中天竺舍衛國祇洹寺圖經 2.68

2.68

大日本國純一無雜，大乘之域，而幽顯歸于我千有餘歲於斯矣。未曾聞信邪小，蓋金口之懸記不徒然耳。是以名藍、大剎星列碁布，佛說祖教月照岳立，故我大智律師初震于此經，所謂逸書，今尚存也。然異境之俗，不知天龍鬼神冥助土木之功，而謗吾以殿宇費財產而蠧國家也。由是或蒙天誅，或陷貶謫，偶看此經者，免彼難而已矣。此余憤鏤以傳無窮之微意也。或曰：此經也寓言鬼神，而其說甚怪也，誰敢容焉？蒙謂釋典怪說，凡俗中賢哲尚知信用之，況形廁緇林還輕忽之，則可謂枯槁眾生也。且寓言鬼神也者，道世之為開敏也，贊寧之為弘雅也，仰信之，俯會之。嗚！今人道愧于先達，學謝于後生，輒生過慢無有此處。第疑猶間，有三已之訛，雖然他本難得，不能訂正焉；祖意難量，不能改削焉。故和點有，亦不決也，敢期後君子云。

The Great Land of Japan is purely unified without mixture, a domain of the Mahāyāna, and both the unseen and the manifest have turned to us for over a thousand years now. Never have we heard of believing in heterodox or Hinayana teachings; the prediction from the Golden Mouth was certainly not in vain. For this reason, famous monasteries and great temples are spread like stars and distributed like chess pieces; the Buddha's teachings and the ancestral doctrines shine like the moon and stand like mountains. Therefore, our Vinaya Master of Great Wisdom [Daoxuan] first caused this scripture to vibrate here; this so-called lost text still survives today. However, the customs of other lands do not know of the invisible aid given to civil engineering by devas, nāgas, ghosts, and spirits, and instead slander us, claiming that halls and chambers waste wealth and sap the state. Because of this, some have suffered heavenly punishment, while others have met with banishment; those who happen to read this scripture will avoid those calamities, and that is all. This is my humble intention in indignantly carving the blocks to transmit it endlessly. Someone might say: 'This scripture speaks allegorically of ghosts and spirits, and its accounts are extremely bizarre; who would dare accept it?' I say: regarding strange accounts in Buddhist texts, even the worthy and wise among the mundane world know to trust and use them; how much more so if those who physically belong to the black-robed sangha instead disparage them—they could truly be called desiccated sentient beings! Moreover, as for allegorical tales of ghosts and spirits, Daoshi was perceptive and discerning, and Zanning was broad and refined; both revered and trusted them, and bowed to harmonize with them. Alas! Today's men are ashamed of the predecessors and lack the scholarship of later generations, arbitrarily giving rise to excessive arrogance; there is no place for this. As for doubts and uncertainties, there are errors like the confusion between the characters 'san' and 'yi'; nonetheless, other manuscripts are hard to obtain, so they cannot be emended; the ancestors' intention is difficult to fathom, so they cannot be altered or excised. Therefore, Japanese reading marks have been provided, yet without definitive decisions, daring to leave it to future gentlemen.