）、毗尼（Vinaya，律）、毗昙（Abhidharma，论）。小乘的三藏，例如四阿含经，属于修多罗藏；五部戒律属于毗尼藏；《成实论》属于毗昙藏。大乘的三藏，例如《涅槃经》、《华严经》等，属于修多罗藏；《清净毗尼方等经》等属于毗尼藏；《十地经》、《地持论》等属于阿毗昙藏。现在这部论著，在二藏之中属于菩萨藏，在三藏之中属于第三阿毗昙藏，也称为摩德勒伽藏（Mātrka，行境界），也称为摩夷（Mātṛ，行母）。这部论所阐明的八识之理是其本体，行法是其宗旨。诸位菩萨等依据这个道理而开始修行，依靠修行成就功德，所以称为菩萨摩德勒伽藏。所谓‘大’，是指没有事物能够超过它，所以称为‘大’。既然说是至极，哪里还有胜过自己的呢？所以称为‘大’。所谓‘乘’，是指运载的意思。乘有两种，一是法乘，二是行乘。法乘只能运载其他，没有自我运载的意义，指的是理法。行乘既能自我运载，也能运载其他，所以称为‘乘’。现在这部论中，详细阐明了理和行，所以具有两种乘。总而言之，也可以称为一乘，因为没有不同的归趣。也可以称为佛乘，因为是佛所乘坐的。这些名称虽然不同，但其实质并没有改变，所以称为大乘。所谓‘起’，是指成立的意思。所谓‘信’，是指决定的意思。这个‘信’有两种解释，一是说在十信位中，使人发起真常的信心；二是说就是妙法师所说，是劝人信受。论主因为自己是不够格的人，所说的法又非常深奥，恐怕有人不顺从，反而成为烦恼的因缘，所以说我所说的大乘法，应当生起信心，不应当诽谤。所以在论的结尾说，我现在随分随力地总持说完，应当恭敬信受。如果有人能够信受这个法，功德是无尽的。为什么呢？因为道理是无尽的。如果有人诽谤，会获得极大的罪苦。始终的意义都是一样的，怎么能容许不同呢？如同《菩提心论》中，劝发品在最初建立一样，是为了……
English
English version The teachings are like this. Although the names are different, their meanings are not distinct. Each of these two Piṭakas (referring to the Śrāvakayāna Piṭaka and the Bodhisattvayāna Piṭaka) is further divided into three parts: Sūtra, Vinaya, and Abhidharma. The three Piṭakas of the Śrāvakayāna, such as the Four Āgama Sūtras, belong to the Sūtra Piṭaka; the Five-Part Vinaya belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka; and the Tattvasiddhi Śāstra belongs to the Abhidharma Piṭaka. The three Piṭakas of the Mahāyāna, such as the Nirvana Sūtra, the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, etc., belong to the Sūtra Piṭaka; the Pure Vinaya Vaipulya Sūtras, etc., belong to the Vinaya Piṭaka; and the Daśabhūmika Sūtra, the Bodhisattvabhūmi Śāstra, etc., belong to the Abhidharma Piṭaka. This treatise now, among the two Piṭakas, belongs to the Bodhisattva Piṭaka, and among the three Piṭakas, it is the third Abhidharma Piṭaka, also called Mātrka (行境界, the realm of practice), also called Mātṛ (行母, the mother of practice). The principle of the Eight Consciousnesses elucidated in this treatise is its essence, and the practice of Dharma is its purpose. All Bodhisattvas, relying on this principle, begin to practice, and rely on practice to achieve merit, so it is called the Bodhisattva Mātrka Piṭaka. The so-called 'Great' (大), means that there is nothing that can surpass it, so it is called 'Great'. Since it is said to be ultimate, where else can one surpass oneself? Therefore, it is called 'Great'. The so-called 'Vehicle' (乘), means carrying. There are two types of vehicles, one is the Dharma Vehicle, and the other is the Practice Vehicle. The Dharma Vehicle can only carry others and has no meaning of self-carrying, referring to the principle of Dharma. The Practice Vehicle can both carry itself and carry others, so it is called 'Vehicle'. Now, this treatise explains the principle and practice in detail, so it has two types of vehicles. In summary, it can also be called the One Vehicle, because there is no different destination. It can also be called the Buddha Vehicle, because it is what the Buddha rides. Although these names are different, their essence has not changed, so it is called the Mahāyāna. The so-called 'Arising' (起), means establishing. The so-called 'Faith' (信), means determination. There are two explanations for this 'Faith', one is to enable people to generate true and constant faith in the Ten Faith Positions; the other is what the Wonderful Dharma Teacher said, which is to persuade people to believe. The author of the treatise, because he is an unqualified person, and the Dharma he speaks is very profound, fears that someone will not follow it and instead become a cause of trouble, so he says that the Mahāyāna Dharma I speak should be believed and should not be slandered. Therefore, at the end of the treatise, it is said that I have now finished explaining the summary according to my ability, and it should be respectfully believed. If someone can believe in this Dharma, the merit is endless. Why? Because the principle is endless. If someone slanders, they will receive great sin and suffering. The meaning from beginning to end is the same, how can it be allowed to be different? Just like in the Bodhicittotpāda Śāstra, the Exhortation Chapter is established at the beginning, it is for... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
说六度故先劝发心为修行也。此亦如是。为说深理故先劝起信也。问。何故要先劝起信者。此信乃是入佛法之首故。华严经云。信为道源功德母。又论中云。信心如手。有手之人入海宝藏随意拾取。无手之人虽遇宝藏不得拾取。信心亦尔。若有信人入佛法宝随分修行得解脱乐。若无信人虽遇佛法空无所获。故要起信。所言论者简异佛经之辞也。若通言之一切皆论。谓五明论是也。一切皆经谓五经是也。若别言之佛所说者名之为经。若余人说佛所印可亦名为经。如维摩胜鬘等是也。若佛灭度后圣人自造解释佛经名之为论。凡夫所造名为义章。今此论者佛灭度后菩萨所造名之为论。论者所谓宾主相谈因之为论。故言大乘起信论也。言马鸣菩萨造者是为题其论主名也。亦释幡者如龙树论释。所以菩萨造此论者。佛灭度后正法之时大圣去近。人根厚信故无异端。七百岁后大圣去远。圣弟子众遂佛灭度人根薄信。以世衰故外道异端竞兴于世。所谓青同仙人出建陀论二十卷。过去无因为宗。黄头仙人出阐陀论。自然为宗。及卫世师论第十八部是也。于时有沙门释子。号曰法胜。对破外道故依毗婆娑广论西方沙门及萨婆多抄出二百五十行偈。造出四卷毗昙。虽然人根薄心钝故毗婆沙广论不能受持。四卷其略不得义理。是故须出。达磨 现代汉语译本： 宣说六度（Six Pāramitās）的缘故，所以先劝导发起菩提心，作为修行的开端。这里也是如此，为了宣说甚深的道理，所以先劝导生起信心。问：为什么一定要先劝导生起信心呢？因为信心是进入佛法的首要条件。正如《华严经》（Avatamsaka Sutra）所说：‘信为道源功德母’（Faith is the source of the Path and the mother of merit）。又如论中所说：‘信心如手，有手之人进入海中宝藏，可以随意拾取；无手之人即使遇到宝藏也无法拾取。’信心也是如此，如果有人有信心，进入佛法宝藏，随分修行，就能得到解脱的快乐；如果没有信心，即使遇到佛法，也空无所获。所以一定要生起信心。这里所说的‘论’，是为了区别于佛经的用语。如果泛泛地说，一切都可以称为‘论’，比如五明论（Pañcavidyā）。一切都可以称为‘经’，比如五经。如果特别地说，佛所说的称为‘经’，其他人所说但被佛认可的也称为‘经’，比如《维摩诘经》（Vimalakirti Sutra）、《胜鬘经》（Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra）等。佛灭度后，圣人自己造作解释佛经的称为‘论’，凡夫所造作的称为‘义章’。现在这部论，是佛灭度后菩萨所造作的，所以称为‘论’。‘论’的意思是宾主相互谈论，因此称为《大乘起信论》（Mahāyāna Śraddhotpāda Śāstra）。说‘马鸣菩萨（Aśvaghoṣa）造’，是为了标明这部论的作者的名字。也像龙树菩萨（Nāgārjuna）的论的解释一样。菩萨造这部论的原因是，佛灭度后，正法时期，大圣离我们很近，人们的根器深厚，有信心，所以没有异端邪说。七百年后，大圣离我们很远，圣弟子们随着佛的灭度而减少，人们的根器浅薄，信心不足，因为世道衰败，外道异端竞相兴起于世。有所谓青同仙人（Nīla-tāmasa）出《建陀论》（Kandhāvadāna）二十卷，以过去无因为宗旨；黄头仙人（Pīta-śiras）出《阐陀论》（Chandavadana），以自然为宗旨；以及卫世师论（Lokāyata）第十八部等。当时有沙门释子，名叫法胜（Dharmaśreṣṭhin），为了驳斥外道，所以依据《毗婆沙广论》（Mahāvibhāṣā）和西方沙门及萨婆多（Sarvāstivāda）的抄本，造出二百五十行偈颂，写成四卷《毗昙》（Abhidhamma）。虽然如此，因为人们的根器浅薄，心性迟钝，所以《毗婆沙广论》无法受持，四卷《毗昙》又过于简略，无法理解其中的义理。因此需要出现达磨（Dharma）。
English
English version: Because the Six Pāramitās are spoken of, one should first encourage the arising of the Bodhi mind as the beginning of practice. It is the same here; in order to speak of profound principles, one should first encourage the arising of faith. Question: Why is it necessary to first encourage the arising of faith? Because faith is the foremost condition for entering the Buddha Dharma. As the Avatamsaka Sutra says, 'Faith is the source of the Path and the mother of merit.' Also, as the treatise says, 'Faith is like a hand. A person with a hand can enter the ocean of treasures and pick up whatever they want. A person without a hand cannot pick up anything even if they encounter a treasure.' Faith is also like this. If someone has faith and enters the treasure of the Buddha Dharma, they can cultivate according to their capacity and attain the joy of liberation. If someone does not have faith, they will gain nothing even if they encounter the Buddha Dharma. Therefore, it is necessary to arouse faith. The term 'treatise' (论, lun) here is used to distinguish it from the words of the Buddha's sutras. Generally speaking, everything can be called a 'treatise,' such as the Five Sciences (Pañcavidyā). Everything can be called a 'sutra,' such as the Five Sutras. Specifically speaking, what the Buddha speaks is called a 'sutra,' and what others speak but is approved by the Buddha is also called a 'sutra,' such as the Vimalakirti Sutra and the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra. After the Buddha's Parinirvana, what the sages themselves create to explain the Buddha's sutras is called a 'treatise,' and what ordinary people create is called a 'commentary' (义章, yìzhāng). This treatise here was created by a Bodhisattva after the Buddha's Parinirvana, so it is called a 'treatise.' The meaning of 'treatise' is a discussion between a host and a guest, hence it is called the 'Mahāyāna Śraddhotpāda Śāstra' (大乘起信论). Saying 'composed by Aśvaghoṣa Bodhisattva' (马鸣菩萨) is to indicate the name of the author of this treatise. It is also like the explanation of Nāgārjuna Bodhisattva's treatises. The reason why the Bodhisattva composed this treatise is that after the Buddha's Parinirvana, during the time of the Proper Dharma, the great sages were close to us, and people's faculties were deep and they had faith, so there were no heretical views. Seven hundred years later, the great sages were far from us, and the disciples of the sages decreased with the Buddha's Parinirvana, and people's faculties were shallow and they lacked faith. Because the world was declining, externalist and heretical views arose in the world. There were so-called Nīla-tāmasa (青同仙人) who produced the Kandhāvadāna (建陀论) in twenty volumes, with the principle of no cause in the past; Pīta-śiras (黄头仙人) who produced the Chandavadana (阐陀论), with the principle of naturalness; and the Lokāyata (卫世师论) in eighteen parts. At that time, there was a Shramana Shakya named Dharmaśreṣṭhin (法胜), who, in order to refute the externalists, relied on the Mahāvibhāṣā (毗婆沙广论) and the Sarvāstivāda (萨婆多) copies of Western Shramanas to create two hundred and fifty lines of verses, writing the four-volume Abhidhamma (毗昙). Even so, because people's faculties were shallow and their minds were dull, they could not uphold the Mahāvibhāṣā, and the four-volume Abhidhamma was too brief to understand its meaning. Therefore, it was necessary for the Dharma to appear. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------