Introduction
i.1The Prediction for Brahmaśrī is a short dialogue that features an encounter between the Buddha, out on his daily alms round, and a group of children playing on the outskirts of Śrāvastī. One precocious boy named Brahmaśrī offers the Buddha the pavilion he has made of sand or dirt. The Blessed One accepts it and then transforms it into one made of precious metals and jewels. Seeing this wonder, the boy Brahmaśrī makes a vow to become a buddha himself in the future, and this prompts the Buddha to smile and give a prediction of Brahmaśrī’s future awakening.
i.1《梵天吉的授記》是一段簡短的對話，講述佛陀在舍衛城郊外日常托缽時，與一群玩耍的孩童相遇的故事。一個聰慧的男孩名叫梵天吉，用沙土為佛陀建造了一座亭閣。薄伽梵接受了這份供養，並將它變成了由寶石和珍珠製成的亭閣。目睹這個奇蹟後，梵天吉男孩發願在未來成為佛陀，這促使佛陀微笑並給予梵天吉未來覺悟的授記。
i.2In the introduction to his translation of this sūtra, Peter Skilling points out a verse in the Lotus Sūtra (Toh 113) in which the Buddha seems to describe similar events to those that occur in this sūtra:
i.2在他對這部經的介紹中，彼得·斯基林指出了蓮華經（Toh 113）中的一首偈頌，佛陀似乎在其中描述了與這部經中所發生的類似事件：
i.4The above verse is one of two that are quoted together in Śāntideva’s compendium of Buddhist doctrine, The Training Anthology (Śikṣāsamuccaya), in the context of a brief discussion about how simple acts of faith may culminate in the incredible result of awakening as a buddha. For Śāntideva, this illustrates that one should be careful not to disrespect even ordinary people. In the narrative of The Prediction for Brahmaśrī, the children are not building stūpas out of sand, or, perhaps more accurately, dirt (Tib. sa rdul, Skt. pāṃsu); they are building houses, surrounding walls, and pavilions. However, the main theme of the narrative—and the image brought to mind—is similar to that found in the passage in the Lotus Sūtra.
i.4上述詩句是寂天在他的佛教教義彙編《學集論》中引用的兩首詩之一，是在簡要討論簡單的信心行為如何能導致成為佛陀的覺悟這一不可思議的結果的背景下出現的。對寂天來說，這說明人應該小心不要不尊重普通人。在《梵天吉的預言》的敘述中，孩童們不是用沙子建造塔，或者更準確地說，用泥土（藏文：sa rdul，梵文：pāṃsu）建造塔；他們是在建造房屋、圍牆和亭閣。然而，這個敘述的主要主題，以及它喚起的意象，與《蓮華經》中的段落所呈現的主題相似。
i.5This theme of a simple act of generosity, faith, and devotion to the Buddha generating incredible, inconceivable results is a common one found in narratives throughout various Buddhist traditions. For instance, in The Hundred Buddhist Tales (Avadānaśataka) there are numerous stories that are quite similar to the one told in The Prediction for Brahmaśrī, which also feature the Buddha’s extraordinary powers and his wondrous smile. So, while its longer title in the Kangyur describes it as a Mahāyāna sūtra, the narrative type, its themes, and its motifs are not unique to the Mahāyāna tradition.
i.5簡單的慈悲、信心和對佛陀的虔誠奉獻能夠產生不可思議、難以想像的結果，這是在各個佛教傳統的敘事中常見的主題。例如，在《百喻經》中有許多故事與《梵天吉的預言》中講述的故事相當相似，這些故事也呈現了佛陀的神通和他神妙的微笑。因此，儘管它在甘珠爾中的完整標題將其描述為大乘經，但這部經的敘事類型、主題和文學特色並非大乘傳統獨有。
i.6The Prediction for Brahmaśrī is found in the General Sūtra section (mdo sde) of the various Kangyurs. Most of its colophons indicate that it was translated by the Indian scholar Viśuddhasiṃha and the translator Bandé Gewa Pal and edited by Vidyākarasiṃha and Devacandra, all of whom are known to have been active during the height of the Tibetan imperial patronage of Buddhism in the late eighth and early ninth centuries. That it was translated into Tibetan during the early translation period is further supported by the fact that its title is listed in the Phangthangma and Denkarma imperial catalogs of translated texts. There is no known extant Sanskrit version of this sūtra and there is no known Chinese translation.
i.6《梵天吉的授記》見於各個甘珠爾的般若部（經部）。其大多數的跋文表明，這部經是由印度學者清淨獅子和譯者班智達吉祥共同翻譯，由智慧獅子和天護進行校訂的。這些人物都已知在藏傳佛教獲得帝王贊助的鼎盛時期，即八世紀末和九世紀初期活躍過。這部經在藏傳佛教早期翻譯時期被譯成藏文，這一點還得到了另一項證據的支持：其標題被列在彭唐瑪和頓喀瑪這兩部帝王頒行的譯經目錄中。目前不存在已知的梵文版本，也沒有已知的漢譯版本。
i.7This English translation is based on the Tibetan translation in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Pedurma (dpe bsdur ma) Comparative Edition. The Tibetan text was also compared with the Stok Palace and Phukdrak editions of the Kangyur, but none of the differences found therein were deemed noteworthy.
i.7此英文譯本是根據德格甘珠爾中的藏文譯本製作，並參考了彭度瑪對勘版。藏文本文還與司陶克宮和普克德日克版甘珠爾進行了對比，但其中發現的差異均未被認為值得注意。