佛祖統紀 33

English (machine translation) 33

Language: English

33.1

Compiled by the monk Zhipan of Donghu in Siming, under the Song during the Jingding era.

33.2

Treatise on the Glorious Manifestation of the Dharma, No. 16

The Buddhadharma is inconceivable; it harmonizes both [polarities] within the realm where the ultimate and conventional truths are non-dual. Yet when it comes to revealing it through the gate of establishing conversion, it must rely upon Buddhist activities to help illuminate the characteristics of the abiding Three Jewels. Reaching the real by means of phenomena, I compile this 'Treatise on the Glorious Manifestation of the Dharma.'

33.4

Carved Images: Śakra Devānām Indra requested the Buddha to ascend to the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven to preach the Dharma for his mother. King Udayana (king of the kingdom of Kauśāmbī) longed to behold the Tathāgata, and thereupon used sandalwood to make an image of the Tathāgata five feet in height (from the *Ekottarāgama*; according to the *Record of the Western Regions*, King Udayana requested Maudgalyāyana to use his supernormal powers to convey a craftsman up to heaven to directly view the wondrous form, using sandalwood to carve an image rising to five feet in height).

33.5

Cast Images: King Prasenajit heard that King Udayana had carved an image, and thereupon used refined purple gold to cast a Buddha image, also five feet high. At that time, within Jambudvīpa, there were first two images (from the *Ekottarāgama*; the *Contemplation of Buddha Samādhi Sūtra* states that King Udayana cast a gold image).

33.6

Painted Images: Emperor Ming of the Han sent Qin Jing to the Yuezhi kingdom, where he obtained the fourth drawn model by the craftsman who carved the image for King Udayana (this was the beginning of painted images in the Western lands). The emperor ordered it to be depicted above the Xiyang Gate of Luoyang and on the Xianjie Tomb for making offerings (this was the beginning of paintings in the Eastern land).

33.7

Relic Stūpas: When the Buddha entered extinction, Śakra erected four stūpas in the Great City of Good Sight (Sudarśana): the Hair Stūpa in the Illumination Park east of the city, the Robe Stūpa in the Rough-Bark Park south of the city, the Bowl Stūpa in the Joyous Park west of the city, and the Tooth Stūpa in the Chariot-Driving Park north of the city; these are called the Four Stūpas of Trāyastriṃśa. Furthermore, the stūpa of the birthplace in Kapilavastu, the stūpa of the attainment of the Way in Magadha, the stūpa of turning the wheel of the Dharma in the Deer Park of Vārāṇasī, and the stūpa of the nirvāṇa between the twin trees in the city of Kuśinagara are called the Four Stūpas Among Humans (from the *Ekottarāgama*). One hundred years after the Buddha's extinction, King Aśoka took the Buddha's relics, and by night commanded spirits and deities to grind the seven treasures into powder to build eighty-four thousand stūpas. The Venerable Yaśas stretched out his fingers and emitted rays of light, eighty-four thousand beams, ordering winged spirits each to follow one beam of light to its end and erect a stūpa. In a single day, they covered the continent of Jambudvīpa. There were nineteen such stūpas in Cīnasthāna (from the *Chronicle of King Aśoka*; among the nineteen stūpas, five known locations are: the Eastern Holy Mound of Baima Monastery in Luoyang, the stūpa of Changgan Monastery in Jiankang, the King Aśoka stūpa in Siming, Linzi, and Chengdu, which all have King Aśoka stūpas; Liu Sahe heard this in a dream spoken by Avalokiteśvara).

33.8

Bathing the Buddha: The eighth day of the fourth month is the Buddha's birthday. People commemorate the Buddha and bathe the image of the Buddha (from the *Mahācātusparṣad-sūtra*). When bathing the image, one recites the verse: 'I now bathe all the Tathāgatas, / An assemblage of merit adorned with pure wisdom; / May living beings of the five defilements be freed from defilement, / And vow to realize the Tathāgata's pure Dharma-body' (from the *Bathing the Buddha Sūtra*).

33.9

Bathing the Monks: A devaputra of the Śuddhāvāsa Heaven requested the Buddha and the Saṃgha to bathe and offered them food. The Buddha told Ānanda, 'Through this meritorious deed, this deity will in the future become a Buddha named Pure Body' (from the *Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish*; Śuddhāvāsa is the name of a devaputra. Whenever one is called a "deva" without bearing the name of the six heavens of desire or the eighteen heavens of the form realm, all are devaputras, just as Jīvaka, Viśvakarman, and so forth are all devaputras of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven). Frequent bathing is permitted because it produces worldly good (from the *Dharmaguptaka Vinaya*).

33.10

Revolving Canon: Great Being Fu of the Liang, pitying worldly people who had many worldly affairs and lacked time to recite the scriptures, or were illiterate, created a revolving canon at the Shuanglin Bodhimaṇḍa to house the scriptural scrolls. His vow stated: 'If there are those who mount the gate of my canon three times, in life after life they will not lose their human body. If one is able with faithful mind to push it around once, the merit is precisely equal to that of reciting the scriptures. If one can turn it around countless times, the merit obtained is precisely equal to and no different from reading and reciting an entire great Tripiṭaka.' By continuous tradition, an image of the Great Being is placed in front of the canon, bearing the appearance of the cap and attire of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, because the Great Being frequently appeared in this manner (Foyin, writing a panegyric on his image for Wang Jinggong, said: 'A Daoist cap, Confucian shoes, and a Buddhist kāṣāya; / Harmonizing and gathering the three houses into one single house; / Forgetting the road to the heaven above Tuṣita, / Foolishly sitting in Shuanglin to await the Dragon Flower'). Those arranged as the eight great spirit-generals are the devas and spirits of the eight classes. The General Protecting the Realm was the magistrate of Wushang during his lifetime, who made a vow to protect the canon (Yiwu County was formerly named Wushang; details appear in the *Biography of Great Being Fu*).

33.11

The Great Being's Divination Lots: The one hundred lots of Tianzhu and the one hundred and thirty lots of Yuantong in Yue are used to determine good and ill fortune, and their responses are like echoes. Tradition says they were formulated by a manifestation of the Great Being (from the *Orthodox Lineage of the Buddhist Order*).

33.12

Offering Lamps: The Buddha told Śāriputra: 'If someone offers and donates lamp illumination to stūpas, shrines, and images, even with a small lamp or torch, only a Buddha can know the merit of this' (from the *Sūtra on Bestowing Lamps*).

33.13

Body Lamps: The Buddha said: 'Long ago in Jambudvīpa, I was a king. I gouged my flesh to a depth resembling a large coin, filled it with ghee, and made a thousand lamp wicks. I said to a brāhmaṇa, "Please speak the scriptures and the Dharma, as I seek the unsurpassed Way"' (from the *Sūtra of the Bodhisattva's Former Deeds*). A bodhisattva, for the sake of the causes and conditions of the Dharma, gouged his body to make lamps (from the *Nirvāṇa Sūtra*).

33.14

The Inexhaustible Lamp: Master Fazang of Xianshou placed ten mirrors in eight corners with a Buddha image set in the center for Empress Zetian, and lit a lamp to illuminate them, so that the image appeared in mirror after mirror, in order to express the meaning of the boundless and inexhaustible layers of the sea of buddha-lands (from the *Treatise on the Establishment of Teachings by the Various Schools*).

33.15

Releasing Lanterns: When Buddhism first arrived, it engaged in a contest with Daoists. The Buddhist scriptures were burned and emitted light without their scrolls suffering any damage. The time corresponded to the fifteenth day of the first month. Emperor Ming thereupon ordered that lamps be burned on this day every year to represent the great brightness of the Buddhadharma. From then on, through successive dynasties, lanterns were inevitably released at each Shangyuan festival. In the sixth year of the Taiping Xingguo era of our dynasty, an edict ordered that lanterns also be released for three nights at the Xiayuan festival to pray for blessings on behalf of the army and the common people (from the *Abridged History of the Saṃgha*).

33.16

Inexhaustible Wealth: When there are abundant flowers offered to the Buddha, it is permitted to resell them to purchase incense and oil. If there is still an excess, it is resold into the inexhaustible wealth (from the *Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya*; the *Essence of the Buddhist Order* says: 'This is what worldly people call "perpetual cash"; it is named "inexhaustible" because principal and interest multiply').

33.17

Rituals for Lecturing and Repentance: The *Biographies of Eminent Monks* states: From the Han and Wei onwards, inviting monks and setting out offerings was identical to offering ancestral sacrifices; there was virtually no standard etiquette for rising and sitting. It was not until Master Dao'an of the Jin dynasty that, based on the sūtras and vinaya, rituals for answering invitations, praising, and so forth were first composed and established under three models: first, burning incense, determining seats, and ascending to lecture; second, the rites of repentance throughout the six intervals of the day; third, the procedures for Poṣadha and similar rites. Thereafter, Master Huiyuan further established regulations for the Dharma Society (the text exists in the *Collected Works of Mount Lu*). Vinaya Master Daoxuan of the Tang established the rites for dividing property among the five assemblies, the rites for vestments, the rites for taking refuge and revering, and the chapter on striking the bell. Vinaya Master Dazhao composed the tonsure ritual. All of these adapted to the times and adhered to the teachings to serve as norms (from the *Orthodox Lineage of the Buddhist Order*).

33.18

Practices Based on Various Sūtras: Master Zhizhe formulated the *Ritual of the Lotus Samādhi* (recorded in the *One Hundred Records of Guoqing*). Jingxi composed supplementary rituals to assist contemplation. Fazhi compiled the *Ritual Practice of the Great Compassion Heart Dhāraṇī* and the *Repentance Ritual of the Golden Light*. Ciyun composed the *State-Protecting Ritual of the Golden Light*, authored supplementary texts based on the *One Hundred Records*, and compiled the *Pure Land Repentance Ritual*, the *Amitābha Repentance Ritual*, the *Repentance Ritual for Invoking Avalokiteśvara*, and the *Tejaprabhā Repentance Ritual*. Shenzhao compiled the *Benevolent Kings Repentance Ritual*. Jingjue compiled the *Śūraṅgama Repentance Ritual* and the *Cintāmaṇicakra Liturgy*. Fazhi Yong compiled the *Śrīmahādevī Repentance Ritual*. All of these are methods by which the various patriarchs, relying upon the four kinds of samādhi, practiced for themselves and transformed others.

33.19

Making Offerings to the Buddha: All Tathāgatas are the Dharmakāya. Whether they are in the world or after their extinction, the merit of any offerings made is without distinction (from the *Ratnakūṭa Sūtra*). Those who make offerings to the Buddha obtain great merit and swiftly accomplish bodhi (from the *Inconceivable Realm Sūtra*). 'If one gives to an animal, one obtains a hundredfold reward; giving to one who breaks the precepts yields a thousandfold reward; giving to one who maintains the precepts yields a ten-thousandfold reward; up to making offerings to a Buddha, which yields an immeasurable reward. I now explain this because of distinguishing among the various fields of merit' (from the *Upāsakaśīla Sūtra*; this refers to the preeminence of the field of reverence). If someone makes offerings to the Buddhas of the ten directions and the various bodhisattvas and śrāvakas, it is not equal to someone giving a mouthful of food or drink to an animal, or even to a starving dog or an ant; the field of compassion is supreme (from the *Sūtra on Resolving Doubts in the Semblance Dharma*; this refers to the preeminence of the field of compassion). Giving one portion to the Tathāgata Duṣpradharsa and giving one portion to the lowliest beggar, the fields of merit are not two (from the *Vimalakīrti Sūtra*; this refers to the non-duality of compassion and reverence). What the world refers to as making offerings to the three thousand Buddhas denotes: in the past Glorious Kalpa, beginning with Padmaprabha Buddha and ending with Vipaśyin Buddha, one thousand Buddhas; in the present Auspicious Kalpa, beginning with Krakucchanda Buddha and ending with Ruci Buddha, one thousand Buddhas; in the future Constellation Kalpa, beginning with Sūryaprabha Buddha and ending with Sumerumūrti Buddha, one thousand Buddhas (each of the three kalpas has a one-scroll sūtra). Making offerings to the thousand Buddhas refers to the thousand honored ones of the present Auspicious Kalpa.

33.20

Making Offerings to Spiritual Friends: Mañjuśrī traveled south to the eastern border of the city of Dhanyākara, where he preached the Dharma for the youth Sudhana, causing him to seek bodhi and draw near to spiritual friends. From there, he passed through one hundred and ten cities and visited fifty-three spiritual friends, entering Samantabhadra's bodhimaṇḍa and attaining samādhi-doors as numerous as dust motes (from the 'Entry into the Dharmadhātu' chapter of the *Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra*).

33.21

Offerings to the Arhats: At the time of the Buddha's nirvāṇa, he entrusted the sixteen arhats to serve as true fields of merit for various donors. At that time, the arhats all received the Buddha's command, using their supernatural powers to extend their own lifespans. If one invites the Saṃgha from the four quarters and establishes an unrestricted offering, whether at their dwelling place or at a monastery, these venerable ones and their retinues disperse and attend, concealing their holy forms to receive the offering implements secretly, causing all donors to obtain superior karmic rewards. (The Fazhu ji, beginning with Piṇḍola and ending with Panthaka, lists sixteen seats in total.) Except for the four great arhats and the sixteen arhats, the rest all entered parinirvāṇa. As for the four great arhats, the Mile xiasheng jing says they are Kāśyapa, Piṇḍola, Rāhula, and Kuṇḍadhāna. The sixteen arhats come from the Baoyun jing. However, Piṇḍola and Rāhula are already among the sixteen. Now, those who speak of eighteen add Kāśyapa and Kuṇḍadhāna. (The Miaole: "Piṇḍola here means 'unmoving'. Some who add Piṇḍola to the sixteen are referring to Piṇḍola [Bhāradvāja]. Those who add Nandimitra [Qingyou] are mistaken, as he is merely the author of the Fazhu ji, written a hundred years after the Buddha's nirvāṇa, recounting the sixteen arhats receiving the entrustment to remain in the world; thus one knows that Nandimitra is not among those who remain in the world. Now, if one wishes to discuss the eighteen who remain, one should take the Miaole as evidence. Jingjue, in composing his ritual praises, also summarized the Miaole.")

33.22

Anniversary Vegetarian Feasts for the Buddha and Patriarchs: The Tathāgata entered nirvāṇa on the fifteenth day of the second month in the fifty-third year of King Mu of Zhou (ren-shen). In every monastery, offerings must be made and rituals performed, which is called the Buddha's death anniversary. (Chan Master Jian of Beijian composed the text for the memorial feast; Dharma Master Jingjue composed the ritual praises.) Chan Master Nanyue's death anniversary is on the twenty-second day of the sixth month of the ninth year of Dajian in the Chen dynasty. (Zhipan composed the memorial feast text for Nanhu.) Chan Master Zhizhe's death anniversary is on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month of the seventeenth year of Kaihuang in the Sui dynasty. (Gushan composed the memorial feast text; Ciyun of Beijian composed the ritual praises.) Chan Master Zhāng'ān's death anniversary is on the seventh day of the eighth month of the second year of Zhenguan in the Tang dynasty. Chan Master Fahua's death anniversary is on the twenty-eighth day of the eleventh month of the first year of Yonglong in the Tang dynasty. Chan Master Tiangong's death anniversary is in the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang dynasty. (Zhipan composed the memorial feast text; the exact year and month are unknown.) Chan Master Zuoxi's death anniversary is on the nineteenth day of the ninth month of the thirteenth year of Tianbao in the Tang dynasty. (Zhipan composed the memorial feast text.) Chan Master Jīngxī's death anniversary is on the fifth day of the second month of the third year of Jianzhong in the Tang dynasty. (Zhipan composed the memorial feast text.) Dharma Master Luoxi's death anniversary is on the fourth day of the eleventh month of the fourth year of Yongxi in the Song dynasty. (Zhipan composed the memorial feast text.) Dharma Master Baoyun's death anniversary is on the twenty-first day of the tenth month of the first year of Duangong in the Song dynasty. (Zhipan composed the memorial feast text.) Dharma Master Fazhi's death anniversary is on the fifth day of the first month of the first year of Tiansheng in the Song dynasty. Dharma Master Ciyun's death anniversary is on the tenth day of the tenth month of the first year of Mingdao in the Song dynasty. Dharma Master Shenzhao's death anniversary is on the eighteenth day of the fifth month of the third year of Huangyou in the Song dynasty. Dharma Master Lushan's death anniversary is on the sixth day of the eighth month of the twelfth year of Yixi in the Jin dynasty. (Zhipan composed the memorial feast text; Ge Tianmin composed the ritual praises.) Chan Master Bodhidharma's death anniversary is on the fifth day of the tenth month of the first year of Datong in the Western Wei dynasty. Vinaya Master Nanshan's death anniversary is on the third day of the tenth month of the second year of Qianfeng in the Tang dynasty. (Jingjue composed the ritual praises; Vinaya Master Zhao composed the memorial feast text.) Vinaya Master Dazhi's death anniversary is on the first day of the ninth month of the sixth year of Zhenghe in the Song dynasty. (Vinaya Master Ze composed the ritual praises; Yan Shengtu composed the memorial feast text.)

33.23

Vegetarian Feasts for the Saṃgha: The Buddha said, "Offering food to the Saṃgha brings five kinds of merits: complexion, strength, lifespan, peace, and eloquence." When offering food, the senior monk should recite this verse: "The giver and the receiver both attain the five constants: / Complexion, strength, lifespan, peace, and unhindered eloquence." (Wufude jing) The Buddha said, "Offering food brings five blessings: the gift of life, the gift of complexion, the gift of strength, the gift of peace, and the gift of eloquence. What is meant by the gift of life? Without food for seven days, a person's life ends. When a wise person gives food, this is the gift of life. The one who gives life will, in life after life, enjoy longevity and boundless wealth. What is meant by the gift of complexion? Without food, a person's complexion becomes haggard. When a wise person gives food, this is the gift of complexion. The one who gives complexion will, in life after life, be handsome and dignified, with a radiant complexion. What is meant by the gift of strength? Without food, a person is incapable of any action. When a wise person gives food, this is the gift of strength. The one who gives strength will be born in heaven or among humans with peerless strength. What is meant by the gift of peace? Without food, a person's mind is sorrowful, their body endangered, unable to find peace. When a wise person gives food, this is the gift of peace. The one who gives peace will, in life after life, abide in tranquility and never encounter manifold calamities. What is meant by the gift of eloquence? Without food, a person's body is emaciated, their mind weak, and their mouth unable to speak. When a wise person gives food, this is the gift of eloquence. The one who gives eloquence will possess penetrating wisdom and eloquence, bringing joy to all who hear. These are the five blessings." (Shishi wufu jing) There are three methods of giving: first, delivering food to the monastery is called superior; going to a home to receive offerings is called middling; building a shelter to beg for alms and initiating offerings is called inferior. (Ekottarika Āgama) If a donor prepares food and invites the Saṃgha, but stations guards at the gate to bar aged, sick, poor, or mendicant monks from entering the assembly, they waste their food and drink in vain, gaining no share of goodness whatsoever. (Xiangfa jueyi jing) When disciples of the four classes observe the vegetarian fast, they should reflect in their minds: inviting the Saṃgha of the ten directions without discriminating between good and bad, whether they uphold or break the precepts, or whether their conduct is high or low. When going to stupas and temples to invite the Saṃgha, making offerings in the order of the Saṃgha yields the greatest merit. (Puguang jing) When a donor comes to invite the Saṃgha, visiting monks are entitled to a share of the offerings. The monastery prior should dispatch them according to proper sequence. (Ibid.) When worldly people make special invitations to five hundred arhats or bodhisattva-monks, it is not as good as offering to a single ordinary monk according to the order of the Saṃgha. (Brahmajāla Sūtra) Once, when the Buddha entered the city of Śrāvastī to beg for food, a brāhmaṇa, seeing that the Buddha frequently came to his house, thought to himself, "Why does this śramaṇa keep coming so often, as if I owed him a debt?" The Buddha then spoke a verse: "Seasonal rains fall again and again; / The five grains ripen again and again; / Again and again one cultivates meritorious deeds; / Again and again one receives karmic fruits." Hearing this, the brāhmaṇa felt ashamed, took his bowl, filled it with food to offer to the Buddha, repented, renounced the household life, and attained arhatship. (Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa) If a person can make it a daily rule to first offer food to the Saṃgha before eating oneself, this is the highest among gifts. (Upāsakaśīla Sūtra; the practice of setting out rice-bowls [for offerings] in cities today originated from this.)

33.24

Serving Congee: In the kingdom of Śrāvastī, the mother of Nanda prepared a pot of boiled rice. Drawing off the liquid from the top, she drank it herself and felt that wind [humor] within her body was dispelled and the food was digested. She then thought, "The ācārya is a person who eats one meal a day; he should eat congee." Thereupon, she took much water and little rice, boiled away two-thirds, added black pepper and long pepper, and went to the Buddha's presence, saying, "May the Bhagavat permit the monks to eat congee." The Buddha granted it and spoke a verse for her: "Endowed with pure precepts and revered by people, / One respectfully offers congee at the proper time. / It brings ten benefits to practitioners: / Complexion, strength, longevity, happiness, and clear speech and eloquence, / Dispelling past indigestion and wind, eliminating hunger and thirst. / This is what is called medicine, spoken by the Buddha. / One who wishes to attain long life and happiness among humans and devas / Should offer congee to the Saṃgha." (Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya; "clear speech" and "eloquence" have two distinct meanings.) If congee taken from the pot cannot be written upon, it is called improper food. (Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya) Only when the morning light appears may one eat congee; any other time is improper. (Dharmaguptaka Vinaya) When the sun shines on the jambu trees and the sky turns white, so that when one stretches out one's hand the lines of the palm are clearly visible, that is the morning light. (Abhidharma-mahāvibhāṣā-śāstra) Congee is also called "light meal." (Zenghuiji)

33.25

Alms-Begging: In Sanskrit, it is called piṇḍapāta; here it is translated as 'begging for food'. (Samantapāsādikā) In general, alms food is divided into four portions: one portion is offered to fellow practitioners of the pure life (brahmacarya), one portion is given to the poor and beggars, one portion is given to ghosts and spirits, and one portion is eaten by oneself. (Baoyun jing) One who practices begging for food smashes all arrogance. (Dharmasaṃgīti Sūtra) There are three kinds of food: first, food received by invitation; second, food of the Saṃgha community; third, food obtained by constant alms-begging. The first two kinds of food give rise to defiling conditions: if one receives an invitation, one says, 'I have virtue'; if one is not invited, one feels resentment toward the host, or belittles oneself—this is grasping at phenomena, which obstructs the Path. As for the food of the Saṃgha community, one must follow the communal rules, settle affairs, expel individuals, and manage monastic affairs, which scatters the mind and impedes the practice of the Path. With such vexations, one should adopt the practice of alms-begging. (Dvādaśa-dhūta Sūtra)

33.26

Upholding the Fast: The Buddha said, "At midday, the Buddhas of the three periods eat." (Piluosanmei jing; this is what is now called the midday meal.) The proper time to eat is noon; if the shadow of the sun passes by a single hair or an instant, it is immediately the improper time. (Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya) If a monk eats at an improper time, it is a pāyattika. (Dharmaguptaka Prātimokṣa; the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya translates the meaning of pāyattika as 'falling', falling into the hell of boiling and cooking.) The essence of the fast is not eating past midday. (Abhidharma-mahāvibhāṣā-śāstra) The Buddha said, "Upholding the fast for one day yields provisions for six hundred thousand years, and furthermore possesses five blessings: few illnesses, bodily ease, little sleep, little lust, and rebirth in heaven with knowledge of past lives." (Za piyu jing) Fast (zhai) means to equalize (qi)—it equalizes the karmas of body and speech. Equalizing is simply the Middle Way. Not being permitted to eat afterwards indicates that outside the Dharma-realm of the Middle Way, there is no other Dharma. (Qingguanyin shu)

33.27

Setting Aside Food for Sentient Beings: This has two origins. First, the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra directs that food be given to the wilderness demons, and the Vinaya directs that food be given to Hārītī and others. These beings originally consumed meat and devoured humans; the Buddha converted them to receive the precepts and refrain from killing, and thus instructed his disciples to distribute food everywhere. Today, each person in the dining hall setting aside food for sentient beings is this very practice. This is performed only by renunciants. Second, the Ulkāmukha Sūtra uses the condition of Ānanda to direct that food be given to hungry ghosts. Today, the dining hall separately provides a small vessel, and when the meal is finished, the assembly performs the ritual to distribute it; or each provides a small vessel for setting aside food, reciting mantras and distributing it at night. This practice is shared by both monastics and the laity.

33.28

The Three Long Fasting Months: The Buddha told the elder Trapuṣa, "At the transition of the four seasons and the end of the year, there are three reviews for auditing, and six reports made each month. The various devas, Śakra, the princes, envoys, Yama, and the spirits and ghosts all make circuits on the first days of the first, fifth, and ninth months to investigate the king's subjects, dragons, ghosts, birds, and beasts regarding their good and bad deeds. Together with the Four Heavenly Kings, they make six reports a month, ensuring there are no errors or injustices, re-auditing whether sentient beings' transgressions or blessings are plentiful or scarce. For those with abundant blessings, the Director of Destinies is commanded to descend to Yama's Five Offices to eliminate offenses and increase emoluments. Therefore, people are made to uphold these three long fasting months." (Tiwei jing) If a disciple of the Buddha, on the six fast days or during the year's three long fasting months, engages in killing, robbery, or breaking the fast and violating the precepts, they commit a minor defilement offense. (Brahmajāla Sūtra; worldly people avoid taking office during these three months merely because they wish to avoid carrying out executions).

33.29

The Six Fast Days: Śakra commands the Four Heavenly Kings to each govern one direction. On the eighth day of the white fortnight, messengers are dispatched to investigate the good and bad deeds of sentient beings; on the fourteenth day, the crown prince is dispatched; on the fifteenth day, the king descends in person. The same occurs on the three days of the black fortnight. When the king descends in person, the constellations, ghosts, and spirits all follow at the same time. If they encounter those cultivating the fasting precepts, the devas rejoice with one another and immediately register blessings and lengthen their lifespans. (Sitianwang jing) If kings and ministers, on the six fast days, issue orders throughout their domains to practice non-killing... (Puxian guan jing)

33.30

The Ten Fast Days: On the ten fast days of each month, one upholds the names of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to seek blessings and eliminate sins. (Yizhai jing: adding four days—the first, eighteenth, twenty-fourth, and twenty-eighth of the month—to the six fast days. The current state legal statutes providing that executions may not be carried out on the ten direct days across all prefectures are precisely based on this principle).

33.31

The Seven-Seven Retreat: When a person dies, their intermediate existence (antarābhava) body, if it has not yet obtained the conditions for rebirth, abides for at most seven days. It dies and is reborn again, in this way cycling through birth and death up to forty-nine days, after which it definitively attains rebirth. If conditions for rebirth appear earlier, [the time] is indefinite. Now, examining the scriptural meaning, those of extreme good or evil have no intermediate existence (Yogācāra-bhūmi-śāstra: Intermediate existence is also called the intermediate state [zhongyin]. The extremely good are immediately born in the Pure Land, and next to that, born among humans or gods. The extremely evil immediately enter the hells or are born in the three evil destinies, dying on the very day without passing through the intermediate state). Nowadays, whenever someone dies, people unfailingly prepare a retreat every seven days to pursue merits on their behalf; this is called 'retreat sevens' so that the seeds in the intermediate existence do not turn to rebirth in evil destinies (Shishi yaolan).

33.32

I comment: Confucius said, 'Only when a child is three years old does it leave the embrace of its parents; therefore, they repay it with three years of mourning.' The Buddhist scriptures state, 'When a person dies, only after seven sevens do they leave the destiny of the intermediate state; therefore, the practice of the retreat sevens is provided for.' As for people of today performing Buddhist rites at the hundredth day, the lesser auspicious [first anniversary], and the greater auspicious [second anniversary], although they rely on the mourning regulations of the Confucian tradition, they are nevertheless able to cultivate the blessed merit of veneration and solemnity of the Buddhist school. How could one not believe in it?

33.33

Pre-cultivation Retreat: Bodhisattva Samantaprabha addressed the Buddha, saying, 'If good men and good women, before their demise, cultivate retroactively their living sevens, light lamps, suspend banners, invite monks (that is, inviting them in rotational order to offer alms), and recite scriptures (briefly citing these four as examples), will they obtain much merit?' The Buddha said, 'Their merit will be limitless.' He also said, 'When parents and relatives die and undergo suffering, if one cultivates merit for them, do they obtain much merit?' The Buddha said, 'They obtain one part in seven, because in their previous life they did not believe in morality. If one donates the deceased's personal adornments, houses, or gardens and groves to the Three Jewels, one can pull them out of the suffering of the hells' (Suiyuan wangsheng jing).

33.34

I comment: Examining the Yijian zhi, it records that Old Woman Wang of Ezhou frequently bought paper money to send to the nether-treasury, ordering her servant Li Da to write and sign for it on her behalf. When the old woman died, Li suddenly fell ill and collapsed to the ground. Reviving after three days, he said that he was arrested by the underworld administration and brought to the treasury office to identify the signatures. Li said, 'These were written by me on behalf of my mistress.' He was led to see an official in purple and gold, and the questioning was as before. The official said, 'We only summoned you to verify this matter; you may be sent back.' As he was about to leave, the old woman arrived, overjoyed, and said, 'Thanks to your coming, my treasury deposits finally have a destination.' When people today are fond of arranging pre-cultivated treasury deposits, they should take the Wangsheng jing as their authority and the Yijian zhi as their proof.

33.35

In the remnant Dharma of Vipaśyin Buddha, there were monks who set up seats and placed bowls at the crossroads, speaking these words: 'Who can take wealth and place it in this firm treasury? If it enters this treasury, kings, thieves, floods, and fires cannot snatch it away' (Zabaozang jing).

33.36

Offerings to the Devas: Dharma Master Huan, considering that the order of the ranks of the devas was disordered, once composed the 'Biographies of Devas'. He stated that Brahmā, Śakra, and the Four Heavenly Kings all possess the sovereign authority to issue decrees; Merit [Lakṣmī] is lodged in the northern sky, and Great Eloquence [Sarasvatī] is lodged in the mountains and marshes: this is the meaning of host and guest. Merit and Great Eloquence are female, while the devas Brahmā and Śakra are male: this is the meaning of male and female. Guhyapada and his retinue are all great bodhisattvas, which is the origin (ben), while their current manifestation as spirit images is the trace (ji): this has the meaning of origin and trace. Merit and Great Eloquence, dwelling as guest devas, manifest female forms yet are able to proclaim and extol the Buddha's transformation, which is termed 'manifest' (xian); the others, though present as influences, do not proclaim in speech and action, which is termed 'obscured' (hui): this has the meaning of manifest and obscured. Knowing these four principles, one may speak of the devas.

33.37

I comment: I, Zhipan, once examined Master Huan's principles and composed a ritual text for offering to the devas (the printing blocks are at the Pagoda Bureau of Zunjiao Temple at Donghu), determining sixteen seats. First are Brahmā and Śakra, next the northern devas. Fazhi said, 'The reason the scriptural compilers first mark the northern direction is that the Western Land takes the north as supreme.' Next are the eastern, southern, and western devas, followed by Merit and Great Eloquence. As for the two devas Mārīcī and Skanda, Mingzhi added them during his days dwelling at Nanhu (the account appears in his biography). Next are Guhyapada, Saṃjñeya, the Tree Spirit, the Earth Spirit, the Mother of Ghosts, and the Twenty-Eight Classes, making sixteen seats in all. This was fixed as definitive. Hārītī translates here as 'evil thief'; she was the Mother of Ghost Sons. Before receiving the precepts, she devoured boys and girls of the royal city; the residents resented her, so they gave her this name. Now that she protects the Dharma, she should be expunged. Master Huan's 'Biographies of Devas' and the Guangming zhujie by Xiao of Shizhi both say that the scripture mentions both names only to designate a single person. (When Jing Wuzhu resided at Yuebo, whenever he practiced repentance at New Year's dawn, he unfailingly struck out the single phrase 'Hārītīnāṃ' from the ranks of the devas, not allowing it to be chanted, saying that the ancestral masters merely followed the scriptural text and failed to delete it. How true this is!) The old establishment of twelve seats followed the repentance ritual. The fourteen seats resulted from later people adding the Tree Spirit and Earth Spirit. The sixteen seats added Mārīcī and Skanda. Some also added the Sun, Moon, Sāgara Dragon, and others, making eighteen or twenty; although based on scriptural texts, this is truly excessive. In the world, there are those with Master Ting's 'Biographies of Devas', which falls precisely into this defect (detailed in the Zhutian liwen).

33.38

The Ullambana Offering: The scripture says that disciples of the Buddha who cultivate filial piety should, in thought after thought, constantly remember their parents, and even their parents of seven lifetimes. Every year on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, they should place delicacies of a hundred flavors in the ullambana bowl and offer them to the Buddha and the Saṅgha, so as to repay their parents' grace of nurturing and compassionate love (Ullambana-sūtra: This translates as 'rescuing from hanging upside down'; it means offering the bowl to the field of merit of the Three Jewels to relieve the emergency of hunger and being hung upside down).

33.39

I comment: Maudgalyāyana relied on saving his mother to give rise to the occasion, and the Tathāgata demonstrated the offering of the bowl to bequeath the model; this was to teach people the way to repay weighty kindness. Since the Great Teaching flowed east, emperors and kings of past and present who have made the bowl offering have been numerous (the matters appear in the Treatise on Essential Compendia). However, nowadays monasteries mostly distribute bushel offerings for the deceased on this day in accordance with the ordinary ritual; although they lack the ceremony of offering the bowl, they do not lose the intent of the Ullambana.

33.40

Water and Land Retreat: Emperor Wu of the Liang dreamt of a divine monk who told him, 'Sentient beings in the six destinies and four modes of birth suffer immeasurably. Why not establish the Great Water and Land Retreat to deliver them?' The Emperor asked various monks, but none understood it. Only Master Baozhi encouraged the Emperor, saying, 'If you search broadly through the scriptures and treatises, there will surely be a basis.' The Emperor immediately sent for the Tripiṭaka to be brought, and spent days perusing it, initiating the ritual text, which was completed after three years. Thereupon he established a bodhimaṇḍa, and in the middle of the night, holding the ritual text in his own hands, extinguished all the lamps and candles, addressing the Buddha: 'If this ritual text accords in principle with both the noble and the ordinary, may the lamps and candles light themselves when I rise from bowing. If the form and style are not yet appropriate, let the candles remain dark as before.' Having spoken, at the first bow the lamps and candles all lit up; at the second bow the palace shook; at the third bow flowers rained from the sky. On the fifteenth day of the second month in the fourth year of Tianjian (505 CE), relying on the ritual, it was performed at Jinshan Temple. The Emperor attended the earthly seats in person and decreed Vinaya Master You to proclaim the text. The miraculous responses at that time cannot be recorded in full. Between the Zhou and Sui dynasties, this ritual fell into disuse. In the Xianheng reign period of the Tang (670–674 CE), Dhyāna Master Ying of Fahai Temple in the Western Capital dreamt that the Lord of Mount Tai summoned him to preach the Dharma. Later, while sitting alone in his abbot's quarters, he saw an extraordinary person step forward and say to him, 'Earlier, at the residence of the Lord of Mount Tai, I stole a glance at your revered presence. I heard that in the world there is a Great Water and Land Retreat that can benefit the classes in the netherworld. Its text was compiled by Emperor Wu of Liang; now the Wu monk Yiji of Dajue Temple has obtained it. I pray that you, Master, will go seek it and perform it according to the Dharma.' The Master promptly went to Dajue Temple and indeed obtained the text; he then performed the retreat on the full moon. When it was finished, he again saw the extraordinary person arrive with more than ten followers to thank him, saying, 'Your disciple is King Zhuangxiang of Qin (Zhuangxiang was the father of the First Emperor of Qin; up to the Xianheng era of the Tang was nine hundred and forty years).' He also pointed to his followers, saying, 'These are Fan Sui, the Marquis of Rang, Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Zhang Yi, and Chen Zhen; all were ministers of Qin. All, through their own offenses, were imprisoned in the underworld administration. Formerly, when Emperor Wu of Liang established the assembly at Jinshan, the ministers of King Zhou of the preceding dynasty were all delivered; your disciple also temporarily ceased suffering at that time, but because the judicial case was not yet settled, I was not yet delivered. Now, receiving this retreat and repentance, your disciple together with these men, as well as the rulers and ministers of the various states, all rely on the power of the Dharma to attain rebirth in the human realm.' Having spoken, they vanished. From then on, Master Ying constantly performed this retreat, and it spread throughout the realm (Yang E's Water and Land Ritual of Dongchuan: in Shu, there is Judicial Commissioner Yang's ritual text, which circulates widely in the world).

33.41

I comment: In the past, Master Shi, Prince of Yue, Zhenyin, once passed by Jinshan and admired the grandeur of the Water and Land Retreat ritual; he then donated one hundred mu of fields to specifically establish the Water and Land Retreat of the four seasons on Mount Yuebo, as an act of repaying heaven, earth, sovereign, and parents. Furthermore, he personally composed the text of the memorial, had it carved on the stone walls of the hall, and compiled the ritual texts, printing the blocks at the temple. Soon afterwards, Emperor Xiaozong heard of it, praised it, and bestowed an imperial calligraphy plaque for the hall reading 'Water and Land Bodhimaṇḍa of Unhindered Liberation'. Up to now, for a hundred years, the offerings have been maintained with utmost reverent care. One li from Yuebo, there is a Buddhist cloister named Zunjiao. Its master and disciples, vast in number, led three thousand monks and prominent clans to donate wealth and purchase land, completely following the Yuebo method of universal salvation across the four seasons. Prior to this, colleagues at Zunjiao observed that the intention of Prince Yue's memorial text was solely to repay his past career as an official and his service to sovereign and parents; though beautiful, it lacked the intent of making offerings equally across noble and humble, poor and rich. They therefore urged Zhipan to complete a continuation of the new ritual in six rolls, expanding the grandeur of the retreat method, and carving its printing blocks. Furthermore, according to the proper titles and ranks, twenty-six hanging scrolls of painted images were made. Now, as the retreat assembly has been founded, both the ritual texts and the image scrolls are put to proper use. Those in charge of the affairs at the time were the temple monks Chuqian, Qingtie, and the Scholar-Monk Hong; the one who gave the Dharma gift was Zongjing, abbot of Yuebo; and the one who gave the gift of text was Zhipan. We aspire that the monasteries of the ten directions will take this as a model and greatly promote the path of universal salvation.

33.42

The Bushel Offering for the Six Destinies: The Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa-sūtra states, 'Giving a single meal to all (stating "all" entirely encompasses the six destinies) and offering to the Buddhas and the assembly of wise and noble ones, only then may one eat.' Nanyue's Sui ziyi sanmei states, 'Whenever one receives food, one should say: "The color, fragrance, and flavor of this food are offered above to the Buddhas of the ten directions, in the middle to the assembly of wise and noble ones, and below to the classes of the six destinies; distributed equally without distinction."' The Tiantai Method of Contemplating the Mind at Meals states that after sounding the bell, one joins one's hands in offering to the unitary Three Jewels, and next takes out raw rice, declaring it as an offering to the six destinies. These all make equal offerings to the ten realms; this is clear proof for people today distributing [food in] bushels to the six destinies when cultivating the Water and Land Offering.

33.43

I comment: The Miaole states, 'People in the world establishing [offerings to] the six destinies began when Emperor Wu of Liang saw many licentious sacrifices in Jiangdong (slaughtering living beings to sacrifice to evil spirits); he thus used similar Buddhist teachings to expediently replace them.' This was Jingxi taking the evil practice of sacrificial slaughter and contrasting it against the Buddha Dharma from one perspective, intending thereby to halt killing throughout the world; hence he did not discuss the meaning of equal offerings to the ten realms. The Flaming Mouth Scripture instructs making offerings to the Three Jewels, which are the four noble realms; offering to brāhmaṇas and ṛṣis, which is the human destiny; and offering to the flaming-mouth assembly, which is the ghost destiny. Although the remaining four destinies are not complete, this was because at that time the response to capacity was not universal; hence the scriptural text was concealed and abbreviated. If one is a Mahāyāna practitioner who completely contemplates the Dharma realm, one should rely on the meaning in the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa-sūtra. As for Ciyun's statement that the ghost destiny receives food while the other five destinies do not, this opinion also employs the *Vibhāṣā-śāstra*, which states that through sacrificial offerings only ghosts and spirits receive it, while the other destinies cannot entirely receive it; this was spoken in reference to worldly sacrifices among humans. If one relies on the supramundane Dharma and cultivates unhindered offerings with an equanimous mind, one should look up to the texts of these three places—the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa, Nanyue, and Tiantai—and their principle will be found everywhere. Nowadays, some prepare small bushels called 'scattered libations', some prepare one giant bushel, and some reach up to forty-nine bushels; all are means to equally offer to the multitudinous classes of the six destinies. How could one not believe in it?

33.44

Offerings to the Ten Kings: Tradition relates that during the Tang dynasty the preceptor Daoming traveled in spirit to the underworld, where he saw the Ten Kings governing the deceased separately. From this, the names were transmitted to the world, and upon a person's death, many people arrange these offerings. Among the names of the Ten Kings, six can be verified from the scriptural canon and biographical records: King Yama and King of the Five Offices (these two names are seen in the Three Long Fasts citing the Tiwei jing); King of Impartiality (Huayan ganying zhuan: Guo Shenliang was summoned by emissaries to the presence of the King of Impartiality, where he was released and sent back because he recited the four-line verse 'If a person wishes to understand fully...'); King of Mount Tai (Yijing tuji: the śramaṇa Faju translated the Jingong Taishan shuzui jing; Xiaojing yuanshenqi: Mount Tai, grandson of the Heavenly Emperor, governs the summoning of human souls); King of the First River (Yijian zhi: Scholar Guo of Chizhou dreamed he entered the underworld, where the king bowed, offered him a seat, and told him, 'I am King Lang of Ximen. The underworld recorded that I was loyal, filial, upright, and did not harm living beings, and thus I attained the position of King of the First River for one cycle [of twelve years]'); and King of Qin Guang (Yijian zhi: After Scholar Chen of Nanjian died, his younger brother's daughter saw two ghosts lead her to a palace, saying, 'This is King Qin Guang.' The king told the girl, 'If you wish to relieve your uncle's suffering, you can recite the Bashi jing.' When the girl awoke, the family obtained the sūtra and invited monks to recite it a thousand times; the elder brother later appeared in a dream to thank his younger brother, saying that he had already attained rebirth in heaven). Ouyang Xiu also dreamed of the Ten Kings (seen in the Treatise on Prosperity and Decline, sixth year of the Jiayou era). Impermanence Bell: When Master Zhizhe was approaching his end, he said to the karmadāna, 'When a person's life ends, hearing the sound of the bell or chime increases right mindfulness; it should be prolonged, continuing until the breath ceases' (seen in the Basic Annals; this refers to the efficacy at the moment of passing). The Nanshan shichao states: 'When a sick person is about to pass away, strike the chime of impermanence.' The Ekottarika Āgama states: 'When the bell is struck, all the sufferings in the evil destinies cease altogether' (the root sūtra contains the method and regulation for sounding the bell). The Fu fazang jing states: 'Because the king of Jibin was fond of killing, upon dying he became a thousand-headed fish. Sword-wheels encircled its body, slashing it repeatedly as it regenerated. An arhat serving as karmadāna struck the bell at the appointed times; whenever the fish heard the sound, the sword-wheels halted in mid-air. The fish sent a message pleading for the striking to be prolonged; after seven days, its suffering ended' (this refers to proof after death). The First Sovereign of the Southern Tang, because he executed surrendered troops, was imprisoned in the dark purgatory; only when hearing the sound of a bell did his suffering temporarily cease. Someone who entered the underworld saw this and reported it to the Later Sovereign, who then cast a bell for Qingliang Monastery, engraving upon it: 'Dedicated to Emperor Xiaogao to be freed from darkness and delivered from distress' (Treatise on Prosperity and Decline, under Emperor Shao of Jin). This is a recent verification.

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佛祖統紀 — 志磐, Classical Chinese