佛祖統紀 43.44

43.44

深州奏。陸澤縣人王緒牧牛田中。見一白兔。逐之入土穴中。探穴得石佛五十軀。制度奇古長皆尺餘。勅就邑寺奉安。像常放白光○六月譯經院成。詔天息災等居之。賜天息災明教大師。法天傳教大師。施護顯教大師令以所將梵本各譯一經。詔梵學僧法進常謹清沼等筆受綴文。光祿卿楊說兵部員外郎張洎潤文。殿直劉素監護。天息災述譯經儀式。於東堂面西粉布聖壇（作壇以粉飾之事在藏經）開四門。各一梵僧主之。持祕密呪七日夜。又設木壇布聖賢名字輪（壇形正圓。層列佛大士天神名佐。環遶其上如車輪之狀）目曰大法曼拏羅（此云大會）請聖賢阿伽沐浴（阿伽此云器。凡供養之器。皆稱曰阿伽。今言阿伽。乃是沐浴器）設香華燈水殽果之供。禮拜遶旋。祈請冥祐。以殄魔障第一譯主。正坐面外宣傳梵文。第二證義坐其左。與譯主評量梵文。第三證文坐其右。聽譯主高讀梵文。以驗差誤。第四書字梵學僧。審聽梵文書成華字。猶是梵音（kṛdaya。初翻為紇哩第野。sutraṃ為素怛覽）五筆受。翻梵音成華言（紇哩那野。再翻為心。素怛覽。翻為經）第六綴文。回綴文字使成句義（如筆受云照見五蘊彼自性空見此。今云照見五蘊皆空。大率梵音多先能後所。如念佛為佛念打鐘為鐘打。故須回綴字句以順此土之文）第七參譯。參考兩土文字使無誤。第八刊定。刊削冗長定取句義（如無無明無明。剩兩字。如上正遍知。上闕一無字）第九潤文。官於僧眾南向設位。參詳潤色（如心經度一切苦厄一句。元無梵本。又是故空中一句。是故兩字元無梵本）僧眾日日沐浴。三衣坐具。威儀整肅。所須受用悉從官給。天息災言。譯文有與御名廟諱同者。前代不避。若變文回避慮妨經旨。今欲依國學九經但闕點畫。詔答。佛經用字宜從正文。廟諱御名不須回避○七月天息災上新譯聖佛母經。法天上吉祥持世經。施護上如來莊嚴經。各一卷。詔兩街僧選義學沙門百人祥定經義。時左街僧錄神曜等言。譯場久廢傳譯至艱。天息災等即持梵文。先翻梵義。以華文證之。曜眾乃服○詔新經入藏開板流行。車駕親幸譯經院。召僧眾賜坐尉諭。賜臥具繒帛什物。度其院童子十人。悉取禁中所藏梵本令其翻譯○十二月詔選梵學沙門為筆受。義學沙門十人為證義。自是每歲誕節必獻新經。皆召坐賜齋以經付藏○詔曰。朕方隆教法用福邦家。其內外諸郡童行並與剃度○成都沙門光遠遊西天還。詣闕進西天竺王子沒徒曩表佛頂印貝多葉菩提樹葉。詔三藏施護譯其表曰。伏聞支那國（西竺指大唐為支那。今因舊以為稱也）有大天子。至聖至神富貴自在。自慚福薄無由朝謁。遠蒙皇恩賜金剛座釋迦如來袈裟一領。即已披挂供養。伏願支那皇帝。福慧圓滿壽命延長。一切有情度諸沈溺。謹以釋迦舍利附沙門光遠以進（奉金剛佛袈裟。兩朝未見遣送之實。今詳乾德四年行勤等應詔。西天求法。諸國並賜詔書。應以此年附獻也）八年六月。詔翰林贊寧修大宋高僧傳。寧乞歸錢唐撰述。詔許之○詔譯經院。賜名傳法。於西偏建印經院（今臨安傳法院。即東都譯經院。今但供奉入內道場法事）○成都先奉太祖勅造大藏經板成進上○勅太原成都鑄銅鐘。賜五臺峨眉名山遣挂之日。兩山皆有梵僧十餘。空中奉迎其鐘。聲聞百里○天息災等言。歷朝翻譯並藉梵僧。若遐阻不來則譯經廢絕。欲令兩街選童子五十人習學梵字。詔令高品王文壽選惟淨等十人引見便殿詔送譯經院受學。惟淨者江南李煜之姪。口受梵章即曉其義。歲餘度為僧。升梵學筆受。賜紫衣光梵大師○沙門法遇自西天來。獻佛頂舍利貝葉梵經。法遇化眾造龍寶蓋金襴袈裟。將再往中天竺金剛座所供養。乞給所經諸國書。詔賜三佛齊葛古羅柯蘭諸國勅書以遣之○泗州奏。僧伽塔白晝放光。士民然頂臂香供養者日千餘人。勅內侍奉釋迦舍利藏之塔下○上以新譯經。示宰臣曰。佛氏之教有裨政理普利群生。達者自悟淵源。愚者妄生誣謗。朕於此道微識其宗。凡為君而正心無私。即自利行也。凡行一善以安天下。即利他行也。如梁武捨身為奴。此小乘偏見。非後代所宜法也。趙普對曰。陛下以堯舜之道治世。以如來之行修心。聖智高遠非臣下所能知也○詔以御製蓮華心回文偈。祕藏詮。逍遙詠。宣示近臣○勅內侍張承貴往天台山重建壽昌寺從沙門自珣請也。

Shenzhou reported: "Wang Xu, a resident of Luze County, was herding cattle in the fields when he saw a white rabbit. Chasing it into an earthen burrow, he probed the burrow and discovered fifty stone Buddha statues. Their style was extraordinarily ancient, and all were over a foot in length." An imperial decree ordered them to be enshrined in a local monastery. The statues regularly emitted white light. In the sixth month, the Institute for Translating Sutras was completed. An imperial decree ordered Tianxizai and the others to reside there. The title Master of Illuminating the Teaching was conferred upon Tianxizai, Master of Transmitting the Teaching upon Fatian, and Master of Manifesting the Teaching upon Dānapāla, and they were commanded each to translate one scripture from the Sanskrit manuscripts they had brought. An imperial decree appointed Sanskrit-scholar monks Fajin, Changjin, Qingzhao, and others as transcribers and stylists; Director of the Banqueting Court Yang Yue and Vice Director of the Ministry of War Zhang Ji as polishers; and Palace Attendant Liu Su as supervisor. Tianxizai set forth the ritual procedures for translating sutras: in the eastern hall facing west, a sacred altar was arranged with powder (arranging an altar with powder ornamentation is recorded in the canon). Four gates were opened, each overseen by a Sanskrit monk. Secret mantras were recited for seven days and nights. A wooden altar was also set up displaying the wheel of the names of the sages and worthies (the shape of the altar was a perfect circle, on which the names and titles of the Buddhas, great beings, and devas were arranged in tiers encircling it above like a cartwheel), termed the Great Dharma Maṇḍala (translated here as 'great assembly'). The sages and worthies were invited for argha ablutions (argha is translated here as 'vessel'; all vessels used for offerings are termed argha; here argha refers to an ablution vessel), and offerings of incense, flowers, lamps, water, delicacies, and fruits were presented. They bowed and circumambulated, praying for unseen assistance to eradicate demonic hindrances. First, the Principal Translator sat upright facing outward, reciting and expounding the Sanskrit text. Second, the Certifier of Meaning sat at his left, assessing and weighing the Sanskrit text together with the Principal Translator. Third, the Certifier of the Text sat at his right, listening to the Principal Translator read the Sanskrit aloud to check for errors. Fourth, the Sanskrit-writing monk carefully listened to the Sanskrit text and wrote it out in Chinese characters, still retaining the Sanskrit phonetics (e.g., hṛdaya was initially transliterated as helidiye; sūtra as sudalan). Fifth, the Transcriber translated the Sanskrit phonetics into the Chinese language (helidiye was re-translated as 'mind' [xin]; sudalan was translated as 'sutra' [jing]). Sixth, the Stylist arranged the words to form coherent sentences and meanings (e.g., when the Transcriber gave 'contemplated the five skandhas their intrinsic nature empty saw this,' it was now phrased as 'contemplated that the five skandhas are all empty.' As a rule, Sanskrit phonetics often place the active before the passive, as 'recite Buddha' [nian fo] becomes 'Buddha recite' [fo nian], or 'strike bell' [da zhong] becomes 'bell strike' [zhong da]; hence it is necessary to arrange the words and phrases to conform with the literature of this land). Seventh, the Collator compared the texts of the two lands to ensure there were no errors. Eighth, the Editor pruned redundancies and fixed the sentential meaning (such as deleting two redundant characters from 'wuwuming wuming' [no ignorance, ignorance], or supplying a missing character 'wu' [un-] before 'shang zhengbianzhi' [anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi]). Ninth, the Polishers—officials seated facing south in front of the saṅgha—deliberated and polished the literary style (for instance, the line 'saved all from suffering and adversity' in the Heart Sutra originally had no Sanskrit text; likewise, in the line 'therefore, in emptiness,' the two characters 'therefore' originally had no Sanskrit text). The monks bathed daily, donned their three robes and sitting mats, maintaining orderly and dignified deportment; all their necessary provisions were supplied by the state. Tianxizai said: "Where the translated text coincides with imperial personal names or ancestral taboos, earlier dynasties did not avoid them. If the text is altered to avoid them, it is feared the meaning of the scripture will be compromised. We now wish to follow the model of the Nine Classics at the Imperial Academy and merely omit strokes." An imperial rescript replied: "Characters used in the Buddhist scriptures should follow the authentic text; ancestral taboos and imperial names need not be avoided." In the seventh month, Tianxizai submitted his newly translated Holy Mother of the Buddhas Sutra; Fatian submitted the Auspicious Vasudhārā Sutra; Dānapāla submitted the Tathāgata Alaṃkāra Sutra, each in one fascicle. An imperial decree ordered the two avenues of the capital to select one hundred doctrinal scholar-monks to examine and verify the meaning of the sutras. At that time, Shenyao, Registrar of Monks of the Left Avenue, and others stated: "The translation hall has long been defunct, and transmission and translation are extremely difficult." Tianxizai and the others immediately took the Sanskrit text, first translated the Sanskrit meaning, and verified it with the Chinese text; Shenyao and his group were then convinced. An imperial decree ordered that the new scriptures be entered into the canon and carved on printing blocks for circulation. The imperial carriage made a personal visit to the Institute for Translating Sutras; he summoned the monks, granted them seating, and offered comforting words. He bestowed bedclothes, silks, and utensils, ordained ten novices of the institute, and took all the Sanskrit manuscripts preserved in the imperial palace, ordering them to translate them. In the twelfth month, an imperial decree ordered the selection of Sanskrit-scholar monks as transcribers and ten doctrinal scholar-monks as certifiers of meaning. From this time forth, on every imperial birthday, new scriptures were invariably presented; the monks were always summoned to be seated and granted a feast, and the scriptures were committed to the canon. An imperial edict stated: "We are currently exalting the teachings of the Dharma to bring blessings upon the state. Postulants and novices both inside and outside the various prefectures are all permitted to be tonsured and ordained." Monk Guangyuan of Chengdu returned from his travels in the Western Heavens; he went to the palace and presented a memorial from Prince Mutuonang of Western India, a Buddha's crown seal, and pattra leaves and leaves of the Bodhi tree. An imperial decree ordered Tripiṭaka Master Dānapāla to translate the memorial, which read: "I have respectfully heard that in the land of Cīna (the Western Heavens refer to the Great Tang as Cīna; here it is used in continuation of the old convention) there is a Great Son of Heaven, supremely sage and supremely divine, possessed of sovereign wealth and nobility. Ashamed of my own meager merit, I have had no means to pay audience at court. From afar I received the imperial favor bestowing a kāṣāya of Śākyamuni Tathāgata from the Diamond Throne, which I have already donned and made offerings to. I humbly pray that the Emperor of Cīna may have blessings and wisdom perfected, life extended, and all sentient beings delivered from their drownings. Respectfully, I send Śākyamuni's relics along with Monk Guangyuan to be presented." (As for the bestowal of the Buddha's kāṣāya from the Diamond Throne, no actual record of its dispatch is seen in the records of the two reigns; examining it now, in the fourth year of Qiande [966], Xingqin and others responded to an imperial edict to seek the Dharma in the Western Heavens, and imperial letters were bestowed upon all states; it must have been presented in connection with that year.) In the eighth year, in the sixth month, an imperial decree ordered Hanlin Academician Zanning to compile the Song Biographies of Eminent Monks. Ning begged to return to Qiantang to compose it; an imperial decree granted permission. An imperial decree renamed the Institute for Translating Sutras the Institute for Transmitting the Dharma, and an Institute for Printing Sutras was established on its western wing (the present Transmitting the Dharma Institute in Lin'an is the former Institute for Translating Sutras of the Eastern Capital; today it merely serves the ritual affairs of the inner palace chapel). Chengdu had previously carved the printing blocks for the Great Canon in accordance with the decree of Emperor Taizu; they were now completed and presented. An imperial decree ordered Taiyuan and Chengdu to cast bronze bells and bestow them upon the famous mountains Wutai and Emei. On the day they were sent to be hung, more than ten Sanskrit monks appeared in the sky on both mountains to welcome the bells; their sound was heard for a hundred li. Tianxizai and the others stated: "Translations across successive dynasties have all relied on Sanskrit monks. If distant obstacles prevent them from coming, the translation of scriptures will cease. We wish to have the two avenues select fifty novices to study Sanskrit characters." An imperial decree commanded High-ranking Eunuch Wang Wenshou to select Weijing and nine others and usher them into the side hall for an audience, decreeing that they be sent to the Institute for Translating Sutras to receive instruction. Weijing was a nephew of Li Yu of Jiangnan; when taught Sanskrit verses orally, he immediately grasped their meaning. After a year or so, he was ordained as a monk, promoted to Sanskrit Transcriber, and granted the purple robe and the title Master of Luminous Sanskrit. Monk Fayu arrived from the Western Heavens and presented relics of the Buddha's crown and palm-leaf Sanskrit scriptures. Fayu solicited donations among the multitudes to make a dragon-jeweled canopy and a gold-brocade kāṣāya, intending to travel again to the Diamond Throne in Central India to make offerings; he begged for letters of safe-conduct to the various states he would pass through. An imperial decree granted imperial letters addressed to Śrīvijaya, Geguoluoke, Lan, and other countries to dispatch him. Sizhou reported that the pagoda of Master Sangha emitted light during the broad daylight; more than a thousand gentlemen and commoners offered incense by burning their scalps and arms daily. An imperial decree sent an inner attendant to take Śākyamuni relics and enshrine them beneath the pagoda. The Emperor showed the newly translated scriptures to the grand councilor, saying: "The Buddha's teaching is of aid to government and principle, universally benefiting all living beings. Those who attain it naturally awaken to its source; fools willfully give rise to slander. In this Way, We faintly understand its core: whenever a ruler rectifies his mind without selfishness, that is the practice of self-benefit; whenever he performs a good deed to pacify the realm, that is the practice of benefiting others. When Emperor Wu of Liang gave up his body to become a monastery slave, this was the biased view of the Hīnayāna, not a model to be followed by later generations." Zhao Pu replied: "Your Majesty governs the world by the Way of Yao and Shun, and cultivates the mind through the practice of the Tathāgata. Your sacred wisdom is lofty and profound, beyond what ministers can know." An imperial decree promulgated the imperially composed Palindrome Gāthā on the Lotus Heart, Explication of the Secret Treasury, and Chants of Carefree Wandering to be shown to the close ministers. An imperial decree ordered Inner Attendant Zhang Chenggui to go to Mount Tiantai to rebuild Shouchang Monastery, in accordance with the petition of monk Zixun.