中天竺舍衛國祇洹寺圖經 1.6

1.6

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.