律相感通傳 1.81

1.81

答云：「立塔為於前緣，多是神靈所造，人有見者少，故文字少傳。楊雄、劉向尋於藏書，往往見有佛經，豈非秦前已有經塔？今衡嶽南可五六百里，在永州北，有大川，東西五百餘里，南北百餘里。川中昔有人住數十萬家，今生諸巨樹，大者徑二三丈，下無草木，深林可愛。中有大江，東流入湘江，尋㵎覓之即得。川南有谷北出。入谷有方池，四方砌石，水深龍居，有犯者輒雷震。山谷左側多出橘柚楊梅之屬，列植相次。池南有育王大塔，石華捧之，上以石龕覆而與地平。塔東崖上具有碑記，篆書可識。登梯抄取，足知立塔之由。衡山南，大明師置寺處，亦有石塔（云云）。其寺南北十餘里，七處八會，流渠靜院，處處皆立。」

He replied, "The erection of stūpas was due to prior karmic conditions; most were built by divine spirits, and few humans saw them, which is why little has been handed down in writings. When Yang Xiong and Liu Xiang searched through the library collections, they frequently saw Buddhist sūtras; how could there not have been sūtras and stūpas before the Qin? Now, about five or six hundred li south of Mount Heng, north of Yong Prefecture, there is a great plain extending more than five hundred li east to west and more than one hundred li north to south. Formerly, several hundreds of thousands of households dwelt upon this plain; today, various giant trees grow there, the largest having diameters of two to three zhang, with no undergrowth beneath them, forming an enchanting deep forest. In its midst is a great river that flows east into the Xiang River; you can find it by following the ravine. South of the plain is a valley leading north. Entering the valley, there is a square pool walled with stone on all four sides; its waters are deep and a dragon dwells there, and if anyone offends it, thunder strikes immediately. The left side of the mountain valley produces many fruits such as mandarin oranges, pomelos, and waxberries, planted neatly in succession. South of the pool is a great stūpa of King Aśoka upheld by stone lotuses, covered from above with a stone shrine level with the ground. On the cliff east of the stūpa there is a complete stele inscription, decipherable in seal script. By mounting a ladder to transcribe it, one will fully know the reasons for establishing the stūpa. South of Mount Heng, where Master Daming established a monastery, there is also a stone stūpa (and so forth). That monastery extends more than ten li north to south, with seven locations and eight assemblies, running channels and quiet courtyards, established everywhere."