歷代三寶紀 4.2

4.2

後漢錄者。光武皇帝第四子莊繼立。諡為孝明帝。至永平七年夜夢金人身長丈六。項佩日輪飛空而至。光明赫奕照於殿庭。旦集群臣令占所夢。通人傅毅進奉對云。臣聞西方有神名佛。陛下所見將必是乎。帝以為然。欣感靈瑞詔遣使者。羽林中郎秦景博士弟子王遵等一十四人。往適天竺。於月支國遇攝摩騰。寫得佛經四十二章并獲畫像。載以白馬還達雒陽。因起伽藍名白馬寺。諸州競立報白馬恩。長安舊城青門道左二百餘步中興寺右。即是白馬寺之遺基。於即翻譯四十二章經。緘置蘭臺石室閣內。自爾釋教相繼雲興。沙門信士接踵傳譯。孝桓帝世又以金銀作佛形像。至孝靈帝光和三年。遣中大夫於雒陽佛塔寺中。飯諸沙門。懸繒燒香散華燃燈。光和七年。張角等謀誅其逆黨內外姻屬。諸事老子妖巫醫卜並皆廢之。其有奉佛五戒勿坐。自秦世沙門釋利防。及前漢劉向校書天閣已來。至此始有定錄。經則四十二章為首。人則迦葉摩騰最初。迄於獻帝建安末齡。其間一百五十二年。歷十一主。華戎道俗十有二人。兼摭舊遺更補先闕。並古失譯。合出經律三百五十九部。四百二十七卷。為後漢錄運乎斯軸。庶有披覽鑒瞻古今。時代散聚經典離合。明揚盛化法寶備焉。

Regarding the Catalogue of the Later Han: Zhuang, the fourth son of Emperor Guangwu, succeeded to the throne, posthumously titled Emperor Xiaoming. In the seventh year of the Yongping reign, he dreamt by night of a golden man sixteen feet tall, wearing a solar disk upon the nape of his neck, who flew through the void and arrived, radiant and luminous, illuminating the palace courtyard. At dawn, he assembled the courtiers and ordered them to divine the dream. The broadly learned Fu Yi stepped forward and replied: "Your servant has heard that in the west there is a spirit named the Buddha; might what Your Majesty saw not be he?" The emperor considered this so. Rejoicing and stirred by the numinous omen, he issued an edict dispatching envoys: Qin Jing, Palace Gentleman of the Feather Forest, Wang Zun, a disciple of the Erudites, and others, fourteen people in all, to proceed to Tianzhu. In the country of the Yuezhe, they encountered She Moteng, copied the Sūtra of Forty-two Sections, and obtained painted images. Loading them onto white horses, they returned to Luoyang. Thereupon a saṅghārāma was erected and named the White Horse Monastery. Various prefectures vied to establish them to repay the favor of the white horses. Over two hundred paces to the left of the Qing Gate Road in the old city of Chang'an, to the right of Zhongxing Monastery, lies the remaining foundation of the White Horse Monastery. The Sūtra of Forty-two Sections was then translated and sealed away inside the pavilion of the Stone Chamber of the Orchid Terrace. From then on, the teachings of Śākya arose like clouds in succession, and śramaṇas and faithful devotees translated and transmitted them one after another. In the reign of Emperor Xiaohuan, Buddha images were also made of gold and silver. In the third year of the Guanghe reign of Emperor Xiaoling, a Grand Palace Grandee was dispatched to feast the śramaṇas at the stūpa monastery in Luoyang, hanging silk banners, burning incense, scattering flowers, and lighting lamps. In the seventh year of the Guanghe reign, when Zhang Jue and others plotted rebellion, their treasonous faction and maternal and paternal relatives were executed; all practices of Laozi, deceptive shamans, physicians, and diviners were abolished, while those who upheld the Buddha's five precepts were not implicated. From the śramaṇa Shi Lifang in the Qin era and Liu Xiang's collation of books in the Heavenly Pavilion in the Western Han down to this point, an established catalogue first appeared. For sūtras, the Forty-two Sections is the foremost; for persons, Kāśyapa Mātanga is the very first. Down to the final years of the Jian'an reign of Emperor Xian, during those one hundred and fifty-two years, spanning eleven sovereigns, twelve persons—both Chinese and non-Chinese, monastic and lay—supplemented earlier omissions and gathered old remnants, together with ancient anonymous translations, bringing forth a total of 359 scriptures and Vinaya works in 427 fascicles. These form the Catalogue of the Later Han contained in this roll. It is hoped that those who unroll and read it will observe past and present, the dispersal and gathering of eras, and the division and combination of scriptures, so that the glorious transformation will be clearly illuminated and the treasures of the Dharma will be complete.