佛祖統紀 35.28

35.28

Yuan Hong's Hou Han ji states: "In Tianzhu of the Western Regions, there is the Buddhist way. 'Fo' in the language of Han means 'Awakened', meaning to awaken all living beings. Its teaching takes the cultivation of goodness and a compassionate mind as primary, devoting itself purely to purity. Those who are adept are called śramaṇas, which in the language of Han means 'quieting the mind', namely, quieting desires, casting away cravings, and returning to non-action (wuwei). Furthermore, they believe that when a person dies the spirit is not annihilated, but subsequently assumes another form; the good and evil deeds performed during life all have their retribution. Therefore, they value doing good and cultivating the Way to refine the spirit, ultimately to become a Buddha. The Buddha's body is sixteen feet tall, golden-yellow in colour, with the halo of the sun around the nape of his neck; his transformations penetrate everywhere without obstruction, so he can transform and pervade the myriad things, greatly rescuing all living beings. Emperor Ming was moved by a dream, and thereupon dispatched envoys to Tianzhu to inquire about the Way, returning with paintings of his image. There are scriptures in thousands of scrolls taking emptiness and non-being as their principle, encompassing the fine and the coarse, leaving nothing unintegrated. They excel at grand, broad, and far-reaching words. What they seek is within one's own body; what they illuminate is beyond seeing and hearing. Worldly people sometimes take it as empty falsehood, yet it ultimately returns to the mysterious, subtle, profound, and far-reaching, difficult to fathom. Therefore, when kings, dukes, and great men observe the occasion of life, death, and karmic retribution, none fails to be startled and lose their self-composure" (jue is pronounced jue-fu-fan, meaning startled and hurried).