歷代三寶紀 9.185

9.185

The above one work, in five fascicles. Compiled by Yang Xuanzhi, Governor of Qicheng Commandery. His preface states: "The records of the Three Fen and Five Dian, and the sayings of the Nine Streams and the Hundred Schools, all have their principles in the realm of men, without reaching beyond the heavens. As for the fountainhead of the One Vehicle and the Two Truths, and the tenets of the Six Superknowledges and the Three Knowledges, the Western Regions detail them fully, but the eastern lands had no record. Ever since the sun inspired the dream and the full moon shed its radiance, the White Horse Gate was adorned with the image of the white tuft between the brows, and the night altars depicted the form of dark-blue hair. Thenceforth, competition surged and the custom spread wide. By the Jin dynasty's Yongjia era, there were only forty-two monasteries. When our August Wei received the mandate and illuminated Song and Luo, devout faith grew ever deeper and the teachings of the Dharma became increasingly flourishing. Kings, princes, and noble ministers cast aside elephants and horses like shedding sandals; commoners and affluent families renounced wealth and property as if discarding dust. Thereupon, cāturdiśa sanctuaries stood thick as teeth of a comb, and stūpas were spread out in lines, competing to replicate heavenly postures and vying to model the silhouettes of the mountains. Golden finials vied in height with Cloud Terrace, and lecture halls rivaled Epang Palace in grandeur. How could it merely be that trees were draped in silk and embroideries, or the soil smeared with vermilion and purple? When the Yongxi era brought many troubles, the imperial chariot relocated to Ye, and the monks and nuns of the various monasteries also migrated with the times. In the first year of the Wuding era, while traveling on official duty, I revisited Luoyang. The walls and buildings were ruined and fallen; brambles had formed a forest. Wild beasts burrowed in the deserted steps, and mountain birds gathered in the courtyard trees. Wandering boys and herd youths rambled on the nine avenues; old farmers ploughed and grew millet between the twin gate towers. Only then did I know that the sorrow of sprouting wheat did not belong to the ruins of Yin alone, and the lament for drooping millet was indeed true of the Zhou house. Inside and outside the capital city there were formerly more than one thousand monasteries, yet today all is desolate and the sound of bells is rarely heard. Fearing that no account would be transmitted to future generations, I compiled this record. However, as the monasteries are exceedingly numerous and could not all be described, what is recorded here is limited to the large saṅghārāmas. Among them, smaller ones are included only for auspicious wonders or worldly mundane affairs. Beginning first with the interior of the city, proceeding next to the outside of the city, gates are listed by name to record distance, making five sections in all. As my talent is not that of a commentator, there are many omissions; may future gentlemen examine what is lacking."