佛祖統紀 37

English (machine translation) 37

Language: English

37.1

Compiled by the Monk Zhipan of Donghu in Siming during the Xianchun era of the Song dynasty

37.2

Treatise on the Prosperity and Decline of the Dharma, No. 17, Part 4

First year of Tianjian. The Emperor dreamt that a sandalwood image of Śākyamuni entered the realm (the one made by King Udayana of Tianzhu). He then sent Hao Qian and others to Western Tianzhu to seek it. ○ The Kingdom of Youdali came to offer tribute, saying that its king had dreamt of an extraordinary monk who said, 'In the Eastern Land a holy king has appeared; after ten years, the Buddhadharma will greatly flourish.' ○ An imperial decree ordered that whenever monks and nuns commit offenses, they are to be punished entirely in accordance with the Buddhist Vinaya. ○ Yu Shen had been friendly with the Emperor since his youth. When the Emperor raised troops, he appointed him as clerk, but Shen did not accept the post. He dwelt in the mountains, ate vegetarian food, and six times a day performed penance and recited the Lotus Sūtra. Late one night he saw a man of the Way who called himself Master Yuan, who addressed Shen as 'Gentleman of Superior Conduct.' Later, waking with a start from sleep and food, he said, 'Master Yuan has come again; I must depart!' The whole family heard that the Gentleman of Superior Conduct had already been born into the Pure Land. An imperial edict posthumously conferred upon him the title 'Chaste and Resolute Retired Scholar.'

37.6

Second year. The Emperor asked Master Baozhi whether the state would face disasters. Zhi pointed to his throat and neck (prophesying Hou Jing). He asked how long he would enjoy the state. Zhi replied, 'Yuanjia, Yuanjia!' (Emperor Wen of the Song's Yuanjia era reached thirty years; repeating it meant exceeding Yuanjia.) When the Emperor administered the government with harshness and severity, Zhi used his supernatural power to let the Emperor see his late father suffering underground, because of which he showed leniency in punishments. Once Zhang Sengyou was imperial ordered to paint Zhi's portrait; Zhi tore open his face with his fingers, revealing the features of the Twelve-Faced Avalokiteśvara, sometimes compassionate and sometimes awesome; Sengyou was ultimately unable to paint it. At that time, whenever the two masters Fayun and Yunguang preached the Lotus Sūtra, heavenly flowers fluttered down in profusion. Considering them to have verified holiness, the Emperor burned an invitation by night in the private hall to invite Master Zhi, Yunguang, and Fayun to a vegetarian feast. The next day, Master Zhi arrived alone. ○ The monk Mandrasena of the Funan kingdom arrived to present a coral Buddha statue; an imperial decree ordered him to translate scriptures in the capital of Yang. ○ On the eighth day of the fourth month, the Emperor personally composed an essay in Chongyun Hall, leading twenty thousand officials and commoners to generate the bodhicitta and forever renounce Daoism. His essay said, 'May I in future lives leave home in youthful purity, broadly propagate the scriptural teachings, transform and liberate sentient beings, and together achieve the Buddha path. I would rather sink long into evil destinies within the True Dharma than delight in momentarily gaining rebirth in heaven by relying on Laozi's teachings.' In the eleventh month, an edict ordered the ministers, the hundred officials, marquis-kings, and imperial clansmen all to renounce Daoism, abandoning the heterodox to return to the correct. Third year. The Emperor proceeded to Chongyun Hall to expound the scriptures, appointing Fabiao of Zhiyuan Temple as chief lecturer. Biao would first pose a question, and only then would the Emperor respond; in examining and probing, both penetrated the profound and wondrous. ○ The Emperor once dreamt of a divine monk who said, 'Sentient beings in the six destinies and four forms of birth undergo immeasurable suffering; why not institute the great Water-and-Land Feast to universally deliver the multitude of souls?' The Emperor then perused the canon and initiated the composition of ritual texts; after three years they were completed. He thereupon held an offering at Jinshan Temple, commanding the monk Sengyou to proclaim the text, which showed great miraculous resonance (the matter is fully recorded in the Treatise on Luminous Manifestation). ○ An imperial decree ordered Guangzhai Temple to be built on his former residence, so named because the residence radiated light for seven days. An imperial decree appointed Dharma Master Fayun as abbot of Guangzhai Temple, establishing monastic regulations as a standard for later generations. ○ The monk Zhileng was skilled in the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra and the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, and was especially versed in Zhuangzi and Laozi. Later, encountering bandits, he returned to lay life. The Daoist Meng Xida urged him to become a yellow-crowned Daoist. Seeing that the various Daoist scriptures were utterly devoid of central tenets, he thereupon drew upon Buddhist teachings to polish them; the interpretations of the meanings of scriptures such as the Xisheng jing and the Miaozhen jing all originated with Leng. Before Emperor Wu renounced Daoism, he drew Leng to Wuming Hall to establish doctrines. In his twilight years, while lecturing on the Xisheng jing for various Daoists, he suddenly lost his voice, his tongue curled up on the seat, and he collapsed and died. The multitude considered this the retribution for betraying his faith (Monastic Mirror Record).

37.7

Fifth year. The monk Saṅghapāla of the Funan kingdom arrived.

37.8

Sixth year. The Emperor personally annotated the Larger Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, and ordered Dharma Master Fayun of Guangzhai to explain it for the hundred officials. Tenth year. The sandalwood image of Śākyamuni from Central Tianzhu arrived. The Emperor led the hundred officials to welcome it into the Taiji Hall, established a vegetarian feast to ordain people, granted a great amnesty, and prohibited killing; all bows and swords were reshaped into the form of lotus stupas. Earlier, eighty men, including Hao Qian and Xie Wenhua, had gone west in response to the imperial decree to seek the statue. When they reached the country of Śrāvastī (translated as 'civilised and abundant,' belonging to Central Tianzhu), they requested the statue from the king. The king said, 'This true image of Central Tianzhu cannot be sent to a peripheral region.' He then ordered thirty-two artisans to carve purple sandalwood again, each man portraying one mark. They began work at the mao hour, and by the wu hour it was already completed; its uṣṇīṣa emitted light and rained down fragrant rain. Qian carried the image on his back to return east and crossed the great ocean; he often heard the sound of armor behind him. Suddenly an extraordinary monk bowed to the image and said, 'The divine king Viśāla is protecting the image until it reaches there to broadly perform Buddhist works.' Having spoken, he disappeared. Later, Emperor Yuan constructed Daming Temple north of the city of Jingzhou to enshrine the image. ○ An edict ordered Dharma Master Sengmin to enter the palace and lecture on the Śrīmālādevī-sūtra; the ministers all assembled. Liu Ye asked, 'The Dharma Master has more than enough Buddhist learning; why do you mostly expound Confucian tenets?' Min said, 'Formerly Master Daosheng penetrated the scriptures through sudden enlightenment, and Master Sengci developed treatises based on the Abhidharma. As for this poor monk, I by no means limit myself by Confucianism or Buddhism, but merely follow wherever the literal meaning points.' A monk named Daochao admired Min's lecturing enterprise and vowed to equal him. In a dream, a celestial deity told him, 'Master Min already proclaimed the Dharma transformation during the time of Vipaśyin Buddha; as you are newly aspired, how could you be compared to him?' ○ He Yin entered Dinglin Temple on Mount Zhong, listened to the inner scriptures, and mastered their tenets. Later he lived in seclusion at Yunmen Temple on Mount Ruoye. His two elder brothers, Qiu and Dian, both followed him in seclusion; Dian was called 'Great Mountain' and Yin 'Lesser Mountain'; they were also called the 'Three Worthies of the He Family.' ○ Xie Ju was adept in profound principles and Buddhist doctrines; as governor of Jinling, he exchanged lectures on scriptures and treatises with scholarly monks. The summoned scholar He Yin came out from Wuqiu to attend (Huqiu was retroactively renamed to avoid the taboo of the name Hu, the grandfather of Emperor Gaozu of Tang). ○ When Dharma Master Yun of Guangzhai lectured on the Lotus Sūtra, he moved heavenly flowers to fill the sky and fall like fluttering snow. Because of a severe drought, the Emperor questioned Master Zhi; Zhi said, 'Yun (clouds) can bring rain.' The Emperor therefore invited him to lecture on the Lotus Sūtra; when he reached the passage 'its moisture pervades everywhere,' a great downpour ensued. Yuan Ang, unequal in honor, had a monk whom he constantly supported at home, who made a vow wishing to attain wisdom and understanding like the master. He dreamt of a monk who said to him, 'Dharma Master Yun already lectured on this scripture during the time of Dīpaṃkara Buddha; how could you match him in haste?' ○ The Sovereign assembled the various monks, composed an essay, and made a vow to permanently cut off wine and meat. Its summary says, 'From this day forth, if disciple Xiao Yan drinks wine, indulges in laxity, or eats sentient beings down to milk, honey, butter, and cheese, may all ghosts and spirits first severely punish disciple and send him to hell; when all sentient beings achieve Buddhahood, may I still remain in Avīci. If monks and nuns drink wine and eat meat, they should also be punished in like manner.' At that time he again assembled 1,448 monks and nuns in Hualin Hall and invited Dharma Master Yun to lecture on the passage in the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra on eating meat severing the seed of great compassion. The Sovereign personally sat on the ground and listened together with the assembly.

37.9

Eleventh year. An imperial edict ordered Dharma Master Baoliang to compile a commentary on the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, and the Sovereign personally composed a preface for it.

37.10

Twelfth year. Shen Yue, who bore the title of Special Advancement, composed the Discourse on Moderation in Diet, arguing that power, profit, honor, fame, seductive charm, delicacy, and rich, fatty food all make the mind confused and unable to attain the Way, and therefore the sages prohibited these three matters (and so forth).

37.11

Thirteenth year. Earlier, Master Zhi had once climbed Mount Zhong with the Emperor, and pointing to Dulong Ridge, said, 'This is a tomb site; the one who goes first will obtain it.' In this year, he passed away in the Buddha hall of the Hualin Garden. The Emperor, remembering his words, ordered the officials to prepare his burial at this site and built a five-tiered stūpa above it. When the imperial carriage arrived at the burial to present offerings, he suddenly saw the Mahāsattva emerge in the clouds; he thereupon founded Kaishan Temple for him.

37.12

Fifteenth year. A monk from Western Tianzhu painted his own image at Lingyan Temple in Wu; when night fell, the image would arise and circumambulate, responding miraculously to prayers. Later, a Sanskrit monk said, 'This is the Bodhisattva Jñānākara.' ○ The Perfected Man of Huayang, Tao Hongjing, built the Bodhi White Stūpa on Mount Sanmao; he once dreamt that the Buddha bestowed upon him the prophecy of becoming the Bodhisattva Victorious Power. He then went to the Aśoka Stūpa in Mao County and voluntarily vowed to receive the five great precepts. Facing death, he did not bathe, but covered his bed with a great kāṣāya, veiling his head and feet; his disciples complied with this (Book of Liang).

37.13

Sixteenth year. An imperial decree ordered that the imperial physicians must not use living creatures as medicine. For the sacrificial animals of the suburban temples, flour was substituted for all of them; the ancestral temples began to use vegetables and fruits for their sacrificial offerings. (Quan is pronounced quan; an ox of uniform color. The Liji speaks of 'sacrificial animals of uniform color' in sacrifices.)

37.14

The author remarks: Sacrificing to Heaven and Earth and making offerings to the ancestral temple and the altars of the soil and grain have inevitably involved slaughtering sacrificial beasts to prepare the offerings. Since the emperors and kings of antiquity, this has been used as a rule, and rulers of states have kept to it as precedent, never daring to question it. Now, those who oversee the transformations of Heaven and Earth—those addressed as the Sovereign on High or Sovereign Heaven and Empress Earth—are supremely sagely and supremely divine. How could divine and sagely beings delight in killing sacrificial victims, or be willing to savour rank and greasy food? This arose because in high antiquity the common custom was to eat raw meat with its fur and drink blood, sustaining oneself in this way, and people inevitably served the gods by the same means. With such crude and uncultivated views, they never understood that sacrificial beasts, rank and fetid, were an act of profanation. Once the populace began eating grain, the custom still could not be changed. Sages and worthies, teaching the world, took antiquity as their model and set it down in the ritual classics; thereupon later kings complied and practiced it, none daring to debate whether it was proper or not. Using it to sustain themselves was still out of an unthinking habit from antiquity, not considering that in serving the gods one ought not to profane them. Now, being resolute in slaughtering life is unbenevolent; offering rank and fetid food is unrighteous. Taking what is unbenevolent and unrighteous as an old habit of self-sustenance, one should still consider restraining it to pursue a mindset of complete goodness. How much less, when serving the spiritual entities of Heaven, Earth, ancestors, and predecessors, should one wish to profane them with sacrificial beasts and rank, fetid things! Ever since the Dharma of the Buddha spread eastwards, exhorting the cultivation of fasting and precepts, even the Lord of Heaven knows to serve the Buddha; how could humans serve Heaven yet not know to serve the Buddha? If one knows how to serve the Buddha, then it is truly credible that one should not profane Heaven with sacrificial beasts. Only Emperor Wu of the Liang and Emperor Xianwen of the Wei decreed that sacrificial beasts should not be used in the sacrifices of the suburban altars and temples, replacing them with vegetables, flour, wine, and fruit. This can be called departing from antiquity yet according with the Way. Offering millet and presenting clear water was also the sacrificial method of the Three Dynasties; what need is there for sacrificial beasts and rank, fetid things?

37.15

Dharma Master Ciyun, on Mount Tiantai, exhorted popular customs regarding sacrifices to the spirits, urging that bloody sacrifices be changed to vegetarian feasts. His text stated: 'From the seven ancestral shrines of the Son of Heaven down to the commoners, all alike sacrifice to the round mound and the square pool, and to the spirits above and below. This is an enduring canon of the state; if we exhort them to cease these sacrifices, would that not excessively harm the customs of the state?' He explained: 'Sacrifices originate from secular canons, while reforming sacrifices is based on Buddhist sūtras. Secular canons do not escape slaughter; Buddhist sūtras value only compassion. Slaughter brings retribution in the three destinies; compassion bears fruit in the myriad virtues. Using good to reform evil is always acceptable.'

37.16

An imperial decree was issued abolishing the Daoist abbeys throughout the realm, and all Daoist priests returned to lay life. An imperial decree appointed the śramaṇa Huichao as Academician of the Hall of Longevity and Radiance (Shouguang Dian). The assembly of monks was summoned for a Dharma gathering to lecture, debate, and comment on sūtra texts, and they resided within the imperial palace (this was the beginning of the Inner Bodhimaṇḍa).

37.17

In the eighteenth year, the śramaṇa Huijiao of Kuaiji considered that Baochang’s *Biographies of Famous Monks* was excessively diffuse. He thereupon authored the *Biographies of Eminent Monks*, beginning from the Yongping era of the Han dynasty and dividing their virtuous deeds into ten categories. In his own preface, he stated: 'Compilations of earlier antiquity mostly spoke of "famous monks." However, fame is merely the guest of reality. If one's actual practice conceals its light, then one is eminent without being famous; if one lacks virtue but conforms to the times, then one is famous without being eminent. What use is there in recording those who are famous without being eminent? But those who are eminent without being famous are fully included in the present record.' Contemporary society regarded this as a definitive view.

37.18

In the first year of the Putong reign era, the śramaṇa Zhongyang translated eleven works, including the *Mañjuśrī-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra*, in the capital Yang[zhou]. The Emperor personally took down the brushes, and ordered Baochang to continue after him. The Emperor constructed a circular altar inside the palace, intending to receive the refuges and precepts, and made an exquisite selection of the worthy and brilliant. The court deliberated and decided that Dharma Master Huiyue of Caotang should answer the summons. On the eighth day of the fourth month, the Emperor donned field-garments (kāṣāya), faced north, paid reverent homage, and received the full precepts. Just as the karmavācanā was being performed, sweet dew (amṛta) descended in the courtyard. There were a three-legged crow and two peacocks that stepped down the stairs and became tame. The master was bestowed the title 'Wise One' (Zhizhe). From then on, whenever he entered court, a special couch was inevitably set out, and the Emperor sat beside him. From the Crown Prince, princes, dukes, and ministers down to monks and laity, forty-eight thousand persons were registered as having received the precepts from Yue. Senior śramaṇas also received them anew from the master. Fayun alone said: 'I have already received the precepts. How can the Dharma be treated as human worldly affairs?' Commentators held him in high esteem. (Yue’s surname was Lou; the world called him Dharma Master Lou Yue.)

37.19

In the second year of the Putong reign era, an imperial decree invited Dharma Master Yunguang to lecture on the *Lotus Sūtra* in the inner palace. The heavens rained precious flowers. In the third year, an imperial decree ordered the renovation of King Aśoka Monastery in Mao County.

37.20

In the sixth year, an imperial decree appointed Fayun of Guangzhai Monastery as Grand Rector of Monks (Da Sengzheng), with official clerical staff provided by the state. (The office of Rector of Monks began in the Yao Qin; now the word 'Grand' was added.)

37.21

In the first year of the Datong reign era (which was the first year of the Wutai era of Xiaoming of the Northern Wei; previous records saying 'Putong' are mistaken), Bodhidharma of South India sailed across the sea and arrived at Guangzhou. He was summoned by decree to an audience with the Emperor. The Emperor asked: 'What is the highest truth of the holy truths?' (Yuanwu’s *Blue Cliff Record* states: 'Emperor Wu debated the two truths with Dharma Master Lou Yue and Crown Prince Zhaoming, establishing the ultimate truth to clarify non-existence, and the conventional truth to clarify non-nonexistence. The non-duality of ultimate and conventional is the highest truth of the holy truths.') The Master replied: 'Vast emptiness, nothing holy.' (Yuanwu states: 'Bodhidharma severed it with a single stroke of the blade.') The Emperor said: 'Who is facing Us?' (Yuanwu states: 'The Emperor did not realize, and instead formed a view of self and other.') The Master replied: 'I do not know.' (Yuanwu states: 'Bodhidharma’s compassion was excessive.') The Emperor did not connect with him. (Yuanwu states: 'The Emperor did not know where it landed.') The Master thereupon crossed the river and entered Wei. (Yuanwu states: 'Later people transmitted that he crossed the river on a reed, but the origin of this is not clear.') The Emperor proceeded to Tongtai Monastery and renounced his body; the ministers ransomed him with one hundred million coins, and the Emperor returned to the palace.

37.22

In the second year, the kingdom of Panpan presented a Buddha tooth.

37.23

In the first year of the Zhongdatong reign era, a great epidemic struck the capital. The Emperor held a vegetarian feast for relieving suffering in the Chongyun Hall on behalf of the common people, praying with his own body. He visited Tongtai Monastery again and held a great, unrestricted assembly (mahā-pañcavārṣika) for the fourfold community. Wearing Dharma robes, he practiced the great renunciation of purity, using a plain couch and earthenware vessels, riding in a small carriage. He personally ascended the Dharma throne to explain the title of the *Nirvāṇa Sūtra* for the assembly. The ministers ransomed him with one hundred million coins. The Emperor held a great vegetarian feast for fifty thousand monastics and laypeople.

37.24

In the second year, the Emperor went to Tongtai Monastery and established a great vegetarian feast of equality. The kingdom of Dandan presented an ivory statue of the Buddha.

37.25

In the tenth month of the third year, the Emperor visited Tongtai Monastery to lecture on the *Nirvāṇa Sūtra*. In the eleventh month, he lectured on the gold-lettered *Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra*.

37.26

In the fifth year, the Emperor visited Tongtai Monastery and propounded the title of the gold-lettered *Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra*. From the Crown Prince on down, 309,600 people listened to the Dharma. Minister of Personnel Dao Gai lived at home on a vegetarian diet, morning and evening following the monks in worship and recitation. The Emperor sent him pure food three times a month. The official salary he received was entirely donated to the two monasteries of Mount Jiang (that is, Mount Zhong). When he died, his facial complexion was as if alive, and his hand was bent with two fingers raised.

37.27

In the sixth year, the lay practitioner Fu Xi of Wushang went to Mount Song and built a hut between two birchleaf pear trees, calling himself the Great Being Shanhui, the Future Descent of the Twin Trees. He sent a disciple carrying a letter to the imperial palace, addressing the Emperor as the Lord of the State, the Bodhisattva Savior of the World. The imperial decree replied: 'The Great Being wishes to come to save sentient beings; let it be as he pleases.' The Emperor had the gates locked beforehand to observe his wonders. The Great Being pulled a wooden mallet from his sleeve, struck it once, and all the gates opened. He met the Emperor in the Shanyan Hall. The usher called out praise three times, but he did not bow, walking straight up to the imperial couch to speak face to face. After the vegetarian meal was finished, he left for Mount Zhong and sat under the pines of Dinglin. One day, the Great Being donned a patched robe, wore a cap, and put on shoes to see the Emperor. The Emperor asked: 'Are you a monk?' The Great Being pointed to his cap. 'Are you a Daoist?' He pointed to his shoes. 'Are you a layman?' He pointed to his patched robe. (Fenyang Zhaodai remarked: 'The Great Being was capable in many ways.') The nun Faxuan of Shanchuan recited the *Lotus Sūtra* fluently; while sitting or lying down, she saw a canopy covering her. Her parents had her leave home at Qiming Monastery; on that day, the canopy disappeared. From then on, she read widely in the sūtras and treatises, deeply exploring their profound principles. Yuanjian, Prince of Heng, as commandery governor, invited her to be the preceptor of the women of Yuecheng. The kingdom of Panpan presented Buddha relics.

37.28

In the first year of the Datong reign era, the Emperor visited Tongtai Monastery and held an unrestricted assembly. Master of Precepts Yue, the Wise One, passed away. The Emperor suspended court for three days and wept for him in plain white mourning clothes. The forty-eight thousand persons who had received precepts from the master all wore hemp mourning clothes and wept as they escorted him, stupa-enshrining him to the left of Master Baozhi. An imperial decree ordered that a separate couch be set up in the Chongyun Hall for the Great Being Shanhui to lecture on the *Threefold Wisdom Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra*. The dukes and ministers were all assembled. When the Son of Heaven arrived, the crowd all stood up to welcome him, but the Great Being did not move. An imperial censor asked him the reason, and he replied: 'If the Dharma-ground moves, all dharmas are unsettled.' The Emperor praised him. The recluse Zhao Boxiu met the Vinaya Master Hongdu on Mount Lu and obtained the 'Marking Record of the Assembly of Sages,' which said: After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, Upāli compiled the Vinaya Piṭaka. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month of that year, after the pravāraṇā was completed, he placed a dot below the character for the Vinaya Piṭaka. It was done like this year after year. After Upāli, master transmitted it to master down to Saṅghabhadra, who brought the Vinaya Piṭaka to Guangzhou. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, year of Gengwu, the seventh year of the Yongming era of the Qi dynasty, after the pravāraṇā was completed, he placed a dot; that year a total of 975 dots had been made. Boxiu asked: 'Why was it not dotted after the seventh year of Yongming?' Du said: 'Before that, they were all men who had attained the Way, who placed the dots with their own hands. People of our sort are ordinary mortals, and can only uphold it.' Boxiu calculated from this dot-record down to the beginning of the Datong era, finding it to be 1,020 years. When compared with various records, the dates of the Bhagavat’s birth and passing are all disparate, which is simply due to differences in lineages.

37.29

In the second year, the Emperor went to Tongtai Monastery and established a great unobstructed assembly. (In this year, great assemblies were held three times in total.) The Perfected One of Huayang, Tao Hongjing, passed away. The fragrance did not disperse for days. He was posthumously named Master Zhenbai. The book he wrote was titled *Declarations of the Perfected* (Zhen’gao), in which it is said: 'Of the thirty-four disciples of the Perfected One of Pure Emptiness, Pei, eighteen studied the Buddha’s Way, and the rest studied the Immortals’ Way. Of the fifteen disciples of the Perfected One of Purple Yang, Zhou, four understood the Buddha Dharma. Of the twenty-five disciples of the Perfected One of Tongbai, Prince Qiao, eight studied the Buddha Dharma. Seventy thousand li east from the coast of Kuaiji, to the west of Little Fangzhu Mountain, there are many who uphold the Buddha’s Way; there is a stupa a hundred zhang high, carved with gold and jade.' (Although they upheld the Buddha’s Way, they did not take the form of bhikṣus.) Bai Kai served Tao the Recluse for more than ten years. One day, a green lad and a white crane descended from the sky, saying: 'The Supreme One summons Master Bai.' The Recluse asked what Way led to this. Bai said: 'I have cultivated the Way of the Silent Audience for years.' Thereupon he ascended to heaven and departed. Three days later, he secretly descended to the Recluse’s chamber and said: 'Your hidden merit is prominent, but the pharmacopoeia you edited used horseflies and leeches as medicine, which harmed living creatures. One twelve-year cycle after this, you will merely shed your form to leave the world and become the Director of Waters on Penglai.' The Recluse thereupon compiled three scrolls of an *Independent Pharmacopoeia* (Biexing Bencao), substituting botanical medicines for animal lives in order to redeem his fault.

37.30

In the third year, an imperial edict ordered the repair of the Changgan Pagoda. While excavating the foundation, a stone reliquary was discovered, inside of which was a gold jar and a lapis lazuli vase containing relics, fingernails, and hair. An imperial decree ordered them divided and enshrined in two pagodas, both of which emitted bright light simultaneously. The Emperor visited Tongtai Monastery to cast gilt-bronze images of the Buddhas of the ten directions. He then went to King Aśoka Monastery (located within the capital city of Jiankang) to hold an unobstructed feast of the Dharma, and granted a great amnesty throughout the realm. Crown Prince Zhaoming, Tong, passed away. The Prince was by nature fond of Buddhism; he had separately erected the Huiyi Hall in the Eastern Palace as a place for Dharma assemblies, inviting eminent monks to establish the doctrine of the three truths, for which he was praised by his contemporaries. Prince of Yueyang Xiao Cha (Cha, also read as Chá, son of Zhaoming), while garrisoning Yuezhou, rebuilt two pagodas of brick and wood. Prior to this, the śramaṇa Tanyan and Xu Xun had together built these pagodas, but before they were finished Xun died. Yan had reached one hundred and twenty years of age by this year. Xun's subsequent rebirth was Xiao Cha. Yan announced beforehand to his disciples: 'Xu Xuandu is coming!' (Xun's courtesy name was Xuandu). At the time, Cha had previously received a secret revelation from Master Zhi; as soon as he entered the prefecture, he went to the monastery to visit the pagodas. Yan went out the gate and called to him, saying: 'Xu Xuandu, why come so late? The stūpa of former days remains as before.' He then empowered him with the power of samādhi, whereupon [Cha] immediately awakened to the matter of having built the pagodas in his former life (this is today's Yingtian Pagoda in Yuecheng).

37.31

In the fourth year, the Emperor visited Tongtai Monastery and held an Ullambana vegetarian feast (in Sanskrit Ullambana, translated here as 'rescuing from hanging upside down'; this refers to the venerable Maudgalyāyana preparing this basin offering to deliver his mother from the sufferings of a hungry ghost). Liu Xie, Gentleman of the Transmission of Directives, was deeply esteemed by the Crown Prince. All the steles and inscriptions for monasteries and pagodas were authored by him (the stele for the stone image at Shicheng still survives). This year he submitted a memorial requesting to become a monk, and was granted the name Huidi.

37.32

In the fifth year, an imperial decree sent the śramaṇa Baoyun to the kingdom of Funan to welcome the Buddha's hair relic.

37.33

In the sixth year, an imperial edict instructed Xiao Cha, the garrison officer of Yuezhou, to rebuild King Aśoka Monastery in Mao County. The King of Funan sent an envoy to pay tribute and request an image of Śākyamuni as well as sūtras and treatises. An imperial decree granted them, along with one hundred and three volumes of the imperial lecture commentaries on the Nirvāṇa, Prajñā, and Golden Light [sūtras]. Chan Master Huiwen of Northern Qi, at Henan, taught the oral secret of the three contemplations to Chan Master Huisi.

37.34

In the seventh year, the kingdom of Baekje sent an envoy to pay tribute and request sūtras and treatises. An imperial decree granted the commentary on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra.

37.35

In the tenth year, the kingdom of Khotan sent an envoy to present a jade-carved Buddha image as tribute.

37.36

In the first year of the Zhongdatong era, the Emperor visited Tongtai Monastery to lecture on the gold-lettered Three Wisdoms Prajñā Sūtra and performed the great pure renunciation. The Crown Prince and the ministers ransomed him back to the palace with one hundred million coins. That night, the monastery's stūpa caught fire. His Majesty said: 'This is the doing of Māra.' He then issued an edict saying: 'When the Way is high, Māra flourishes; when cultivating goodness, obstacles arise.' Thereupon he rebuilt a twelve-story stūpa.

37.37

In the first year of the Taiqing era, the Emperor visited Tongtai Monastery, held an unhindered great assembly, and performed the great pure renunciation. He ascended the Miaoyan Hall to lecture on the gold-lettered Three Wisdoms Prajñā Sūtra. The ministers ransomed him back to the palace with one hundred million coins. Paramārtha, Tripiṭaka Master of Western India, arrived. An imperial decree ordered him to translate ten works, including the Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra, in the Baoyun Hall. At that time, many of the Buddha's disciples were lax and unrestrained, and the leading monks could not regulate them. The Emperor wished to enforce the Vinaya through the office of the Buddhist Rectifier (saṅghapradhāna). When the decree was issued, Dharma Master Fazang adamantly maintained it was impermissible, and the Emperor could not sway him. Fazang said to the assembly: 'Among ten sons of noble families, how could all satisfy their father's wishes? Now, when people from the five directions are mixed together, can one really bind them according to one person's personal preferences?' The Emperor had personally received the full monastic precepts, and his living and sleeping habits roughly resembled those of a śramaṇa; monks were allowed to tour freely even through the imperial palace. One day, Master Fazang went so far as to climb up onto the imperial throne. The attendants scolded him, but Fazang said: 'This poor monk is an heir of the Dīpaṃkara Golden Wheel; why should I feel ashamed of this seat? If you wish to kill me, do not worry that I will lack a place to be reborn.' The Emperor specially ordered that he not be questioned.

37.38

In the second year, Hou Jing rebelled at Shouyang. Originally, when Jing was in the Eastern Wei, he revolted with Henan and submitted to the Western Wei. Soon after, he sent an envoy to the Liang requesting to attach himself internally. His Majesty accepted him and enfeoffed him as the Prince of Henan.

37.39

In the third year, Hou Jing reached Jiankang and breached the palace city (Taicheng). He entered to have an audience with His Majesty in the Taiji Hall, guarded by five hundred armored soldiers. Wearing his sword, he ascended the hall and bowed. His Majesty's expression remained calm and collected; he said: 'You have been in the military for so long; must it not have been tiresome?' He had him led to sit upon the seat of the Three Excellencies. Jing was terrified and could not respond. When he came out, he said to his attendants: 'When I sit in the saddle facing the enemy with arrows and stones raining down, I have never felt fear. Today, seeing Duke Xiao has made me endlessly terrified.' (慴 [shè], pronounced zhi-she reversed, means fear.) After Jing claimed the title of Chancellor for himself, the Emperor took ill from grief and indignation. His fasting and precepts did not slacken. With a bitter taste in his mouth, he asked for honey, but before it arrived, he raised his hand and cried out: 'Hehe!' and then passed away. The Emperor had a prominent forehead and a dragon-like visage, an eight-character pattern on his tongue, a floating aura behind his neck, cast no shadow at midday, and the palm of his right hand formed the character 'wu' (martial). In his later years, he devoted himself to the Buddhist Way, taking only one meal a day, eating only bean broth and coarse unhusked rice (糲 [lì], pronounced lang-ge reversed, unhusked rice), wearing plain cloth and black gauze curtains, wearing one cap for three years, completely giving up sexual relations from the age of fifty, and drinking no wine nor listening to music. He authored several hundred volumes of doctrinal commentaries on various sūtras, including the Nirvāṇa, the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, and the Three Wisdoms. Upāsaka Lu Fahe of Jiangling lived in seclusion and worshipped the Buddha. When Hou Jing sent his general Ren Yue to attack the Prince of Xiangdong at Jiangling, Fahe and eight hundred of his disciples mobilized the spirit soldiers of local shrines and defeated him. He gathered troops again in Jiangxia, wishing to attack Hou Jing, but the Prince, fearing he would cause unrest, stopped him. Fahe said: 'This poor monk seeks Buddhahood; I do not even yearn for the thrones of Śakra or Brahmā, so why would I covet the position of a human king? It is only out of the karma of offering incense and lamps to the Buddha King of Emptiness that, knowing Your Highness's past retribution, I wished to save you. Since I have already been suspected, this must be fixed karma that cannot be altered.' When Emperor Yuan ascended the throne (he was the Prince of Xiangdong), he appointed Fahe as Regional Inspector of Yingzhou. When the Emperor was captured by the Wei, Fahe and his disciples all went to Northern Qi (Book of Liang).

37.40

Emperor Jianwen (Gang, the third son of Emperor Wu).

37.41

In the first year of the Dabao era, on the eighth day of the fourth month, an imperial decree ordered the ordination of people as monks. He personally composed a vow: 'Your disciple Xiao Gang, by the merit of establishing this vegetarian feast and ordaining people, universally delivers the six destinies and four forms of birth, freeing them from desire, eradicating ignorance forever, and cultivating prajñā to become true children of the Buddha.'

37.42

In the second year, Hou Jing deposed the Emperor and confined him in the Yongfu Province, where he brought an earthen sack and smothered him to death. When Emperor Wu first changed the mandate, Zhang Qi killed the Marquis of Donghun and sent his head to the Emperor, exterminating his lineage. Several years later, Emperor Jianwen was born. Master Zhi said to the Emperor: 'This child is born together with his nemesis.' For Hou Jing had been born in that same year in Yanmen. When Jing conquered Jiankang, Emperor Wu passed away, and Emperor Jianwen subsequently met with calamity; many sons and grandsons of the Liang were slaughtered. Therefore, contemporaries claimed that Hou Jing was the rebirth of the Marquis of Donghun. Chan Master Huiwen of Northern Qi, while reading the Great Treatise (Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa), came upon the verse in the Chapter on the Four Truths: 'Whatever phenomena arise from conditions, / I declare to be empty; / It is also a conventional designation, / And also the meaning of the Middle Way.' He experienced a sudden great awakening. Thereupon, he took Nāgārjuna as his distant master, established contemplation based on the treatise, and transmitted it to Chan Master Huisi.

37.43

Emperor Yuan (Yi, the seventh son of Emperor Wu).

37.44

In the first year of the Chengsheng era, Tripiṭaka Master Paramārtha, on account of the disturbances of Hou Jing, boarded a ship to return west. A great wind blew him back to Guangzhou. Residing at Zhizhi Monastery, he translated the Awakening of Faith and the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya, completing fifty works in total by the Chen dynasty. The Emperor once wrote a book titled Jinlouzi, in which he said: 'Among monks, I esteem Dharma Master Yan of Zhaoti Monastery; among hermits, I esteem Tao Zhenbai of Huayang (Hongjing, posthumously named Master Zhenbai); among scholar-officials, I esteem Zhou Hongzheng of Runan (a renowned worthy of the Northern Zhou).' When Dharma Master Yan of Zhaoti Monastery was young, a physiognomist told him: 'You are clever, young boy, but your life will not be long.' The Master thereupon made a vow, entered the mountains, and recited the Prajñā Sūtra. After a long time, he saw a monk over ten feet tall who said to him: 'The merit of this sūtra is inconceivable.' Twenty years later, he met the previous physiognomist, who said in astonishment: 'What wonderful medicine have you obtained to have prolonged your life?' Yan said: 'I only uphold the sūtra.' Liu Jinggong rebelled and burned Wangcai County. The county magistrate lodged at a nearby temple. The common people brought an ox and wine as gifts. The magistrate tied the ox to a pillar, cleared away the Buddha images, and entertained guests in the hall. The ox suddenly untied itself, came down the steps, and bowed. The magistrate laughed loudly and ordered his attendants to slaughter it. After drinking and eating his fill, he lay drunk beneath the hall; he soon felt itching and pain all over his body, and scratching it turned into white leprosy. He died at the end of the year (Family Instructions of the Yan Clan).

37.45

Emperor Jing (Fangzhi, the ninth son of Emperor Yuan).

37.46

In the first year of the Shaotai era, Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi abolished Daoism (details are in the Annals of Qi). Zong Dai, an Exhorter, was renowned for his learning and conduct. When Liang fell, he abandoned his office and became a monk, taking the name Wuming ('Nameless'). The Northern Zhou enticed him with high office, but Wuming explained five reasons why returning to secular life was impossible for him. In his late years, he composed the Inscription on Pacifying the Mind (Xixin ming), regretting his youthful devotion to literary composition (Huang Luzhi transcribed this inscription for the śramaṇa Zhihai to carve in monasteries as an admonition to those of miscellaneous learning). At Tianhuang Monastery in Jiangling, there was a Cypress Hall built by Emperor Ming. Zhang Sengyou had painted an image of Rocana and the ten disciples of Confucius. The Emperor asked: 'Why paint the Confucian Sage in a Buddhist gate?' Sengyou said: 'Later, people will rely on this.' When the Northern Zhou destroyed the Buddhist Dharma and burned the monasteries and pagodas across the realm, only this hall was spared from destruction because it housed an image of Xuan'ni (Confucius) (Record of Famous Paintings).

37.47

The Chen Dynasty (capital at Jiankang).

37.48

Emperor Wu (Chen Baxian, who received the abdication of Liang).

37.49

In the first year of the Yongding era, an edict ordered the reception of the Buddha's tooth relic from the house of Old Lady Du (姥 [mǔ], pronounced mo-bu reversed, an appellation for an old woman), and an unhindered great assembly of the fourfold community was held (the four assemblies of bhikṣus and so forth are called the fourfold community).

37.50

In the fifth month of the second year, the Emperor visited Dazhuangyan Monastery and renounced his body; the next day, the ministers submitted a memorial requesting his return to the palace. In the eleventh month, he visited Zhuangyan Monastery again to expound the title of the Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra. In the twelfth month, he visited Zhuangyan Monastery, held an unobstructed assembly, and performed the great pure renunciation; the next day, the ministers submitted a memorial requesting his return to the palace. The seven hundred monasteries of Jinling had been almost completely burned and destroyed during Hou Jing's rebellion; from the time the Emperor ascended the throne, he ordered all of them restored, so that the translation of sūtras and lecturing on the Way did not fall short of the previous dynasty.

37.51

In the third year, an imperial decree ordered a great vegetarian feast for the Humane Kings (Kāruṇikarāja) inside the palace. The śramaṇa Baoqiong was summoned to lecture on the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra in the Chongyun Hall. At the time, the ministers requested to use the Buddha images, precious canopies, spherical jades, and pendant jades (珩 [héng], pronounced yan-hang, the jade atop a pendant used to regulate walking pace) from the Chongyun Hall to construct carriages and chariots. Suddenly, clouds and vapors enveloped the hall, thunder and lightning ignited a fire, and in an instant it was completely burned away. Over a month later, someone arriving from the eastern provinces said that on that day he had seen the hall floating across the sea and flying away. There was a nun in Gaoyou who recited the Lotus Sūtra day and night without ceasing; flowers sprouted from all ten of her fingernails and two palms. His Majesty summoned her to the inner palace and, seeing the flowers, deeply praised and revered her; contemporaries called her the 'Flower-Hand Nun.'

37.52

Emperor Wen (Qian, the son of the founder's elder brother, the Prince of Shixing).

37.53

In the first year of the Tianjia era, an imperial decree appointed Baoqiong as the Great Buddhist Controller of the Capital. Since the Liang and Wei dynasties, the Buddhist Controller had maintained an elaborate retinue and staff comparable to government offices; at this point, Qiong memorialized to abolish this. Whenever he went out, he was accompanied only by a few ascetic monks (dhūtadhara) carrying walking sticks and bamboo hats. When the twelve kingdoms east of the sea heard of Qiong's virtue, they sent envoys offering gold and silk to request his portrait to bring back. Chan Master Huisi at Mount Dasu in Guangzhou explained the Peaceful Practices to Chan Master Zhiyi and showed him the Samantabhadra bodhimaṇḍa.

37.54

In the second year, Great Being Shanhui, while practicing the Way in the mountains, constantly saw the seven Buddhas before him and Vimalakīrti behind him; only Śākyamuni constantly conversed with the Great Being.

37.55

In the fourth year, the Emperor held an unobstructed great assembly in the Taiji Hall and performed the ritual of renouncing his body. He also gathered monks to practice the Vaipulya Dhāraṇī ritual, the Lotus Repentance, and the Golden Light Repentance, personally composing a vow that referred to himself as 'Bodhisattva-precept Disciple Emperor.'

37.56

In the sixth year, the Western Indian prince Upasūnya came to travel at Mount Lu and translated the Suvikrāntavikrāmiparipṛcchā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

37.57

The Deposed Emperor (Bozong, Crown Prince of Emperor Wen).

37.58

In the second year of the Guangda era, Chan Master Huisi entered and resided at Mount Nanyue. In this year, he conferred the precepts upon the Lord of the Mountain (detailed in the Basic Annals of Nanyue).

37.59

Emperor Xuan (Xu, the second son of the Prince of Shixing).

37.60

In the fourth month of the first year of Dajian, Mahāsattva Shanhui manifested his decease. After seven days, the county magistrate Chen Zhongqi came to pay homage. When passing the incense, [the Mahāsattva] still turned his palm to receive it. The entire assembly was astonished. An imperial decree ordered Xu Ling to compose a stele inscription in the mountains.

37.61

Liangzhu said: "The Chuandeng [lu] states: Emperor Wu invited the Mahāsattva to lecture on the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā. Holding clappers, he sang the forty-nine verse-contemplations. Zhu'an said: 'These mostly use the terms of the three natures; I fear they were attributed to the Mahāsattva's name by northern adherents of the characteristics school (Xiangzong).' Or it is said that he merely struck the table once with clappers. Master Zhi said: 'The Mahāsattva has finished expounding the sūtra.' However, when the Mahāsattva entered the court, Master Zhi had already passed away twenty years earlier. From where could there be this dialogue? Lou Ying compiled the Record of the Words and Deeds of the Mahāsattva in great detail, and it also does not record this matter."

37.62

Chan Master [Zhi]yi lectured on the Lotus Sūtra for the Specially Advanced (Yitong) Shen Junli and others at Waguan Monastery. Later he frequently lectured on the Dà zhìdù lùn for the assembly and taught the Cìdì chánmén. Chan Master [Hui]si resided on Mount Nanyue. Ouyang Zhengze, a Daoist priest of Jiuxian Abbey, made a deceitful memorial accusing the master of working black magic (gù) against the emperor. (Han Dynasty's Jiang Chong memorialized that Crown Prince Li was practicing witchcraft and black magic. Black magic means delusion. It refers to sorcerers' heterodox paths, or burying wooden figurines as curses. Here, the Daoist priest wished to frame the master with witchcraft and black magic.) The emperor dispatched an envoy to summon him, whereupon he saw the master arriving through the air. Startled into realizing his spiritual powers, [the emperor] asked nothing at all. Since the Daoist priest's crime of false accusation warranted execution in the marketplace, the master requested that he be pardoned and made to serve the saṅgha. Thereupon an imperial decree ordered the authorities to forge fourteen iron certificates and inscribe the fourteen names upon them, requiring them to follow the master back to the mountain to labor at hulling rice. (Today commoners call them 'rice-pounding uncles'.) After a long time, [one] offered his fields to supply the monastery storehouse to redeem his aged self; hence it was named the Liutian (Retained Field) Estate. Thereupon, the iron certificates were stored and inscribed on stone as a record, entitled 'Record of the Iron Certificates Bestowed by the Emperor of the Chen Dynasty upon Great Chan Master [Hui]si of Mount Nanyue for Subduing the Daoist Priests' (for details, see the Basic Annals of Nanyue).

37.63

In the fourth year, an imperial decree ordered the śramaṇa Huigeng to lecture on the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā for the Seven Ancestral Temples at Leyou Park. Cui Wuzi, an envoy from Qi, came to court. Because the śramaṇa Hongyan was superior in both talent and virtue, the emperor ordered him to serve as the guest attendant. Whenever Wuzi spoke with him, he would sigh in great admiration. The court deliberated over placing an official cap on Hongyan [to return him to secular office], but the master fasted and swore an oath [against it], so the emperor desisted.

37.64

In the fifth year, the śramaṇa Hye-gwang from across the eastern sea received the meaning of the Lotus Ease and Joy Practice from Chan Master Nanyue. He returned to his country to propagate the teaching, marking the beginning of the transmission of the teaching to the various countries across the eastern sea.

37.65

In the sixth year, Emperor Wu of the Zhou abolished both the Buddhist and Daoist teachings. Three hundred people, including the śramaṇas Jingsong and Lingkan, all led one another south to the Southern Dynasty. The emperor ordered Prince Consort Cai Ning to proclaim an imperial decree, saying: "The Dharma masters are adept at understanding order and disorder, and their coming to take refuge is orderly. It is appropriate that they dwell peacefully in the great monasteries of the metropolitan wall, and the authorities shall supply their needs." Śramaṇa Zhi Zhou and eleven others traveled to Western India to seek sūtras.

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佛祖統紀 — 志磐, Classical Chinese