English
English version: Reciting it in the heart, they then transmitted it, and thus it spread. The 'Commentary on the Preface and Meaning' states: 'Therefore, Bodhisattvas searched for secrets in the Dragon Palace, and great sages propagated it in the Eastern Xia (ancient China). Clearly promoting the source, it refers to Nāgārjuna Bodhisattva entering the Dragon Palace five hundred years later to search for and obtain this profound and mysterious scripture, as recorded in other biographies and the 'Zuan Ling Ji'. Speaking of great sages propagating it in the Eastern Xia, it mainly refers to Juexian, as well as other virtuous ones such as Zhiyan, Faye, Rizhao, and Shicha, who propagated this scripture. Speaking of in the Eastern Xia, it refers to the area east of the Pamir Mountains, a region of several thousand miles, called the Divine Land of Great Xia. The reason for saying 'therefore' above is that because the scripture is profound and subtle, it must be searched for and propagated. Nāgārjuna entered the Dragon Palace, widely viewed countless scriptures, and those who recited this scripture extensively did so because of its profound mystery. Therefore, the 'Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra' calls it the Great Inconceivable Scripture. And all the great virtues believe that even a single phrase or sentence of this scripture cannot be exhausted even if all the ink in the sea were used, and a single verse or ray of light can break the great suffering of hell. Therefore, all the teachers have devoted their lives to propagating it.' The Five Vidyās (Five Fields of Knowledge) Spread to the Western Regions Although the scripture was recited, it remained in the Western Qian (another name for the Western Regions). In places like the Five Indies (a general term for the five regions of ancient India), there was the kingdom of Chakupan (an ancient kingdom in the Western Regions). According to the 'Sui Kaihuang Three Treasures Record', about two thousand miles southeast of Khotan (present-day Hotan, Xinjiang), there is the kingdom of Chakupan. The kings of this country, generation after generation, have respected and believed in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Famous monks from various countries, upon entering this country, would be tested. If they were followers of Hīnayāna, they would be sent away and not retained. If they were followers of Mahāyāna, they would be invited to stay and be offered support. Within the royal palace, there were scriptures such as the 'Avataṃsaka Sūtra' (Flower Garland Sutra), the 'Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra', and the 'Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra', totaling ten thousand verses. The king personally upheld them, personally held the keys to the doors, made offerings of incense and flowers, adorned them with various items, hung various banners, and used seasonal fruits to guide the princes, having people bow and dedicate the merit. Furthermore, about twenty miles southeast of this country, there is a very steep mountain. Within the mountain are stored scriptures such as the 'Avataṃsaka Sūtra', the 'Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra', the 'Vaipulya Sūtra', the 'Ratnakūṭa Sūtra', the 'Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra', the 'Vaipulya Sūtra', the 'Śāriputra Dhāraṇī Sūtra', the 'Flower Cluster Dhāraṇī Sūtra', the 'Tusarokosa', the 'Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra', and the 'Mahāmegha Sūtra', totaling twelve sections, all of which are ten thousand verses. The laws of the country have been passed down through generations, regarding these scriptures as treasures. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 守护。 六明法领请归
Chinese
经传西域。未至此方。法领捐躯。请归唐土。东晋有沙门支法领。志乐大乘。捐躯求法。裹粮抗䇿。至拘盘国竭诚请祷。遂得华严前分三万六千偈。赍来至此。即东晋朝所译是也。然而龙树具本。以从上升(天竺流布)。法领半珠。遂行东土。圣凡证异。华梵音隔。修途阻绝。妙旨沦湑。落简遗编。仅传兼半。又按今于阗所进盖逾四万偈。其晋经第一会所说华藏世界。文多阙略。取悟无繇。至八十卷。灿然可见。虽十万之未全。已四万之多具。即上略本经也。 七明觉贤初译 大法请归。华梵音隔。必须翻译。方可诵持。传译感通云。晋义熙十四年。北天竺三藏佛度䟦陀罗。此云觉贤。于扬州谢司空寺。翻梵本三万六千颂。成晋经六十卷(三十四品八会)。沙门法业笔受。慧严慧观润色。谢司空寺者。即今润州兴严寺是。由兴华严故。 佛度跋陀罗。此云觉贤。按纂灵记。本姓释氏。迦维罗卫国人。甘露饭王之苗裔。贤三岁而孤。八岁丧母。为外氏所鞠。从祖鸠摩利。闻其聪敏。乃度为沙弥。同学一月诵习。贤乃一日当之。及受具戒。博览群经。多所综达。少以禅律驰名。尝与同学僧伽达多。游处积年。知其已证不还果。尝愿游方以弘至化。会秦沙门智严。至 现代汉语译本 守护。 六、明法领请经归国 这部经是从西域传出的，当时还没有传到中国。支法领法师不惜生命，恳请将此经带回唐朝。东晋时期有位沙门（佛教出家人）名叫支法领，他立志学习大乘佛法，不惜牺牲生命去寻求佛法。他带着干粮，拄着拐杖，到达拘盘国，竭诚祈祷，最终得到了《华严经》的前一部分，共三万六千偈（佛教诗歌）。他将经书带回中国，就是东晋时期翻译的版本。然而，《华严经》的完整版本在龙树菩萨那里，从印度流传开来。支法领带回的只是半颗明珠，却在东土广为流传。圣人和凡人的证悟不同，梵文和汉语的语音隔阂，修行的道路阻碍重重，精妙的旨意被淹没，留下的简牍和遗漏的篇章，仅仅流传了一半。而且，现在于阗国进献的《华严经》超过了四万偈。其中，东晋译本的第一会所说的华藏世界，文字多有缺失和省略，难以领悟。到了八十卷本的《华严经》，内容就清晰可见了。虽然还没有完全包含十万偈，但已经具备了四万多偈，这就是上面所说的略本《华严经》。 七、明觉贤初次翻译 伟大的佛法被迎请回国，但梵文和汉语的语音隔阂，必须经过翻译，才能诵读和受持。据《传译感通》记载，东晋义熙十四年，北天竺的三藏法师佛度跋陀罗（Buddhabhadra），翻译成汉语是觉贤，在扬州的谢司空寺，将梵文原本的三万六千颂翻译成晋经六十卷（三十四品八会）。沙门法业负责笔录，慧严和慧观负责润色。谢司空寺，就是现在的润州兴严寺。因为弘扬《华严经》的缘故，所以叫做兴严寺。 佛度跋陀罗（Buddhabhadra），翻译成汉语是觉贤。根据《纂灵记》记载，他本姓释，是迦维罗卫国人，甘露饭王的后代。觉贤三岁时成了孤儿，八岁时失去了母亲，由外婆家抚养长大。他的祖父鸠摩利听说他聪明敏捷，就让他出家做了沙弥（小和尚）。他和同学们一起学习一个月的内容，觉贤一天就能学会。等到他受了具足戒（正式成为僧侣），广泛阅读各种经书，对很多内容都融会贯通。他年轻时就以禅定和戒律闻名。他曾经和同学僧伽达多（Sanghadatta）一起游历多年，知道他已经证得了不还果（Anagamin）。他曾经发愿四处游历，弘扬佛法。恰逢秦地的沙门智严（Jnana）来到印度。
English
English version Protection. 6. Explaining Fa Ling's Request to Return with the Sutra The sutra was transmitted from the Western Regions but had not yet reached this land. Dharma Master Fa Ling sacrificed himself to request its return to the Tang Dynasty. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there was a Shramana (Buddhist monk) named Zhi Fa Ling, who aspired to study Mahayana Buddhism and was willing to give his life to seek the Dharma. Carrying provisions and leaning on his staff, he arrived at the Kingdom of Kucha and sincerely prayed. Eventually, he obtained the preliminary part of the *Avatamsaka Sutra*, consisting of thirty-six thousand *gathas* (Buddhist verses). He brought the sutra back to China, which is the version translated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. However, the complete version of the *Avatamsaka Sutra* was with Nagarjuna (Longshu), spreading from India. What Fa Ling brought back was only half a pearl, yet it widely circulated in the Eastern Land. The enlightenment of saints and ordinary people differs, the phonetics of Sanskrit and Chinese are separated, the path of cultivation is obstructed, and the subtle meanings are submerged. The remaining bamboo slips and omitted chapters only transmitted half of the sutra. Moreover, the *Avatamsaka Sutra* presented by the Kingdom of Khotan now exceeds forty thousand *gathas*. Among them, the Huazang (Garland) World described in the first assembly of the Eastern Jin translation has many omissions and abbreviations, making it difficult to comprehend. By the eighty-fascicle version of the *Avatamsaka Sutra*, the content becomes clearly visible. Although it does not fully contain one hundred thousand *gathas*, it already possesses more than forty thousand, which is the abbreviated version of the sutra mentioned above. 7. Explaining Jue Xian's First Translation The great Dharma was invited back to the country, but the phonetics of Sanskrit and Chinese are separated, so it must be translated in order to be recited and upheld. According to the *Record of Transmission and Translation*, in the fourteenth year of the Yixi era of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Tripitaka Master Buddhabhadra (Buddhabhadra) from North India, whose Chinese translation is Jue Xian, translated the Sanskrit original of thirty-six thousand *shlokas* into the Jin Sutra of sixty fascicles (thirty-four chapters in eight assemblies) at the Xie Sikong Temple in Yangzhou. Shramana Fa Ye was responsible for recording, and Hui Yan and Hui Guan were responsible for polishing. Xie Sikong Temple is now Xingyan Temple in Runzhou. It is called Xingyan Temple because of the promotion of the *Avatamsaka Sutra*. Buddhabhadra (Buddhabhadra), whose Chinese translation is Jue Xian. According to the *Zuan Ling Ji*, his original surname was Shi, and he was a native of Kapilavastu, a descendant of King Ganlu Fan. Jue Xian became an orphan at the age of three and lost his mother at the age of eight, and was raised by his maternal family. His grandfather, Kumarali, heard that he was intelligent and quick-witted, so he ordained him as a Shramanera (novice monk). He and his classmates studied together for a month, and Jue Xian could learn it in one day. When he received the full precepts (became a fully ordained monk), he widely read various sutras and thoroughly understood many contents. He was famous for his meditation and precepts at a young age. He once traveled with his classmate Sanghadatta (Sanghadatta) for many years and knew that he had attained the Anagamin (non-returner) fruit. He once vowed to travel around to promote the Dharma. It happened that Shramana Jnana (Jnana) from the Qin region came to India. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
罽宾国。问彼国僧。谁可流化东土。咸云贤可。贤本受禅业于佛大仙。佛大仙时亦在罽宾国。知严求人东化。亦谓严曰。可以振维僧徒。宣授正法。即贤其人也。严即披诚至请。贤遂默而许焉。于是辞师东迈。涉路三载。寒暑备受。艰危罄尽。或层岩四合。鸟道跻云。或连冰千里。风行雪卧。每清晖启曙。即潜伏幽林。皓月良宵。乃奔波永路。飞梯架迥。扪索凭虚。危惧日寻。资粮时绝。至于交趾。渐达夷途。附舶海行。备经危险。方达青州东莱郡。闻罗什在长安。欣然而诣。后游东晋。至安帝义熙十四年。吴郡内史孟顗。右卫将军褚叔度。请译此经。别造净室。其年三月十日起首。贤乃手执梵文。共沙门法业慧严等。百有余人。于道场寺翻译。指文会理。通言适妙。故道场寺。犹有华严堂焉。永嘉六年卒。时春秋七十有一。手屈三指。明得阿那含果。余广如传。业公未详氏族。风格秀整。学无常师。遍阅群教。每以为未能探微照极。常怏然不足。后遇觉贤。请译华严。筹咨义理。数岁之后。廓然有所通悟。顾其友人曰。圣教司南。于是乎在。遂敷弘幽旨。郁为宗首。着旨归两卷。流行于世。今不见本者。以希声初启。未遑曲尽。时月淹久。故多废替。慧严慧观。即什公八俊之二。笔格高简。经论深博。备于僧史。谢 现代汉语译本 罽宾国（Kashmir）。有人问那里的僧人，谁可以去东土弘扬佛法。大家都说觉贤（Buddhabhadra）可以。觉贤原本跟随佛大仙（Buddhamahanama）学习禅定。佛大仙那时也在罽宾国，知道鸠摩罗什（Kumarajiva）在寻找可以去东方弘法的人，也对鸠摩罗什说，觉贤可以整顿僧团，宣讲正法，他就是合适的人选。鸠摩罗什于是诚恳地邀请觉贤。觉贤默默地答应了。于是他告别师父，向东出发，一路上经历了三年，饱受寒暑之苦，历尽艰险。有时身处四面环绕的悬崖峭壁，只能沿着像鸟道一样的小路攀登；有时在千里冰封的地面上行走，顶着风雪露宿。每天清晨天刚亮，就躲藏在幽深的树林里；在明亮的月夜，则不停地赶路。他架设飞梯，攀登高处，摸索着前进，每天都感到危险和恐惧，经常断绝了资粮。到达交趾（Giao Chỉ）后，渐渐进入平坦的道路。他搭乘海船，经历了各种危险，最终到达青州东莱郡。听说鸠摩罗什在长安，就高兴地前去拜访。后来他游历到东晋。到安帝义熙十四年，吴郡内史孟顗（Mèng Yǐ）、右卫将军褚叔度（Chǔ Shūdù）请求他翻译这部经书，特意建造了干净的房间。那年三月十日开始翻译。觉贤手持梵文原本，与沙门法业（Fǎyè）、慧严（Huìyán）等一百多人，在道场寺（Dàochǎng Sì）进行翻译。他们根据文字来理解义理，用流畅而恰当的语言表达出来。所以道场寺至今还有华严堂（Huáyán Táng）。永嘉六年（312 AD）觉贤去世，享年七十一岁。他临终时手指弯曲成三指，表明自己证得了阿那含果（Anāgāmin）。其他更详细的事迹记载在传记中。法业的氏族不详，他的风格秀美端庄，学习没有固定的老师，广泛阅读各种佛教经典。他常常认为自己未能深入探究精微之处，因此常常感到不满足。后来他遇到觉贤，请求翻译《华严经》，一起商讨义理。几年之后，他豁然开悟，对他的朋友说，圣教的指南就在这里了。于是他弘扬深奥的旨意，成为宗派的首领。他撰写了《旨归》（Zhǐ Guī）两卷，在世间流传。现在看不到原本，是因为刚开始弘扬，未能完全表达，时间久远，所以大多废弃了。慧严和慧观（Huìguān）是鸠摩罗什的八俊中的两位，他们的文笔简洁高妙，对经论的理解深刻而广博，这些都记载在僧史中。谢