Introduction
i.1The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma contains one of the most well-known teachings of Buddhism: the four truths of the noble ones. These four truths are: (1) the truth of suffering, (2) the truth of the origin of suffering, (3) the truth of the cessation of suffering, and (4) the truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering. According to traditional accounts, this is the first teaching taught by the Buddha following his attainment of awakening. The Buddha is said to have journeyed from the seat of awakening in Bodhgaya to the Deer Park outside Varanasi, where he delivered this teaching to his five former spiritual companions. Since this was the first time the Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma, this discourse also became known as The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma, or, more commonly, The Sūtra of the Turning of the Wheel of Dharma.
i.1《法輪經》包含了佛教最著名的教誨之一：聖者的四諦。這四諦是：（1）苦諦，（2）集諦，（3）滅諦，以及（4）道諦。根據傳統記載，這是佛陀在證得菩提之後所宣說的第一部教法。據說佛陀從菩提伽耶的菩提座出發，前往瓦臘那西外的鹿野苑，向他的五位前世靈修同伴宣說了這部教法。由於這是佛陀第一次轉法輪，這部經文也因此被稱為《法輪經》，或更常見的說法是《轉法輪經》。
i.2Although very brief, this classical presentation of the four truths has remained central to the Buddhist tradition since its very early days. As such, this teaching is included in all the major canons of Buddhism, so that versions in Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan are found. As far as translations into Tibetan are concerned, we find the classical presentation of the four truths embedded in no fewer than seven individual works in the Kangyur. Of these, the following four contain accounts of this first teaching in passages that are clearly closely related, being almost verbatim identical:
i.2儘管這個四諦的經典呈現非常簡潔，但自佛教早期以來，它一直是佛教傳統的核心。因此，這個教法被納入了佛教的所有主要經典中，所以存在有巴利文、梵文、漢文和藏文的版本。就藏文翻譯而言，我們在甘珠爾中發現四諦的經典呈現至少嵌入在七部獨立的著作中。其中以下四部著作包含了這第一次教法的記述，這些記述在表述上明顯密切相關，幾乎逐字相同：
• The Chapter on Schism in the Sangha (Saṅghabhedavastu). This very long text forms the 17th chapter of the Mūlasarvāstivādin vinaya scripture Chapters on Monastic Discipline (Vinayavastu, Toh 1), and includes, interspersed with all sorts of other material, passages recounting the life and deeds of the Buddha.
• 《僧伽分裂章》（Saṅghabhedavastu）。這是一部篇幅很長的文本，構成了根本說一切有部律經典《律事》（Vinayavastu，藏文目錄編號Toh 1）的第17章。該章節中穿插著各種內容，其中包括記述佛陀生平和事跡的段落。
• Foundations of the Minor Monastic Discipline (Vinayakṣudrakavastu, Toh 6). Another Mūlasarvāstivādin vinaya scripture that includes episodes from the life and deeds of the Buddha as well as other material amplifying the history and rules of the monastic community.
• 《小律事》（Vinayakṣudrakavastu，Toh 6）。另一部根本說一切有部律經典，其中包含了關於佛陀生平事蹟的篇章，以及其他涉及僧伽歷史和戒律的補充性資料。
• The Sūtra on Going Forth (Abhiniṣkramaṇasūtra, Toh 301). In this text all the passages in The Chapter on Schism in the Sangha recounting the Buddha’s life have been extracted verbatim to form a continuous narrative, including the passage on this teaching.
• 《出家經》（Abhiniṣkramaṇasūtra，Toh 301）。這部典籍從《僧伽分裂章》中逐字提取了所有記述佛陀生平的段落，形成了一部連貫的敘述文本，其中包含了關於這項教法的段落。
• The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma (Dharmacakrasūtra, Toh 337). This text (translated here) is also a verbatim extract from the account of the teaching as found in Toh 1, but this time only of this particular episode. However, it does add a brief introduction and conclusion to give to the account the form of an independent sūtra.
• 《法輪經》（《法輪經》，Toh 337）。本文是從Toh 1所載的教法記述中逐字摘錄出來的，但這次只摘錄了這個特定的事件。不過它確實增加了簡短的序言和結語，使該記述具有獨立經典的形式。
i.3In addition, the Kangyur also contains a translation of the Dhammachakkappavattanasutta from the Pali canon:
i.3此外，甘珠爾中還包含了從巴利經典翻譯的《法輪經》：
• The Sūtra of the Turning of the Wheel of Dharma (Dharmacakrapravartanasūtra, Toh 31). This is one of only fourteen texts in the Kangyur that were translated into Tibetan from the Pali. It therefore mirrors closely the Dhammachakkappavattanasutta of the Saṃyuttanikāya, although some differences exist.
• 《法輪轉動經》（Dharmacarapravartanasūtra，Toh 31）。這是甘珠爾中僅有的十四部從巴利文翻譯成藏文的經典之一。因此它緊密對應相應部的《法輪轉動經》，雖然存在一些差異。
i.4Another version of this episode in the Kangyur is embedded in one of the long collections of avadāna:
i.4甘珠爾中這個事蹟的另一個版本被納入本生譚的長篇文集之一：
• The Hundred Deeds (Karmaśataka, Toh 340). This anthology of stories compiled to illustrate the cause and effect of karmic action from one life to another contains—among several other kinds of narrative—accounts of many of the best known episodes from the life of the Buddha, and many of these are closely related and similarly worded parallels to the same episodes as told in the texts of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. The account of the first turning of the wheel of Dharma is followed by an account of the Buddha's relationship to the five first monks in their previous lives in the distant past, told to explain the karmic reasons underlying the present episode.
• 《百業》（《業百譚》，Toh 340）。這是一部故事選集，編纂目的是說明從一生到另一生的業的因果。其中包含了佛陀生平中許多著名故事——除了其他各種敘事類型外——還有許多與根本說一切有部律藏中相同故事的相關和措辭相似的平行文本。關於法輪第一次轉動的敘述之後，是關於佛陀與五位最初的比丘在遙遠過去前世中的關係的敘述，用來說明現在這一事件背後潛在的業的原因。
i.5Lastly, the teaching is also found as part of the Lalitavistarasūtra:
i.5最後，這個教法也出現在《方廣大莊嚴經》中：
• The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95). In this lengthy account of the Buddha’s deeds the teaching on the four truths has many similarities with the other texts, yet clearly belongs to another manuscript tradition as there are a number of significant differences as well. Here the teaching is found in the penultimate chapter (ch. 26), entitled “Turning the Wheel of Dharma.”
• 《方廣大莊嚴經》（Lalitavistara，藏經號95）。在這部關於佛陀事蹟的長篇記述中，四諦的教法與其他文本有許多相似之處，但明顯屬於另一個手稿傳統，因為也存在許多重要的差異。在這部經典中，該教法出現在倒數第二章（第26章），章名為「轉法輪」。
i.6In general, the plethora of versions that exist of this teaching in Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan are very similar, yet all of them contain a number of idiosyncrasies—some minor, others significant—that set them apart from the rest. These differences have been studied in great detail over the last two centuries and a rich body of scholarship on the philological and theoretical aspects of this teaching has emerged. As a result, we now know that the teaching on the four truths as we today find it included in the various canons is the product of several editorial revisions over the centuries. The “original” version of this teaching consequently remains elusive, as does the role played by this teaching in the earliest days of the Buddhist tradition.
i.6總體而言，這項教導在巴利文、梵文、漢文和藏文中存在的眾多版本非常相似，但它們都包含一些特殊之處——有些微小，有些相當重要——使它們彼此區別開來。在過去兩個世紀裡，學者們對這些差異進行了深入細緻的研究，並在這項教導的語文和理論方面產生了豐富的學術成果。因此，我們現在知道，今天在各種佛經藏經中所看到的四諦教導是經過幾個世紀多次編輯修訂的產物。這項教導的「原始」版本因此仍難以確定，這項教導在佛教傳統早期所發揮的作用也是如此。
i.7As these scriptures became the focus of scholarly attention, a number of translations both from the Pali and Sanskrit have been produced. The translation presented here has been made on the basis of the Tibetan translation of The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma (Toh 337). As mentioned above, this text is with minor exceptions identical to the corresponding sections in Toh 1, Toh 6, and Toh 331. Toh 337 contains no mention of the translators, but the translator of Toh 1 is listed as the Tibetan Kawa Paltseg (ka ba dpal brtsegs), who was a prolific translator during the early period of Tibetan translations, which took place at the beginning of the ninth century. Unfortunately, the Sanskrit version that formed the basis for Kawa Paltseg’s translation of Toh 1 is no longer extant. The Sanskrit manuscript of the Saṅghabhedavastu that is available to us today (Gnoli 1977) has enough differences from the Tibetan translation for us to conclude that it was not the text that was used to produce the Tibetan translation. Nevertheless, it does represent an important witness of the Sanskrit, and our translation benefitted greatly from comparing it with the Tibetan. Our main sources were the Degé prints of Toh 1, Toh 301, and Toh 337, taking into account the variants noted in the Pedurma comparative edition of each.
i.7隨著這些經典成為學術研究的焦點，許多派利語和梵語譯本相繼問世。本譯文是以藏文版的《法輪經》（Toh 337）為基礎進行翻譯的。如上所述，這部經典除了細微差異外，與Toh 1、Toh 6和Toh 331中的相應部分基本相同。Toh 337中沒有提及譯者的名字，但Toh 1的譯者被列為藏人喀巴·拜次格，他是九世紀初期藏文翻譯初期的一位多產譯者。遺憾的是，喀巴·拜次格翻譯Toh 1所依據的梵文原文已經遺失。我們現在能夠取得的《僧團分別事》梵文手稿（Gnoli 1977）與藏文譯本存在足夠的差異，足以說明它不是被用來製作藏文譯本的原文。儘管如此，它確實代表了梵文的一份重要證據，我們的譯文通過與藏文的對比受益匪淺。我們的主要來源是德格版的Toh 1、Toh 301和Toh 337，並考慮了每部經典的《彼得瑪》對比版本中所記載的異文。