Introduction

i.1This sūtra highlights one of the most fundamental teachings of the Buddha‍—recognizing the impermanence (anityatā) of conditioned phenomena. The fact that such phenomena are impermanent (anitya) is listed as the first of the three principal characteristics of existence, the other two being the suffering, or unsatisfactoriness, of phenomena (duḥkha), and their no-self, or lack of an inherent substance (anātman). It is the clear understanding of the reality of these facts of life that can bring about a profound and essential change in a person’s worldview, marking the point of entry to the path to liberation. Impermanence is also one of the four seals of the Buddha’s teaching (comprising these three characteristics of existence and a fourth principle, that nirvāṇa is peace), often described as summarizing or epitomizing the Buddhadharma, and more particularly as the criteria that together enable the variety of Buddhist philosophical views to be distinguished from non-Buddhist ones.

i.1這部經強調了佛陀最根本的教導之一——認識有為法的無常性。有為法的無常是三法印中的第一個，另外兩個分別是現象的苦（即不圓滿性）和無我（即缺乏固有的實體）。清楚地理解這些人生事實的真相，能夠帶來一個人世界觀的深刻而本質的改變，標誌著走上解脫之道的入口。無常也是佛法的四法印之一（包括這三法印和第四個原則——涅槃即寂靜），通常被描述為佛法的總結和精髓，更特別地說，是能夠將各種佛教哲學見解與非佛教見解區分開來的標準。

Sūtras on impermanence

關於無常的經文

i.2The Tibetan canon contains two sūtras with the title Sūtra on Impermanence (mi rtag pa nyid kyi mdo), both found in the same section of the Kangyur (mdo sde, Toh 309 and 310). The sūtra translated here is the first, the shorter of the two. Sūtras with equivalent titles are also found in other Buddhist canons, but their contents differ substantially from the one translated here. The Chinese Tripiṭaka, for instance, contains two sūtras so entitled (Taishō nos. 801 and 759), and in the Samyutta Nikāya of the Pāli canon, the collection of discourses grouped by themes, there are a number of different texts with the title Sutta on Impermanence (P. Aniccasutta).

i.2藏文大藏經包含了兩部名為《無常經》（米．塔．巴．紐依．基．多）的經文，兩部都位於甘珠爾（多．德，Toh 309和310）的同一部分。這裡翻譯的是第一部，也是較短的一部。其他佛教大藏經中也能找到標題相同的經文，但其內容與此處翻譯的內容有很大差異。例如，漢文大藏經包含了兩部這樣的經文（大正藏編號801和759），而在巴利三藏的相應部中，按主題分類的論述集合裡，有多部不同的文本標題為《無常經》（巴利文：阿尼查經）。

Note on the translation

翻譯說明

i.3The content of this sūtra is rather straightforward and its interpretation does not pose any major difficulties. One particular term, however, did present a problem of translation: the Tibetan dben pa, which commonly translates the Sanskrit viveka/vivikta and is usually related to concepts of isolation and seclusion. Here it seems to refer more specifically to the act of picking something out, separating it from other things and thus singling it out from them as special.

i.3這部經的內容相當直白，其解釋並不存在重大困難。然而，有一個特殊詞彙在翻譯上確實提出了問題：藏文的「dben pa」，通常用來翻譯梵文的「viveka/vivikta」，並且通常與隔離和隱居的概念相關。在這裡，它似乎更具體地指的是挑選某物的行為，將其從其他事物中分離出來，從而將其從中區別出來作為特殊的東西。