國清百錄 2.48

2.48

Yang Guang, disciple, Bearer of the Tally, Upper Pillar of the State, Grand Defender, Area Commander-in-Chief of Yangzhou in Charge of All Military Affairs, Regional Inspector of Yangzhou, and Prince of Jin, bows his head. I reverently invoke all Buddhas of the ten directions and three periods of time, the root teacher Śākyamuni Tathāgata, the next successor Maitreya who is to descend into this land, all the revered sūtras, the immeasurable Dharma-jewel, all the revered great-power Mahāsattvas from the initial resolve upward to the Diamond [stage] and downward, the pratyekabuddhas, individually liberated and clearly awakened, the twenty-seven worthy and noble ones, those with the divine eye of others' minds and the eye of the Way up to the summit of the three existences, the eighteen Brahmā kings, the devaputras of the six desire [heavens], Śakra Lord of the Devas, the Four Great Heavenly Kings, the devas, ṛṣis, nāgas, and spirits, flying and soaring, hidden and manifest, who uphold the world and produce great benefit, protect stūpas, defend the Dharma, guard our bodies and preserve our lives, and the immeasurable good spirits who safeguard the pure precepts: may they all, in the space of a single thought-moment, rely on the Buddha's spiritual power to assemble together at this bodhimaṇḍa, bear witness to the disciple's vows, and accept the disciple's merit. I humbly consider that when consciousness stirs in darkness, that very thing is the Tathāgata-nature; when one falls headlong into ignorance, the fundamental existence is not yet manifested. When principles and numbers reach their limit, things turn back: wishing to manifest the future fruit, one must accumulate the cause. Thus did the Tamer and World Hero pass through life and death; using grass and wood as counting rods, [his lives] could not be reckoned; their aggregation like sands of the Ganges is indeed hard to conceive; only after being deeply tainted by worldly toils could he feel revulsion and detachment. When the Dharma King initiated his transformation, he fundamentally converted bodhisattvas, just as when the sun rises it first illuminates the high mountains, according with the capacities of their faculties as an expedient means, just as all the diverse streams pay homage to the great sea. The disciple has inherited an accumulation of goodness and was born into the imperial family; early on I hastened to heed the family instructions and was steeped from youth in the bequeathal of teachings. Where blessings and principles converge, the wondrous mechanism must be awakened to: feeling ashamed of the ruggedness of the small path, I long to wander at ease in the Great Vehicle; laughing at resting in the conjured city, I vow to sail a boat to the other shore. Yet for the myriad practices of the Great Being, the good of the precepts comes first; among the ten receptions of the bodhisattva, exclusive adherence is supreme. It is like building a palace: one must rely on the foundation; trying to build it in empty space will never succeed. Disregarding my own mediocre ignorance, I have also heard that the gates of Confucius, Laozi, and Śākya all rely on smelting and casting: without standards and models, to what could I look up? Truly, Śākyamuni the Muni was originally the preceptor (upādhyāya), and Mañjuśrī secretly served as the ācārya, yet one must rely on human teachers to visibly transmit [the precepts]. The holy transmission proceeds from near to far, and through resonance it penetrates. Sadāprarudita exhausted his marrow for the sake of the inexhaustible; the youth Sudhana forgot his body in the Dharmadhātu. There is clear scriptural evidence; how could I dare invent my own view? With deep faith in the Buddha's words, I respectfully follow the clear guide. Dhyāna Master Zhiyi of Tiantai is a dragon and elephant of the Buddha's Dharma; having left home while still a pure youth, his precept-jewel is perfectly pure; approaching sixty years of age, the waters of his concentration are deep and clear; through tranquility he brings forth wisdom and dwells peacefully in unhindered eloquence; putting others before himself, his modesty and yielding form a prevailing style; his reputation is heard everywhere, and he is a good friend to all. For this reason, the disciple sent my devout sincerity afar and commanded a vessel to invite him from afar, constantly fearing that unfavorable conditions might lead to obstacles and delays. Once he arrived, my heart's path became open and unobstructed, and as the clouds and mists were swept away, my afflictions dissolved. Respectfully, on this twenty-third day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year of Kaihuang, having arranged a vegetarian meal for a thousand monks at the Area Command's Jincheng, I respectfully invited the Dhyāna Master to confer the bodhisattva precepts. The precept is called 'filial piety' and also called 'restraint'; through the perfections of expedient means and wisdom, one returns to parents and reveres the ultimate. With these superior blessings, I reverently dedicate them to assist the Most Sovereign Empress, to create great adornment, to share the Tathāgata's compassion, to universalize all Buddhas' love, and to regard the four kinds of beings equally as an only child. On this very day, the disciple plants the karma of Rāhula, to be reborn in the Buddha's house life after life, like the eight princes of Candrasūryapradīpa, like the sixteen novices of Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū; may our retinue and karmic connections become Dharma companions together, all departing the stream of existence and reaching the unconditioned realm, equitably practicing the six perfections, harmoniously dwelling in the four immeasurables, liberating the inexhaustible sentient beings without end, tying the knot of the great resolve (saṃnāha) at the initial aspiration, and ultimately meeting disasters with great compassion. Vast and distant like the Dharmadhātu, ultimate like empty space, fully accomplished, may all be fulfilled in the ocean of vows. Yang Guang bows in reverence.