Introduction

i.1The The Sūtra Teaching the Four Factors (Caturdharmanirdeśasūtra, Toh 249) is the first of three short sūtras with similar titles, all referring to sets of four dharmas or factors, elements that contribute to accomplishing the goal of the path. In many Kangyurs (predominantly those of Tshalpa origin, including the Degé Kangyur), these sūtras are found grouped together.

i.1《四法教授經》（Caturdharmanidesasūtra，Toh 249）是三部標題相似的短經中的第一部，都涉及四法或四因素的各種組合，這些要素有助於實現修行目標。在許多甘珠爾中（主要是察爾巴傳統的版本，包括德格甘珠爾），這些經典被編排在一起。

i.2Of the other sūtras in this set, The Four Factors (Caturdharmakasūtra, Toh 250) identifies four beliefs that a wise son of a good family should not accept as true, while The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Four Factors (Āryacaturdharmakanāmamahāyānasūtra, Toh 251) identifies four factors of the path which bodhisattvas must not abandon under any circumstance. Two further works, The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa (Toh 248) and The Fourfold Accomplishment (Toh 252) also concern themselves with various “sets of four” (catuṣka, bzhi pa), thereby forming a group of five sūtras in the Degé Kangyur that lay out key elements of the practice of the path in discrete sets of four factors.

i.2在這一組經典中，另一部經《四因經》（《四法經》，Toh 250）列舉了善家族之子不應該接受為真實的四種信念，而《聖大乘四因經》（《聖四法名大乘經》，Toh 251）列舉了菩薩在任何情況下都不能放棄的四種道的因素。還有兩部著作——《四種功德的成就：菩薩的別解脫戒》（Toh 248）和《四重成就》（Toh 252）——也涉及各種「四項組」（catuṣka），因此在德格甘珠爾中構成了五部經，這些經闡述了修習道路實踐的關鍵要素，以離散的四因素組為單位。

i.3In The Sūtra Teaching the Four Factors, translated here, the factors relate to the practice of confession (even though no equivalent of that word occurs in the sūtra itself) and the purification of misdeeds or negative, harmful actions (pāpa). The Bodhyāpattideśanāvṛtti (Commentary on the Confession of Bodhisattva Downfalls), for example, which is attributed to Nāgārjuna, cites the sūtra and elaborates on the four powers (stobs bzhi), as the four factors came to be known, despite the fact that only the final two are labeled “power” (stobs; bala) in the sūtra itself. Bhāviveka’s Tarkajvālā, too, refers to the sūtra in support of the view that even the very gravest of negative actions can be purified. And chapter eight of Śāntideva’s Śikṣāsamuccaya (Compendium of Training), on the purification of misdeeds (pāpaśodhana; sdig pa sbyong ba), not only quotes from the Caturdharmanirdeśasūtra, but even takes the four factors as its central theme.

i.3在《四法教授經》中，這些因素涉及懺悔的修行（雖然經文本身沒有出現相應的詞彙），以及清淨罪業或負面有害行為的實踐。例如，被認為是龍樹菩薩所著的《菩薩墮罪懺悔論釋》引用了這部經文，並詳細闡述了四種力量（藏文稱之為「stobs bzhi」），儘管經文中只有最後兩個被標記為「力」（藏文「stobs」；梵文「bala」）。清辨論師的《熾火光明論》也引用這部經文來支持這樣的觀點：即使最嚴重的負面行為也能被清淨。寂天菩薩《學集論》第八章論述罪業清淨，不僅引用了《四法教授經》的內容，甚至將四種因素作為其中心主題。

i.4Tibetan authors, too, make it clear that the four powers are the key elements of confessional practice (bshags pa). In his famous Ornament of Precious Liberation (dwags po thar rgyan), Gampopa Sönam Rinchen (sgam po pa bsod nams rin chen, 1079–1153) relates the powers to episodes in the lives of the Buddha’s contemporaries Nanda, Aṅgulimāla, Ajātaśatru, and Udayana, in order to demonstrate the necessity of each factor. Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa (tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa, 1357–1419) draws on both the Caturdharmanirdeśasūtra itself and Śāntideva’s discussion in the Śikṣāsamuccaya to explain the powers in some detail in his magnum opus, the Lamrim Chenmo. It is also common to find reference to the four powers in Tibetan purificatory rites and commentaries on them. There are slight variations in the spelling of the names and the sequence of these powers, and not all Tibetan works cite the Caturdharmanirdeśasūtra as their source, but the derivation is clear enough.

i.4藏傳佛教的作者們同樣闡明，四種力量是懺悔修持（bshags pa）的關鍵要素。岡波巴·索南仁欽（sgam po pa bsod nams rin chen，1079–1153）在他著名的《寶鬘莊嚴論》（dwags po thar rgyan）中，將這些力量與佛陀同時代人物難陀、指鬘、阿闍世王和優填王的人生經歷相連結，以此來說明每一個要素的必要性。宗喀巴·洛桑札巴（tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa，1357–1419）在他的巨著《菩提道次第廣論》中，同時引用了《四法經》本身和寂天菩薩在《學集論》中的論述，來詳細解釋這些力量。在藏傳佛教的清淨儀軌和對其的註疏中，也常常見到對四種力量的提及。這些力量的名稱拼寫和順序存在細微差異，而且並非所有藏傳佛教著作都引用《四法經》作為它們的來源，但其源頭是相當清楚的。

i.5At least two Sanskrit editions of the Caturdharmanirdeśasūtra exist today. One is a manuscript from a collection held in the Potala library in Lhasa, which recently became available in a critical edition. It exhibits several variations from the versions in the Tibetan canon, most notably in its inclusion, near the end, of a four-line verse that it attributes to the Buddha himself:

i.5目前至少存在兩個《四法開示經》的梵文版本。其中一個是收藏在拉薩布達拉宮圖書館中的手稿，最近已出版為校勘版。它與藏文佛經的版本有若干不同之處，最值得注意的是，在經文接近結尾處包含了一首四句偈頌，經文將其歸為佛陀親自所說的話：

“Even minor transgressions prove the downfall of the foolish,

「即使微小的罪業也會導致愚人的墮落，」

Whereas even serious transgressions do not affect the wise.

而嚴重的過失卻不會影響智者。

A lump of iron, though small, sinks in water;

一塊鐵，雖然很小，沉入水中；

But even a great mass of iron, when made into a vessel, floats.”

但即使是大量的鐵，當被製成器皿時，也會浮起來。

Some other minor differences are also noted below.

下文將指出其他一些細微差異。

i.7Recently, Peter Skilling has included a fine translation of the sūtra from the Tibetan along with some helpful notes in his 2021 collection, Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras.

i.7最近，彼得·斯基林在他2021年出版的《詢問佛陀：二十五部經的精選》中收錄了一份從藏文翻譯的該經的優秀譯文，並附有一些有幫助的注釋。

i.8The following translation was made primarily on the basis of the Degé block print and the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), although it follows the Peking Yongle and Kangxi recensions on one significant point, for reasons that are explained in a note. Otherwise, since the various Tibetan canonical versions vary among themselves only slightly in matters of orthography, such instances have not been specified here.

i.8以下翻譯主要基於德格刻印本和對勘版（藏文：dpe bsdur ma），但在一個重要之處遵循了北京永樂版和康熙版本，具體原因已在註釋中說明。此外，由於各個藏文正藏版本之間的差異僅限於拼寫方式，此類情況在這裡未一一列舉。