中天竺舍衛國祇洹寺圖經 2.9

2.9

Inside the south gate of the Great Courtyard, on the eastern side, is a platform built by the great King Brahmā. Facing a square pond to the west, it is called the ordination platform. The bhikṣu Rucika requested the Buddha to establish it. When he first wished to enact the precepts, he assembled the Buddhas of the ten directions. At that time, there were eighty billion [Buddhas] sharing the same name Śākya, and the Buddhas of the ten directions all shared that same name as well, when they initially founded the ordination platform. Once the platform was completed, the Buddhas mounted it and together expounded the rules of the precepts. The platform's magnificence was beyond this world, shaped like Sumeru, with niches and caves placed on its sides, all enshrining images of deities, with celestial gods constantly revering and guarding it. Around it were flower groves whose manifold forms were difficult to fathom. Only the Buddha mounted it; humans dared not ascend. Inside to the west of the gate was a platform built by the Demon King Māra, its ornamental grandeur matching that of the east. When nuns were first ordained, fearing the extinction of the True Dharma, [the Buddha] assembled the Buddhas to ascend the platform and deliberate; determining principles through a hundred deliberations, the four assemblies were established. Thus, these two platforms were only used when the Buddha officiated. From the above onward, the beams, buildings, platforms, ponds, towers, pavilions, and halls of the Buddha Courtyard have been described; outside them, rare flowers and strange trees were planted in rows, flourishing throughout the four seasons. The ground was like a clean mirror, without the slightest speck of weeds or filth. Thus, those who arrived smelled only fragrance; the pure environment thus accorded with these features and was named a bodhimaṇḍa. The name was established according to the setting, not set up in vain.