中天竺舍衛國祇洹寺圖經 1.6

1.6

夫寺塔之基，其源遠矣。自賢劫創啟，諸佛告成，引四生而開三聖，引五乘而會一極，莫不以革俗為出有之本，通理為入空之致，故使權圖匪定，而義實斯顯。所以道場別住，木石土宇，周徼短長，院坊小大。僧佛位殊，故設置斯別；凡聖性異，故禮供分倫。重門洞開，啟三七之嘉謂；林池交映，引四八之康途。表稱既彰，其尊亦穆。故十方清信，歸迹雲集，九界靈祇，投誠霧結。至於六師異道，傾影覆之威奇；四俗懷生，得真教之雅趣。

The foundation of monasteries and stūpas has a distant origin indeed. Since the initial opening of the bhadrakalpa, when the Buddhas declared their completion, guiding the four modes of birth to reveal the three sages, and guiding the five vehicles to converge at the single culmination, they have always taken the transformation of mundane habits as the basis for transcending existence, and the comprehension of the principle as the attainment of entering emptiness. Thus, expedient representations are not fixed, while the real significance is truly made evident through them. Therefore, sanctuaries are situated distinctly, with structures of wood, stone, and earth, the lengths of their perimeters, and the sizes of their cloisters and wards. The statuses of Sangha and Buddha are distinct; hence their arrangements differ. The natures of ordinary beings and sages are different; hence their rites and offerings are divided into tiers. The multi-tiered gates stand wide open, revealing the auspicious designation of the three and seven; the groves and ponds reflect each other, guiding along the smooth path of the four and eight. Once the outward indications are manifested, their dignity is also solemn. Therefore, pure believers from the ten directions gather their steps like clouds, and the divine spirits of the nine realms pledge their sincerity like gathering mists. As for the six teachers of divergent paths, their towering influence was overturned; the living beings of the four mundane castes attained the refined purport of the true teaching.