勅修百丈清規 2.14

2.14

Heaven inaugurated the nation of Yuan and magnanimously created the

great sage as its counselor. The path he followed was honorable and

supreme, and he indeed became a spiritual ruler by creating the Mon-

gol script. He quietly helped the foundation of cultural conversion and

privately assisted the imperial rule. When he spoke, his speech became

a religious text. When he lifted his foot, his act became rule. His rank

was among a thousand Buddhas, the generosity he extended matched

that of earth, and his supreme intelligence matched that of heaven. The

highest honor was shown him by the posthumous title, “Above the

Emperor.” Honoring his memorial day today, we look upon his gra-

cious illumination more admiringly than ever. We earnestly pray that

his holiness may once again ride on the carriage of vows and help the

governance and transformation of the populace with the universal lan-

guage of all seas, and, taking pity in the present age of spiritual decline,

rekindle the principle of religion unchanged for a thousand years.

3. A Brief Biography of the Religious Counselor

The imperial counselor of religion, Baheshiba (’Phags-pa), whose ordained

name was Huichuangxianjixiang, was a man of Tibet. He was born on the

thirteenth day of the fourth month in the year of the “sixth stem and boar.” His father was called Suonangancang. During the beginning of Tibet, there was a national master of Buddhism, Śāntarakṣita (Chanhengluojida) by name. He realized the supreme insight and acquired the supernatural powers, and his descendants equally excelled in spiritual matters and religious practice through successive transmission. The rulers of that country honored them as their religious counselors. The man of the seventeenth generation, Sasijiawa (Sakya-pa) by name, was the paternal uncle of the master. As he was by birth well endowed [in intelligence], he studied under his uncle and was able to chant from memory a thousand or two of the sacred gāthās and secret verses just by silently reading through them. At the age of seven, he gave his first lecture and demonstrated his speech, showing himself to be well versed and totally commanding.

At the age of fifteen, in the year of the “tenth stem and ox,” he came to know that the heavenly mandate would fall to Emperor Shizu, Longdeyuanqian (Kublai Khan). He traveled swiftly on horseback to reach the capital in order to officiate for him at the ordination ceremony of the Buddhist laity for Xianzong, his queen Zhongwei, and the Crown Prince (i.e., Shizu), imparting special meaning to the event of their conversion. After six years had passed, in the year of the “seventh stem and monkey,” Shizu ascended the throne and established the Yuan dynasty in the Zhongtong era. Thereupon, the master was appointed “national master” and granted the imperial seal to administer Buddhist religious affairs throughout the country, separating, for the first time, religious matters from secular affairs. Four years later, bidding farewell to the emperor, he returned west. However, he was called back before a year had passed. In the seventh year of Zhiyuan, the “seventh stem and horse,” he was entrusted with the task of creating a new set of scripts as standard for the great Yuan empire. Singlehandedly he carried out the task, and before even a day had passed he successfully formulated patterns and strokes into a system of letters. Since his accomplishment was profoundly satisfactory to imperial expectation, a decree was immediately issued for the prompt enactment of its usage throughout the respective divisions of capitals, provinces, prefectures, and districts. The system of the new scripts became the greatest law of the age. The master was appointed religious counselor to the throne, the spiritual ruler embodying the great treasure of the Buddha-Dharma, and was granted the imperial seal.

Once again the master returned to the west. Eleven years later, the

emperor sent a special envoy to officially invite him back to the capital. Dur-

ing his visit to the capital, he refused the emperor’s request to stay there and

returned to his temple [in Tibet]. Despite imperial efforts, he could not be

persuaded to remain in the capital. On the twenty-second day of the eleventh

month in the seventeenth year of Jiyuan, the master passed away. Upon learn-

ing of his death, the emperor could hardly bear his dear memory and ordered

a great stupa built in the capital in order to enshrine the ashes of the master.

The circular structure of this stupa was beautifully decorated in gold and

dark blue, and indeed the building had no equal, past or present. (The fore-

going biography is found in the epigraphy composed by Hanlin scholars such