佛頂尊勝陀羅尼經教跡義記 1.26

1.26

第九翻譯時節者，西南國名罽賓，有婆羅門名佛陀波利，生居末法不覩聖容，遍覽圖書披撿經論，聞大士文殊師利在五臺山，為諸菩薩說《華嚴經》，遂即錫杖隨身，衣鉢隨體，發自天竺來詣震旦。至儀鳳元年到五臺山下，有黑雲靉靉、白霧莽莽，來路莫知、去道誰辨，遂即誠心頂禮五體歸依，須臾之間雲開霧散，煥然除蕩無有烟雲。次復前行數十餘里，乃見地聳高山、天連翠嶺，崇神勵志徐步緩登，過五里已來，忽見瑞雲如蓋，乃益悲泣流淚，合掌歎曰：「人是凡人，聖是大聖，自非冥加，何以得見？」未舉首頃，忽見一老人，素服皓首，儀宇肅然，具婆羅門音，謂佛陀波利曰：「大德遠來，甚大辛苦。」波利曰：「故來禮謁文殊，豈辭辛苦。」老人曰：「此土眾生造罪者多，修福者少，死入地獄者無量無邊，生諸淨土者萬中無一。其尊勝陀羅尼者，甚救此土眾生，不審大德將經來以否？」佛陀波利曰：「但是經論一不將來，但為禮拜文殊，故來至此。」老人曰：「大德！可却還西國取此經來，廣利群品，開天堂門、濟地獄苦，後會相見必示文殊，縱今得見未必能識。」言訖忽然不見。時佛陀波利如喪所親悲泣懊惱，於是杖策西乘，屢移寒暑周遊九萬里，來去十餘年。永淳二歲還至大唐，所將梵本奉進宮闕，並具老人事由委悉同時俱奉。是月蒙垂屢問優賓特殊，爰勅右司賜絹三十匹。時中天竺國譯經三藏地婆訶羅，唐云日照，宣風五印、流化九州，勅令請此法師，並追典客令杜行顗等於內翻譯，翰簡斯畢奉獻于聖。曾所未聞倍常珍敬，每日先披數遍，後履萬機，祕之內宮無令外有。波利竊惟云：「應感此神人備說尊勝功能，此土含生蒙潤，豈復九重有賴，萬姓無憑？比者委命捐生不辭勞苦，冀望天人福利幽顯有安。」於是表叫紫微庶流玄澤，載布經本傅示未聞。皇上愍此懇誠，允其前志，勅令未傳者附、已譯者留。既遂本懷悲欣交集，頂戴跪受百倍恒心。然貝葉天文未訣句義，若無重譯豈訓將來？沙門順貞，西明寺僧也，妙閑梵語，彌解經文，乃與大德測法師，並罽賓三藏，於西明寺再更翻出，即日照三藏所譯於先，波利法師所翻於後，雖文質少異而義理不殊，尋其兩本是永淳二年之翻也。波利還齎梵本入五臺山，自爾迄今音塵無嗣，是知大權方便文殊引接，千歲一遇其此之謂歟。羅什古譯，還有一本。

Ninth, regarding the time and circumstances of the translation: In a southwestern country named Kashmir (Jibin), there was a Brahmin named Buddhāpali. Living in the Latter Age of the Dharma, he could not behold the holy countenance. Perusing maps and books, examining scriptures and treatises, he heard that the Great Being Mañjuśrī was on Mount Wutai expounding the Avataṃsaka Sūtra for the bodhisattvas. Thereupon, with his monk's staff accompanying him and robe and bowl clinging to his person, he set out from India and came to Cīnasthāna. In the first year of the Yifeng era, arriving at the foot of Mount Wutai, there were dark clouds looming and dense white mist all around, such that the path whence he came was unknown and the way forward could not be discerned. Thereupon, with a sincere heart, he bowed his head and made full prostrations with five limbs in refuge. In an instant, the clouds parted, the mist dispersed, and all was brightly cleared without any haze. Next, walking forward several tens of li, he saw high mountains soaring from the earth and azure ridges reaching to the heavens. Inspiring his spirit and spurring his resolve, he climbed at an unhurried pace. After going more than five li, he suddenly saw auspicious clouds like a canopy; thereupon, weeping tears of sorrow all the more, he joined his palms and sighed, saying: "A human is merely an ordinary person, while the Sage is the Great Sage. If not for unseen assistance, how could I behold him?" Before he could lift his head, he suddenly saw an old man with plain clothes and white hair, of dignified and solemn demeanor, speaking with a Brahmin's voice, who said to Buddhāpali: "Virtuous one, having come from afar, you have suffered great hardship." Pāli said: "I have come expressly to pay homage to Mañjuśrī; how could I shrink from hardship?" The old man said: "The sentient beings of this land mostly create sins, and few cultivate blessings; those who die and enter hell are immeasurable and boundless, while those born in the pure lands are not one in ten thousand. The Uṣṇīṣavijayā Dhāraṇī is capable of greatly saving the sentient beings of this land. May I ask whether you, virtuous one, brought this scripture or not?" Buddhāpali said: "I have not brought any scriptures or treatises whatsoever; I have come here solely to pay homage to Mañjuśrī." The old man said: "Virtuous one, you should return to the Western countries to fetch this sūtra, so as to broadly benefit the myriad beings, open the gates of heaven, and rescue the suffering of hell! When we meet again later, Mañjuśrī will certainly be revealed to you; even if you were to see him now, you might not recognize him." Having finished speaking, he suddenly disappeared. At that time, Buddhāpali wept and lamented as if he had lost his own parent. Thereupon, leaning on his staff, he rode west, repeatedly braving cold and heat, traveling ninety thousand li back and forth for more than ten years. In the second year of the Yongchun era, he returned to the Great Tang, and presented the Sanskrit text he had brought to the imperial palace, simultaneously offering a detailed account of the old man's story. In that month, he received repeated imperial inquiries and was granted exceptional treatment as a distinguished guest; an imperial decree was issued ordering the Right Department to bestow thirty bolts of silk. At that time, Divākara (in Tang called Rizhao), a Tripiṭaka translator from Central India who spread the teachings across the five Indias and transformed the nine provinces, was summoned by imperial decree, and the Grand Court Receptionist Du Xingyi and others were drafted to translate it within the palace. When the translation on paper was completed, it was presented to His Majesty. Having never heard of it before, he treasured and revered it far beyond the ordinary; every day he first read through it several times before attending to the myriad affairs of state, keeping it secret within the inner palace and not allowing it to spread outside. Pāli secretly reflected, saying: "In response to this divine person, who fully expounded the functions and merits of the Vijayā, the living beings of this land were to receive its moisture; how could it be that only the imperial palace enjoys its reliance, while the common people have nothing to depend upon? Recently, I risked my life and cast aside my body without shirking hardship, hoping that humans and gods would obtain blessings and benefits, and that the unseen and the manifest would both find peace." Thereupon, he submitted a memorial to the Imperial Court, wishing that the profound grace might flow forth, widely distributing the scripture's text to make it known to those who had not yet heard it. The Emperor, pitying this earnest sincerity, granted his former wish, decreeing that copies not yet distributed be handed over, while the already translated draft be retained. Having fulfilled his original wish, with mingled sorrow and joy, he reverently received it atop his head on bended knees, his devotion multiplied a hundredfold. However, the sentences and meanings of the palm-leaf Indian script were not yet fully deciphered; without a re-translation, how could it instruct future generations? The śramaṇa Shunzhen was a monk of Ximing Temple; he was exceptionally skilled in Sanskrit and deeply understood the sūtra texts. Thus, together with the great virtuous Master Ce and the Kashmiri Tripiṭaka master, he translated it anew at Ximing Temple. Thus Tripiṭaka Rizhao's translation was done first, and Dharma Master Pāli's translation was made later; although the style and plainness slightly differ, the doctrine and principles are not distinct. Tracing both versions, they were translated in the second year of Yongchun. Pāli took the Sanskrit text and re-entered Mount Wutai; from then until now, no word of him has followed. Thus we know this was the great skillful means of Mañjuśrī guiding and receiving him; can this not be called an encounter once in a thousand years? There is also another version translated anciently by Kumārajīva.