中天竺舍衛國祇洹寺圖經 1.8

1.8

Since the Great Sage entered extinction, in the course of one thousand six hundred years, the Jetavana has risen and fallen twenty times; its additions, losses, completions, and deficiencies all arose according to the needs of the occasion, thus causing illustrated accounts to be conflicting, relying on this to reach a definitive judgment. Among them, the loftiest reached extraordinary heights three times; the remaining constructions are not worthy of mention. At the beginning of the Sui, Dharma Master Lingyu of Weijun, whose fame and conduct had long been prominent and whose integrity and deportment were steadfast and far-reaching, compiled the Sigao, citing the Jetavana in full. However, because generations of men had lapsed and scriptures were rarely complete, his synthesis of Vinaya regulations lacked proper sequence in its narration of circumstances. Nevertheless, spreading gold to retain the trees, multi-storied pavilions and layered gates, towering over a thousand mu within seven days, and bells and metal instruments ringing distinctly throughout the hundred cloisters—to speak of this is of great significance. These matters transcend the ordinary scriptures, and in every case, it was through conditions that unified capacities that devas and humans assisted in accomplishing the task; through the principle of comprehensive resonance, nāgas and spirits aided in this divine work. In antiquity, it was heard that the Cakravartin King built stūpas, raising eighty thousand at one time; when the Great Being converted beings, his vast room accommodated the two forces of nature. How could it have been merely human design? Yet the original draft of the mysterious transmission is now lost. What is transmitted here is from a being born in the first heaven, one of the eight great generals of the Devarāja of the South. Seeing it from beginning to end over merely a single lunar month, having personally received the bequest and cherishing its propagation and protection in his heart, his compassionate aid was never obscured, and nothing escaped his sight and hearing; thus he transmitted this Illustrated Scripture to hand it down to future generations. May those who see it know that to which they should return; I have readily recorded its origins so that the core tradition will not be obscured.