中天竺舍衛國祇洹寺圖經 1.55

1.55

Inside the upper storey of the western terraced pavilion of the front hall, there are sixty-four Mount Sumerus, all fashioned jointly from the three colors of dark-blue, white, and emerald jade. Below the mountains, the surrounding sea has the seven treasures as its shores. Within the great mountains there are eight billion pearl belvederes; corresponding to each belvedere, there are images of the Buddha attaining enlightenment, subduing the celestial Māra, turning the wheel of the Dharma, entering parinirvāṇa, and so forth. Above each mountain king there are hundreds of thousands of Buddha-realms, and upon the summit of the central mountain is a great jeweled belvedere. It was in this belvedere that Kāśyapa Tathāgata preached the Suvikrāntadevaputraparipṛcchā, the Cintācchatra, and the Avataṃsaka, each in one hundred thousand gāthās. Within this terraced pavilion is the basket of sūtras preached by the Buddhas of the Nakṣatrakalpa. In the center of the terrace, there is a white-silver pillar of three thousand tiers; atop the three thousand tiers of the pillar, ten billion celestial children ride golden lions, constantly playing celestial music to make offerings to the aforementioned scriptures. Within the music they mostly expound the universal great assembly and the conduct of Samantabhadra. At the head of the pillar is a great garuḍa jewel-king, holding seven golden bells in its beak. When the time arrives, the jewel-king sounds of itself, and the sound of the bells peals forth, their sound shaking the great chiliocosm, summoning the bodhisattvas of the nine stages and the Buddhas of the ten directions to assemble together at this terrace, where they mostly expound the Buddhas' supernatural transformations that shake heaven and earth. The various paintings and reckonings of the Buddhas of antiquity are all gathered upon this terrace. On the back of the jewel-king, the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra rides a white elephant king; whenever someone receives the full ordination, he emits a light from between his brows, arrayed in three bands: the first shines upon the platform where the Buddhas established the precepts; the second shines upon the bhikṣuṇī ordination platform; and the third shines upon the great saṃgha's ordination platform. When the light reaches above the three platforms, it transforms into platforms of myriad jeweled flowers. According with each platform, hundreds of thousands of Buddhas expound the vows and conduct of Samantabhadra, praising the merit of upholding the precepts. This terraced pavilion was built jointly by Maitreya and Vimalakīrti in the eleventh year after the Buddha's attainment of enlightenment. It still remained for three years after the Buddha's nirvāṇa; after this, Sāgara Nāgarāja gathered it and took it into the sea. Inside the middle storey of the jeweled terrace, there is a great jeweled lotus flower situated in a pool of seven treasures. Within the pool, golden nāgas hold flowers in their mouths, coiling and abiding atop the flowers. There are also 1.3 billion belvederes of seven treasures, and within the belvederes are white-jade jeweled stūpas; on the stūpas are depictions of Vimalakīrti and Mañjuśrī conversing together. On the exterior of the stūpas there are great maṇi jewels. When the time arrives, they emit a sound that reaches throughout the great chiliocosm, its tone like a celestial drum. They also emit radiance, which together with the sound goes to the Buddha-lands of other directions. Nirmāṇa-buddhas within the light expound the great birthless wisdom of the Tathāgatas. Those who hear the Dharma may attain the forbearance of phenomena, up to the third or fourth fruits. On the six fast-days, the lotus flowers open; those with merit can see them, but if they see them remain closed, they are persons of meager merit. Whenever anyone receives the full ordination, the golden nāgas spit water directly onto the ordination platform, transforming into fragrant clouds that rain down various fragrant rains. When the matter is completed, it ceases. These various meritorious features were made by Kanakamuni Buddha. Formerly they were in the nāga palace, and Sāgara Nāgarāja brought them to make offerings. When the Buddha passed into extinction and was about to be cremated, the lotus flowers and pool came through the sky and appeared. After the cremation was completed, the golden nāgas, as before, spewed clouds and poured rain, extinguishing the fires of the cremation. Furthermore, following Kāśyapa to the ordination platform, a great voice came forth from the golden mouths. The maṇi jewel-king emitted a great radiance, and from within the light a voice came forth, asking thirteen questions. The Venerable Ānanda answered according to the questions. After three days, they followed Sāgara Nāgarāja back to their place of origin. Underneath the middle tier of the jeweled terrace, great nāga kings stand. Each has nāga subordinates, who perform submerging and swallowing. They were crafted by Mahābrahmā. There are eight golden bells and statues of the various nāga kings. At times, the nāga kings strike the bells with their own hands; the sound reaches the hells of the small chiliocosm, and those who hear it have their myriad sufferings briefly cease. After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, Śakra took them up into the Nandana Park to make offerings to them in person.