Introduction
i.1The Four Stanzas consists of six verses and is a praise to the Buddha, to the places associated with his presence, and to stūpas. The praise itself comprises the first four verses, hence the text’s title. The last two verses explain the origin of the text and the benefits that accrue from its recitation.
i.1《四句讚》由六首詩句組成，是對佛陀、與佛陀有關的聖地以及塔的讚頌。讚頌本身包括前四首詩句，因此得名《四句讚》。最後兩首詩句說明了該文本的來源以及誦讀它所獲得的利益。
i.2The Sanskrit text of The Four Stanzas is extant in several manuscripts from Nepal. Gergely Hidas edited one of these manuscripts as part of his edition of two dhāraṇī collections. Kazuo Kano has also published a critical edition of the Sanskrit text of The Four Stanzas, together with a Japanese translation. The initial stanza in the extant Sanskrit versions differs from the Tibetan translation found in The Four Stanzas, but the Tibetan translation of the first verse in Jetāri’s Bodhicittotpādasamādānavidhi (Toh 3968) aligns perfectly with the Sanskrit. The earliest quotation of The Four Stanzas can be found in the Tibetan translation of Bhāviveka’s Tarkajvālā (Toh 3856), composed during the sixth century. This was followed by several quotations in other works.
i.2《四句讚》的梵文文本存在於尼泊爾的多份手稿中。格傑利·希達斯作為他對兩部陀羅尼集的編訂工作的一部分，編訂了其中一份手稿。加藤和雄也發表了《四句讚》梵文文本的校勘版本，並附有日文翻譯。現存梵文版本的首個讚句與藏譯《四句讚》不同，但在傑塔里的《菩提心發起定慧法》（Toh 3968）藏譯版本中第一讚句與梵文完全相符。《四句讚》最早的引用出現在清辨著作《論光明》（Toh 3856）的藏譯版本中，該著作成書於六世紀。隨後在其他著作中有多處引用。
i.3Kano concludes that The Four Stanzas was part of a set of five texts used for recitation in India, which also included The Dhāraṇī of the Six Gates (Toh 141, 526, 916), The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī (Toh 143, 611, 918), The Single Stanza (Toh 323), and The Prayer of Good Conduct (Toh 1095, 4377). Initially, these five texts circulated individually. However, they had become popular in India as a set by the time of Advayavajra or Ratnākaraśānti (eleventh century) and were later incorporated into the dhāraṇī collections of Nepal.
i.3卡野得出的結論是，《四句讚》在印度是一套五部文獻中的一部，這套文獻用於誦讀，還包括《六門陀羅尼》（Toh 141、526、916）、《二句陀羅尼》（Toh 143、611、918）、《單句》（Toh 323）和《善行祈願文》（Toh 1095、4377）。最初，這五部文獻各自單獨流傳。然而，到了無二金剛或寶源寂（十一世紀）的時代，它們在印度已經作為一套文獻變得很受歡迎，後來被併入了尼泊爾的陀羅尼集合中。
i.4The Four Stanzas is found in the Sūtra section in all Kangyurs of the Tshalpa, Thempangma, and mixed lines, as well as in independent Kangyurs such as the Phukdrak manuscript and the Langdo collection. It is also included in some collections from Western Tibet. It is not known who translated The Four Stanzas into Tibetan, for neither the colophons nor Tibetan historical works mention the translators.
i.4《四句讚》在察爾巴、田龐瑪以及混合傳統的所有甘珠爾版本中都出現在經部，也出現在普楚塔克手稿和朗多藏書等獨立甘珠爾版本中。它還被收錄在一些西藏的藏書中。《四句讚》的藏文譯者身份不得而知，因為無論是尾跋還是藏族歷史文獻都未曾提及譯者。
i.5The Tibetan scholar Tāranātha (1575–1634) composed a commentary on The Four Stanzas as well as sequential commentaries on three of the other five texts in the above-mentioned set, corroborating Kano’s view that these texts were seen as related. The importance of The Four Stanzas and the other texts in the set for recitation is evident, for in Tibet they are included in extracts from sūtra and tantra (gces btus), collected liturgical texts (chos spyod), collections of mantras and dhāraṇīs for recitation, and collections of sādhanas. They are also sometimes mentioned as texts for recitation in preliminary practices.
i.5藏學家他拉那他（1575–1634）為《四句讚》撰寫了評註，並對上述五部文獻中的另外三部撰寫了逐句評註，這印證了卡諾的觀點，即這些文獻被視為相關聯的。《四句讚》及該套文獻中的其他文獻對於誦經的重要性是顯而易見的，因為在西藏，它們被納入了經續精萃（gces btus）、匯編的儀軌文獻（chos spyod）、真言與陀羅尼誦經集，以及修習儀軌集合。它們有時也被提及作為前行修習中的誦經文獻。
i.6This English translation is based on the Degé print and on Kano’s Sanskrit edition, in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), as well as the Phukdrak and the Stok Palace manuscripts. The most significant variants are mentioned in the notes.
i.6本英文翻譯以德格版本和卡諾的梵文版本為基礎，並參考了《對勘版》（dpe bsdur ma）、普卓克版本和托克宮殿手稿。最重要的異文已在注釋中列出。