中天竺舍衛國祇洹寺圖經 1.2

1.2

I have heard that the inception of living beings venerating merit and the foundation of returning to the truth lie in erecting caityas and gazing in reverent awe upon stūpas and statues; these accomplishments are truly magnificent! For instance, Anāthapiṇḍada spread yellow gold in Jeta's garden, and Udayana carved sandalwood into the statue of the Muni; the construction of the two stūpas for the fingernails and hair, and the two platforms for the robe and shadow—these were all established models already witnessed while the Tathāgata was in the world. Moreover, the true body is without form, manifesting only in response to receptive resonance. Because receptive resonance varies, responsive manifestations also differ. If the avenues of the mind are severed, the true image offers no response; yet when utmost sincerity reaches its peak, heaven and earth are moved. In antiquity, Pingzhong, grieving over a great drought, would have burned himself, whereupon the fire flared and rain arrived; the wife of Qi wept over the corpse of Liang Zhi, and the walls of Ju collapsed for her sake. Viewed from this perspective, that the divine conforms to the resonance of things—how could this be false? As the teaching of the Śākya gradually spread east, all submitted to its transformative influence, with statues, stūpas, and temples vying to be erected everywhere. When it came to the fortune of the Semblance and Final Dharma ages, the teachings declined, human sentiments became shallow and frivolous, and construction lacked standards. Flippancy and insolence arose from this, and ritual veneration was abandoned as a result. There was, however, an enlightened master titled the Teaching Master of Nanshan, the Great Master Chengzhao, whose propitious appearance benefited Cīnasthāna and who responded as an inaugural Vinaya master. Heaven and earth matched his great virtue, and the sun and moon joined his brilliant light. At the mysterious barriers and profound keys, he resonated and immediately penetrated; from the far source and deep waves, he dipped without exhausting them. Nāgas and spirits took refuge in and revered him; devas and humans lifted his feet. Alas! How could our patriarch's magnificent virtue ever be adequately praised? Yet, with boundless love, he did not abandon sentient beings. Fearing that in later generations those who constructed stūpas and temples would have no standard to display, he humbly relied upon divine inspirations and produced this two-fascicle Illustrated Scripture on the Jetavana. For people of an era of decline who cherish the Way, without the toil of journeying beyond the Jade Gate, traversing the blue-green peaks, and binding ropes and climbing pegs, to be able to view the sacred sites vividly as if in person—is this not the benefit of this scripture? During the calendar of the Great Song, although the spirit of the Vinaya flourished, this scripture had already been lost. When our Vinaya Master Dazhi chanced upon it in the land of the Rising Sun, it was brought back. That this book now exists once again in the land of Han is due to the deeds of our country. Although I chanced upon a single copy, it had suffered omissions and obliterations, and scribal errors were continuous; whenever I unfolded the scrolls, I never failed to heave a deep sigh. In recent years, due to certain circumstances, I moved to the Mahāyāna Vinaya Cloister at Iwashimizu Hachimangū-ji. The bhikṣu Jitsuchō said to me: "In the scriptorium, an intact old copy of the Illustrated Scripture on the Jetavana exists. The book halls of the Capital do not possess this scripture. If you commission carvers to print it on blocks and distribute it far and wide, I request that you place a word at the head of the scroll." I replied: "Alas! How could my crude words be appended to a sacred text?" Jitsuchō said: "A precious jewel causes hands to grasp swords, and a fine horse grows emaciated in a broker's market precisely because they arrive without an introduction. Alas! Why be excessively modest?" Moved by these words, I could no longer firmly decline, so I took up my brush and wrote this. At the time: