佛祖統紀 40

English (machine translation) 40

Language: English

40.1

Compiled by the śramaṇa Zhipan of Donghu in Siming under the Song of the Xianchun reign era

40.2

Treatise on the Prosperity and Decline of the Dharma, Part Seventeen, Section Seven

In the first year of the Shenlong reign era, an imperial decree summoned Chan Master Huineng of Shaozhou to enter the capital, but he did not accept. An imperial decree ordered an examination on the scriptures throughout the realm to ordain monks. Dayi, a novice of Lingyin in Shanyin, at the age of twelve recited the Lotus Sūtra and placed first in the examination. Yi studied cessation and contemplation under Zuoxi; when approaching his end, he passed away while sitting, and heavenly music came to welcome him. An imperial decree sent an envoy to invite Chan Master Huineng of Shaozhou to enter the capital to practice the Way. The master submitted a memorial declining on account of illness, whereupon he was bestowed a kāṣāya, pitcher, and bowl, to express the sovereign's longing and admiration. An imperial decree commanded Tripiṭaka Master Yijing to translate the Mayūrī-vidyārājñī-dhāraṇī-sūtra in the inner palace bodhimaṇḍa, and an imperial preface to the holy teaching was composed to place at the head of the scripture. Formerly, when the Emperor was living in the Fang region, he prayed and was mindful of Bhaiṣajyaguru Tathāgata, and subsequently received blessings; therefore he ordered the master to translate the Sūtra of the Seven Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddhas, with the Emperor personally acting as the scribe. The master translated a total of fifty-six works. Fang Rong, Grand Councilor of the Joint Administrative Department, was demoted to Gaozhou. Arriving in Nanhai, he met the Indian śramaṇa Pāramiti and stayed at the Zhizhi Monastery, where they translated the Śūraṅgama-sūtra, with Rong acting as the scribe. In the ninth month, the Emperor sacrificed at the Mingtang and proclaimed a great amnesty. An edict said: 'We hear that Daoist abbeys all depict the image of Laozi converting the barbarians to become the Buddha, and various monasteries also depict the image of Lord Lao. Both teachings' revered images have thus been mutually degraded, which is exceedingly improper. From now on, they must all be demolished and removed. The Huahu jing has been prohibited and banned across successive reigns; henceforth, whoever keeps this forged scripture or any records mentioning the conversion of the barbarians shall have them expunged. Violators shall be penalized in accordance with the decree.' The Daoist of the Hongdao Abbey, Huan Yandao, submitted a memorial requesting the retention of the Huahu jing. An edict replied: 'Our intention is to restore purity, and our sentiment lies in eliminating forgery. In the leisure among myriad state affairs, We recently perused the three teachings. The doctrines of the two sections of the Daodejing and the expositions of the two truths of emptiness and existence both expound the profound mysteries and propagate the wondrous principle. Why rely on the falsehood of converting the barbarians to glorify the school of Laozi? Its meaning is discordant, and it must be expunged.'

40.5

The treatise remarks: Xie Shouhao of Yongjia compiled the *Veritable Record of Laozi*, citing various texts stating that Laozi repeatedly descended to be born. Under King Wuding of the Shang, he was born in Bozhou and ascended to heaven riding a deer (the first [instance]). Under King Zhou of the Shang, he descended on Mount Qi, and by the time of King Wu of the Zhou, he served as the Archivist. In the twenty-second year of King Zhao, he passed through the pass, transmitted the *Daodejing* to Magistrate Yin [Xi], journeyed to the West, and did not return (the second [instance]). In the twenty-fifth year of King Zhao, he again descended in Shu into the official household of Li Ben. In the twenty-seventh year, he met Master Yin at the Qingyang Market in Chengdu, traveled to the Western Regions to convert the barbarians, and ascended to heaven in the kingdom of Khotan (the third [instance]; all the above are cited from the *Veritable Record*; Shouhao lived during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong and was a former disciple of Lin Lingsu). The *Records of the Grand Historian* records that he was born in the third year of King Ding in Ku County of Chu, served as the Archivist Beneath the Pillar, and that Confucius came to court in Zhou to inquire about the rites. In the first year of King Jing, he entered the pass, expounded the five thousand words of the *Daodejing* for Magistrate Yin, and, together with Master Yin, went west to the Shifting Sands (the fourth [instance]). These traces of his earlier and later descents and births cannot be called nonexistent. Under both King Zhao and King Ding, he is said to have expounded the *Daodejing* for Magistrate Yin; if one aligns him with Confucius's time, one should provisionally take the latter account as correct.

Critique: Refuting the falsehood of converting the barbarians comprises nine points:
First, the biography of Laozi in the *Records of the Grand Historian* says that he composed a book of five thousand words and departed, and no one knew where he ended. A note to the original biography cites the *Biographies of Exemplary Immortals* as stating: 'Yin Xi and Laozi both went to the Shifting Sands, and no one knew where they ended.' Modern printed editions of the *Biographies of Exemplary Immortals* have added the two characters 'converting the barbarians' after 'Shifting Sands'. This is the first fallacy.
Second, the *Scripture of Laozi's Western Ascent* composed by Master Yin says: 'I have heard that in Tianzhu there is the Ancient Sovereign Gentleman, who is my teacher.' Now the *Veritable Record*, unwilling to take the Buddha as teacher, altered it to 'who is my own person.' This is the second fallacy.
Third, the *Scripture of Converting the Barbarians* says that Laozi arrived in Kaśmīra to convert the barbarians and shave their heads in the twenty-seventh year of King Zhao. At that time, the Buddha had only been born for two years; the world had not yet heard of a Buddha. It is impossible that there was head-shaving in Kaśmīra. This is the third fallacy.
Fourth, the apocryphal scripture further says that the Venerable Lord commanded Master Yin to manifest a sixteen-foot golden body named Buddha to bestow the five precepts upon the barbarian king. Originally it claimed to convert the barbarians, but here it instead has Master Yin transform into the Buddha. This is the fourth fallacy.
Fifth, the apocryphal scripture says that the Buddhist realm is an extinguishing into extinction, forever remaining a yin spirit, whereas divine immortals soar upward into eternal life without destruction. Originally claiming that he converted the barbarians into Buddhas, it should not praise immortals while denigrating the Buddha. This is the fifth fallacy.
Sixth, the apocryphal scripture says that the Venerable Lord commanded King Bhāṇḍa of the Brahmā Heaven to descend and be born as the Buddha during the period of the Two Zhuangs. Śākyamuni originally descended from the Tuṣita Heaven in the jiayin year of King Zhao; there is neither a title of 'Bhāṇḍa', nor did he descend from the Brahmā Heaven. This is the sixth fallacy.
Seventh, the apocryphal scripture says that Master Yin transformed into Śāriputra, Piṇḍola, the Devī Puṇyā, the ninety-five sorts [of non-Buddhists], and so forth. These persons are in fact disciples of Śākyamuni; they should not be called transformations of Master Yin. The author of the apocryphal scripture did not even know the meaning of Śāriputra. This is the seventh fallacy.
Eighth, the *Veritable Record* falsely asserts that disciples who guard the Buddha's tomb are 'grave-gatekeepers' (*sangmen*), which Kumārajīva altered into *sangmen* (śramaṇa). It also claims that the Venerable Lord dispatched the Northern Dipper to subdue māras, which is why it is called the Vajra of Impure Traces, and asserts that the Way of Immortals is a 'separate transmission outside the teachings'. These are all plagiarisms from Buddhist scriptures to advance spurious arguments. This is the eighth fallacy.
Ninth, the *Veritable Record* does not recognize the Buddha's boundless lifespan; seeing that in the *Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra* his lifespan was stated to be brief, merely eighty years, without understanding its meaning, it seized upon these words to mock the Buddha's swift extinction. This is the ninth fallacy.
Laozi, below, is a Dharma master, and above, is a heavenly lord; none among all the heavens fail to serve the Buddha. Now, though Daoists wish to exalt the Way and venerate Heaven, by establishing unreasonable arguments they conversely incur the fault of slandering the Buddha. Should they not tremble with fear? Formerly, Wang Fu fabricated this scripture and upon death fell into hell. King Yama rebuked him, saying: 'Only when all the apocryphal scriptures in the world are destroyed will your guilt be released.' Yet modern compilers of the *Veritable Record* now extensively cite these apocryphal texts, gladly incurring the same guilt as Wang Fu. How lamentable! (The various assertions of the apocryphal scripture are briefly seen in what has been cited; they are not recorded separately.)
During the Northern Dynasties, Emperor Xiaoming of the Wei, and in the Tang, Emperor Gaozong and Emperor Zhongzong, repeatedly destroyed and eliminated it; clearly it was an apocryphal doctrine. Only the deliberation of the Eight Scholars in the reign of Empress Wu failed to distinguish [the truth], and still requires fine appraisal. Therefore, if the world wishes to preserve Laozi's conversion of the barbarians, it must make two formulations: first, scrutinize the chronology; second, base it on the texts.
What does it mean to scrutinize the chronology? One must know that the Buddha was born during the time of King Zhao, while Laozi was born during the time of King Ding. Down to the time of King Jing, Confucius came to court in Zhou to inquire about the rites from Laozi. This was three hundred years after the Buddha; one can say there was a Buddha, and one can say there was conversion of the barbarians.
What does it mean to base it on the texts? The *Biographies of Exemplary Immortals* says: 'Laozi and Master Yin both went to the Shifting Sands' (the ancient version lacks the words 'converting the barbarians'). The biography of Xiang Kai in the *Book of the Later Han* says: 'Laozi entered the barbarian lands to perform the conversions of the Buddha.' The Jin *Biographies of Eminent Scholars*, the *Wei dianlüe*, and the *Biographies of the Western Rong* all say: 'Laozi converted the customs of the Rong into Buddhists.' The *History of the Sui*, the *Accounts of the Western Regions*, the *Record of the Western Journey of Song Yun of the Wei*, and the Tang *Veritable Record of the Crown Prince* all say that in Khotan there is the Bimo Monastery, which is where Laozi converted the barbarians. In the Tang, during the reign of Zetian, when the śramaṇa Huicheng petitioned to destroy the *Scripture of Converting the Barbarians*, she commanded Liu Rurui and the Eight Scholars each to prepare memorials of deliberation; all said that what was recorded in the various books of the Han and Sui concerning the conversion of the barbarians was factual and should not be expunged.
Now, examining these texts in detail, they say that Laozi entered the Western Regions and stopped in Khotan, east of the Congling Mountains, which is precisely barbarian land without any doubt. If one wishes to substantiate this event, one should frame it thus: Laozi was originally the Venerable Kāśyapa, sent by Śākyamuni to convert the Eastern Land, who first expounded the five thousand words of worldly virtue to ripen conditions (the meaning appears in the Tripiṭaka's *Zhongmu yinyuan jing* and the *Fuxing*), and later returned to the Western Regions to exhort and convert the barbarian customs with the Buddhist path, leading them to achieve the path to Buddhahood. Only when spoken of in this way is it reasonable. Formerly, when Wang Fu forged the scripture based on various texts, had he only cited kingdoms of the barbarian lands such as Khotan, it might still have been credible. But when he went on to expound widely on Kaśmīra and Vipaśyin, he did not know that these were of Brāhmaṇa stock. Barbarians and Brāhmaṇas are separated by twenty thousand li; how could they be conflated and confused like this? The collapses of his apocryphal doctrine are not few. I have laid out the nine fallacies above; if anyone can establish a refutation, I shall cut out my tongue in apology.

40.6

In the second year [706], Chan Master Wanhui was imperial decree bestowed the title 'Lord Fayun, Mahāsattva of Perfect Penetration'.
National Master Shenxiu of the Northern School manifested cessation at Tiangong Monastery in the Eastern Capital. He was posthumously titled Chan Master Datong. The master attained the Dharma from the Fifth Patriarch; summoned from the reign of Empress Wu to dwell in the inner palace bodhimaṇḍa, down to this emperor he was treated with the rites of a National Master. Prime Minister Zhang Yue inquired about the Dharma, assuming the etiquette of a disciple.
In the second month, an imperial decree ordered the construction of Shenggshan Monastery. The śramaṇa Huifan was appointed Grand Master of Proper Consultation and enfeoffed as Duke of the Shangyong Commandery. Fazang, Huizhen, and seven others were all made Grand Masters of the Court and enfeoffed as District Dukes, with official stipends provided, equal to regular officials (stipend pronounced *feng*, vulgar form *feng*). Bodhiruci was decreed to translate scriptures in the Foguang Hall. The emperor attended the Dharma session in person to receive the brush-notes, the hundred officials attended in audience, and the imperial consorts and empress gazed on together.
In the fifth month, National Master Hui'an of Mount Song was granted a purple patch-robe and ordained fourteen disciples. Three years later he passed away at the age of one hundred and twenty-eight.
An imperial edict ordered that on the memorial death-anniversaries of the seven imperial courts, vegetarian feasts be held and incense distributed in the inner palace.
Shenggshan Monastery was completed. By imperial decree, Huifan, Duke of Shangyong, acting as Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with the Silver-blue Ribbon, served as Abbot; the śramaṇa Wansui was granted the rank of Grand Master of Palace Leisure, enfeoffed as District Duke, and served as Chief Karmadāna; the śramaṇa Guangqing, Probationary Palace Discipline Controller, served as Commissioner of Merit and Virtue.

40.7

In the third year [707], an imperial order was issued to Cui Siliang, Magistrate of Gao'an, to go to Sizhou to welcome Great Master Sangha. The master was a man of the state of He in the Western Regions. During the reign of Gaozong he came to Luoyang and traveled to preach until he reached Sizhou. Heba, a resident of the city, renounced his residence to make a monastery. The master ordered the ground to be excavated, where a stele was found saying: 'Li Long of the Qi renounced his residence to build the Xiangji Monastery.' They also unearthed a gold Buddha. The master said: 'It is the Buddha Puzhaowang (King of Universal Illumination).' It was thus named Puzhaowang. Because of the empress dowager's taboo name, the emperor changed it to Puguangwang (King of Universal Light). When the master arrived, he was venerated as National Master and took up residence at Jianfu Monastery. The emperor and the hundred officials all called themselves his disciples. He ordained the disciples Huiyan, Huian, and Mokṣa. The imperial brush wrote the monastery plaque.
An imperial order summoned Vinaya Master Wengang to enter the Great Palace to conduct the rains retreat and practice the path.
Bodhiruci was decreed to translate the *Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra* at the West Chongfu Monastery. Wu Pingyi, Scholar of the Institute for the Advancement of Literature, served as Commissioner for the Translation of Scriptures, and Lu Zangyong and others polished the style.
An imperial edict summoned Vinaya Master Dao'an into the palace to bestow the refuge precepts upon the imperial consorts and princesses. When the emperor arrived, the various masters all left their seats; Dao'an alone gave a deep bow. The emperor esteemed his lofty conduct, ordered his likeness to be painted in the Linguang Palace, and personally composed an imperial eulogy for him.

40.8

In the fourth year [708], on the third day of the third month, Great Master Sangha manifested cessation while seated. An imperial order was issued to lacquer his body and erect a pagoda at Jianfu Monastery. Suddenly, a foul stench filled the city. An edict ordered him returned to Sizhou, whereupon an exquisite fragrance immediately filled the imperial capital. The emperor asked Wanhui: 'Who was Sangha?' He replied: 'A transformation body of Avalokiteśvara.'
In the fifth month, there was a great drought. An imperial decree ordered Bodhiruci to erect an altar at Chongfu Monastery to pray for rain; after three days there was a great downpour (gloss: *zhu*, timely rain).
An imperial edict commanded that an unrestricted great assembly be held at Huadu Monastery.
Bodhiruci presented newly translated scriptures. The emperor held a banquet in the Linguang Hall and observed the debates among the śramaṇas. He decreed the painter Zhang Xun to depict the eminent translation masters and the various scholars on the palace walls, and personally composed encomiums.

40.9

Ruizong (Dan, eighth son of Gaozong)

40.10

In the first year of Jingyun [710], in the Xingsheng Palace, the former residence of Gaozu, there was a persimmon tree that had been withered for years; at this time it flourished anew. Thereupon a general amnesty was granted throughout the realm, ranks and enfeoffments were bestowed upon the hundred officials, and thirty thousand monks and Daoists were universally ordained. When the emperor first accepted the internal abdication, he invited Dharma Master Fazang to administer the bodhisattva precepts to him.

40.11

In the second year [711], Bodhiruci was decreed, together with Fazang, Chenwai, and others, to translate the *Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra* in the Sweet Dew Pavilion in the Northern Park. Prime Minister Zhang Yue, Right Vice-Director Lu Zangyong, Erudite He Zhizhang, Vice-Director of the Secretariat Lu Xiangxian, Minister Guo Yuanzhen, and Director of the Chancellery Wei Zhigu polished the text and supervised the translation.
An imperial decree permitted the households of noble consorts and princesses to begin establishing chapels of merit and virtue.
Lord Fayun, Wanhui, passed away while seated; he was posthumously granted the titles of Minister of Works and Duke of Guo State, and by imperial decree was buried at Xiangji Monastery in the Western Capital. During the reign of Zetian, Wanhui had been invited into the inner palace, granted brocade robes, and palace ladies were ordered to attend upon him. When Crown Prince Zhuanghui was born, Zetian held him up to show him. Wanhui said: 'This is a spirit of a tree from the Western Regions; rearing him will be favorable to his brothers.' Princess Anle, relying on Empress Wei, plotted treason; when Wanhui encountered her on the road, he looked toward her dust, spat, and said: 'Such foul stench must not be approached!' Later, Anle was indeed executed. When Xuanzong was still in his princedom, he visited him; Wanhui patted his back and said: 'Son of Heaven of fifty years of Great Peace!' Whenever Ruizong went out while serving as the Prince of Xiang, Wanhui told the people in the market: 'The Son of Heaven is coming!'

40.12

In the first year of Xiantian [712], the Western Indian śramaṇa Poluo requested to light lamps as an offering to the Buddha. The emperor ascended the Yanxi Gate to watch. The lamp wheels were two hundred feet high, lit with five hundred gold and silver lamps, which appeared from afar like blossoming trees.
Bodhiruci and others presented the newly translated *Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra* in one hundred and twenty fascicles. The emperor personally composed an imperial preface to the holy teachings to crown the beginning of the scripture.
In the eleventh month, Dharma Master Fazang of Xianshou passed away; he was posthumously granted the rank of Chamberlain for Ceremonials and buried on the Shenhe Plateau.

40.13

In the second year, an imperial decree ordered the Surveillance Commissioner Wang Zhīyīn to dismantle and demolish all unauthorized monasteries and nunneries across the prefectures. Earlier, the monk Huìyún had gazed from north of the Sui River and seen a wondrous aura, so he entered Bianzhou. Arriving at the ponds of the Simǎ Garden, he saw celestial palaces reflected in the water, and desired to build a monastery. He then collected alms to cast a sixteen-foot image of Maitreya, and purchased the residence of Zheng Jing as a cloister. Digging into the earth, he unearthed a stele stating that in the sixth year of the Tianbao era of the Northern Qi, Jianguo Monastery had been established. Hence, it was named Jianguo. When Zhīyīn arrived, Yún prostrated before the image and wept as he spoke; the image suddenly emitted light. Zhīyīn reported the matter to the throne. The Emperor had also previously had an auspicious dream that secretly matched what had been memorialized. Since [the Emperor] had ascended the throne as the Prince of Xiang, he conferred the name Da Xiangguo Monastery. In the eighth month, Chan Master Neng passed away sitting at Guo'en Monastery in Xinzhou. His remains were returned and buried at Caoxi in Shaozhou, where a stūpa was erected. The world calls him the Sixth Patriarch.

40.14

Xuanzong (Longji, third son of Ruizong)

40.15

In the first year of the Kaiyuan era, an imperial decree ordered that timber from the bedchambers be used to construct the Maitreya Hall at Anguo Monastery.

40.16

In the second year, in the first month, because noble relatives had memorialized to ordain people as monks since the time of Zhongzong, and wealthy households and able-bodied men had largely shaved their heads to evade corvée labor, the Director of the Purple Palace Yao Chong submitted a memorial requesting a ban on ordaining monks, stating, "The Buddha is not external; awakening stems from the mind. Performing actions that bring benefit and cause the common people to be at peace—this is what is called Buddhist truth." The Emperor complied with this and ordered the relevant authorities to weed out those monks and nuns who were false and fraudulent, totaling twelve thousand people, and ordered them all to return to lay life. An imperial decree ordered that the hundred officials not establish monasteries, and that commoners not cast Buddhist images or copy scriptures; those who needed them should redeem them from monasteries. In the second month, an imperial decree ordered monks and Daoists to pay homage to their parents. In the fourth month, this homage was abolished.

40.17

The commentary says: From Emperor Cheng of the Jin to Emperor Yang of the Sui, there were four imperial edicts in total ordering śramaṇas to pay homage to the ruler. Master Yuan said, "The kāṣāya is not an attire for attending court." Master Zhan said, "Monks have no precedent of paying homage to the secular." Consequently, the matter was laid to rest. From Emperor Taizong to Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, there were two imperial edicts in total ordering monks and Daoists to pay homage to their parents, both of which were soon repealed. However, we have not heard what deliberations took place at that time. Could it not be said: if one investigates Buddhist texts, those who have left the household reside honorably within the Three Jewels, serving as fields of merit for the world, and even have their parents bow to them in return. How could one violate the Buddha's regulations and cater to a temporary law? The deliberations to repeal it could not have exceeded this meaning. From Xuanzong down to our own dynasty, no one has ever raised this improper proposal again.

40.18

In the third year, an edict summoned Chan Master Yixing for an audience. The Emperor consulted him on the way to bring peace to the state and comfort to the people, as well as the essential dharmas of world-transcendence, addressing him as the Imperial Preceptor (the Teacher of the Son of Heaven). The Emperor asked, "How will the fortunes of the state fare?" He replied, "The imperial carriage will make a journey of ten thousand li; the altars of state will end in auspiciousness (ji)." He presented a golden box, saying, "Open and look at it only when you reach ten thousand li." Inside was merely a small amount of angelica (danggui, "ought to return"). During the rebellion of An Lushan, the Emperor traveled to Chengdu. Reaching the Ten-Thousand-Li Bridge, he realized the prophecy of danggui ("ought to return"), and, completely relieved, forgot his sorrows. As for "ending in auspiciousness" (zhongji), it ceased with Emperor Zhaozong, because he had once been enfeoffed as the Prince of Ji.

40.19

In the fourth year, Tripiṭaka Master Śubhakarasiṃha arrived from Western India. Prior to this, Ruizong had heard of the master's fame and sent General Shi Xian beyond the Yumen Pass to welcome him. By this time, the Emperor had dreamed that an extraordinary monk came to call on him, and ordered his likeness to be painted on a wall; when the master entered for an audience, he did not differ from the portrait on the wall. The Emperor was delighted, decorated an inner practice-hall for him to dwell in, and revered him as the leader of the teachings. The master translated scriptures such as the Vairocana-sūtra, and from this the Esoteric school flourished. Japan sent the monk Genbō to China to seek the Dharma.

40.20

In the seventh year, Tripiṭaka Master Vajrabodhi of Western India arrived in Guangzhou by way of the South Sea. He came to the capital, was granted an audience, and was imperially decreed to reside at Ci'en Monastery. Bodhi transmitted the Yoga Esoteric teaching of Nāgārjuna; wherever he went, he invariably erected altars, conferred initiations, and delivered people. His prayers for rain and expelling of calamities were particularly conspicuous for their efficacy. The monk Huiri of Wangji Monastery in Chang'an returned from traveling to Western India and presented authentic portraits of the Buddha and Sanskrit leaf manuscripts. Summoned for an audience in the inner palace, his preaching of the Dharma awakened the Emperor's mind, and he was granted the title Tripiṭaka Master Cimin. The Dharma Master had passed through seventy countries, taking twenty years for the round trip. In the third month, the elder Li Tongxuan, considering the commentaries and subcommentaries of the various schools on the Great Avataṃsaka-sūtra to be excessively convoluted, took the newly translated sūtra and went to the residence of Gao Shannu in Taiyuan to compose a treatise. After three years, eating only ten dates and a cypress-leaf cake each day, the world called him the Date and Cypress Mahāsattva. As he was about to carry the scripture to Hanzhuang, he suddenly saw a tiger blocking the path; the elder placed the scriptures on its back, and it led him up Fangshan to an earthen niche where he stayed. Inside the room there was no lamp or candle, but white light emerged from his mouth, brilliantly illuminating his composition. There were two maidens who daily provided a tray of food, as well as paper and ink. On the day he passed away sitting, a white light reached up from the crown of his head to the Taiwei constellation. The treatise he composed comprises forty volumes (there is one volume of the Elder's deeds in the Canon).

40.21

In the eighth year, Tripiṭaka Master Amoghavajra of Northern India arrived at the capital via the South Sea, and at Ci'en Monastery was transmitted the Great Yoga Dharma by Vajrabodhi. In the fifth month, many people in the capital suffered from pestilence. The King of Physicians, Old Master Wei, distributed medicine to rescue them, and none failed to recover. The master constantly harbored the aspiration in his mind that anyone who saw him would have their illness cured. When the Emperor heard of this, he summoned him to an audience, treated him with ritual courtesy, and regarded him as the Bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja. The Old Master was a man of the state of Kashgar in the Western Regions; he constantly wore a coarse wool robe, hung several hundred gourds from his waist, wore a gauze headscarf, and held a goosefoot staff, with a black dog accompanying him. He said of himself that he had lived for five hundred years, across Yao, Shun, Tang of Yin, Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang, having transformed his body seven times to come rescue the poor and sick. One day, his dog transformed into a black dragon, carried the Old Master on its back, and shot up into the sky, departing.

40.22

In the ninth year, an edict ordered Chan Master Yixing to create the Dayan Calendar. Xing Hepu said to Yin Yin, "Luoxia Hong of the Han dynasty said, 'Eight hundred years later, there will be an error of one day, and a sage will surely emerge to correct it.' Now Yixing has created the calendar and corrected its discrepancies and errors; Luoxia's words are indeed trustworthy!" Six years later he passed away, and was posthumously titled Chan Master Dahui. The Khotanese monk Zhīyán came and translated four scriptures. Yao Chong died, leaving a testamentary command: "The Buddha takes purity and compassion as the foundation, whereas fools copy scriptures and cast images hoping thereby to seek blessings. You boys must not follow ignorant fellows in seeking posthumous merit."

40.23

The commentary says: Where does the Buddha's way lie? It must be manifested through monasteries, scriptures, images, and the assembly of monks upholding the Dharma; only then can the transformation of purity and compassion be carried out. Chong did not know this path, and moreover relied solely on empty principle to adorn his narrow views. Thus, when he was in power, he banned the ordination of monks, the creation of monasteries, the casting of Buddhas, and the copying of scriptures; when he was on his deathbed, he issued a testamentary decree warning his sons not to conduct Buddhist services. Had he obtained a ruler like Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei to indulge his stubborn and biased will, he would have been another Cui Hao of his time, coming to an ill end.

40.24

In the fourteenth year, the Japanese monks Yōrei and Fushō arrived in Yangzhou. Following their king's order, they presented ten saṃghāṭī robes to Chinese Vinaya masters of high conduct. Jianzhen accepted the robes, and, deeply moved that foreign lands possessed the seed of Buddhahood, boarded a ship with Rei and the others to head east. Once he arrived, the king welcomed and comforted him, housed him in the Vairocana Hall, and requested him to transmit the refuges and precepts. The queen and ministers received them in succession. The transmission of the Vinaya in Japan began from this.

40.25

In the fifteenth year, an imperial decree ordered that small Buddha halls in villages and hamlets throughout the empire be dismantled, and their merit-images moved into nearby monasteries; those with large halls were all ordered to be sealed up. Officials and commoners conformed to the trend, and even grand buildings and large statues were damaged and destroyed. When the decree reached Yuzhou, the magistrate of Xinsi, Li Xu, happened to be drunk when the prefectural warrant arrived; in great anger, he warned the clerks and headmen that anyone who dared demolish them would be beheaded. Xu's actions were often rebellious; he had not intended to preserve the Buddhist buildings. Later he fell ill and died. After he was encoffined, the sound of fingernails scratching was heard from inside the coffin; his mother urged that it be opened, and he came back to life. It being the summer months, his body was ulcerated and took more than a month to heal. He recounted: Initially, he was arrested by two bailiffs and brought to the royal court, where he saw a former clerk of Xinsi who had been dead for over a year. The clerk said to Xu, "The magistrate had a mind for slaughter; now you are to receive retribution." Xu was terrified upon hearing this and pleaded for help. The clerk said, "Last year when Buddha halls were dismantled, only within the magistrate's jurisdiction were they completely preserved. This merit reaches to heaven; you ought not to be arrested and summoned here. If the King asks, just reply with this." Shortly after, he saw the King. Someone held a case file, and the clerk read: "Li Xu specifically practiced severing the legs of sheep; he should receive one hundred strokes of the rod and have his own flesh cut." Xu said, "Last year there was a decree to destroy Buddha halls; within Xu's jurisdiction, they alone were preserved. I wish to use this merit to offset my former sins." The King said in surprise, "Is this truly so?" The clerk reported that there was a record of blessings in the celestial hall. The King ordered it examined. The clerk read: "Last year when Buddha halls were demolished, Xinsi district alone preserved them. This warrants offsetting countless evils of his lifetime and extending his life by thirty years." When he finished speaking, fire erupted from the ledger of sins and burned it almost entirely. Thereupon, he ordered two bailiffs to escort him back. Thirty years later, he died without illness (Taiping guangji). Tripiṭaka Master Bodhiruci passed away at the age of one hundred and fifty-six. He was posthumously titled Tripiṭaka Master of Omniscience and granted the office of Chamberlain for the Honglu Si. When Fang Guan was the magistrate of Lushi, the Daoist Xing Hepu went out traveling with him; passing Xiakou, they entered a deserted monastery and sat under an old pine tree. He ordered men to dig the ground, obtaining calligraphy and paintings exchanged between Lou Shide and Chan Master Yong that had been concealed in an earthen jar. He said to Guan, "Do you recall this?" Guan suddenly realized that his former life was Master Yong. Ren Shan of Suizhou died of illness, and together with several laypeople and one monk, arrived at the place of King Yama. The monk said, "I constantly recited the Diamond Sūtra." The King immediately joined his palms. Suddenly, five-colored clouds welcomed the monk to ascend to heaven. An official of the netherworld said to Shan, "You have also recited it twenty-one times," and immediately ordered him released to return. Furthermore, Zhao Bi of Lianshui went to the capital for the official examinations; on the road he met his deceased wife, who said, "I am now suffering unspeakable torment in the netherworld offices. My clothing is at my mother-in-law's place; you can take and sell it to produce one copy of the Diamond Sūtra." Bi did as she said. When he had barely reached half a fascicle, he passed by her grave and saw an old man claiming to be the local deity, who said, "Your wife already attained rebirth in heaven yesterday" (Jingang ganyan lu).

40.26

In the seventeenth year, an imperial decree ordered that a census register of monks and nuns across the empire be compiled once every three years (the provision registers began with this).

40.27

The commentary says: Leaving the household to study the Way centers on receiving the precepts from a master. In the regulations formulated for it, their names were originally never registered in government records. From Emperor Ming of the Han down to the beginning of the Tang, this was universally the case. It was only in the Yanzai era of Empress Wu that the two assemblies were first subjected to the Ministry of Rites, and in the Kaiyuan era of Xuanzong that census registers were first compiled every three years. In the Zhide era of Suzong, ordination certificates were again sold, which was termed "scented water money." Down to our own dynasty's crossing to the south, an exemption tax was newly created, termed "leisure money." Alas! The Vinaya says that what has not been instituted by the Buddha, but is considered pure in other regions, must be practiced. Could it be that the Tathāgata, observing the final age with his Buddha-eye, foresaw that those who are our disciples must exert themselves to comply with the laws of the state? Alas!

40.28

In the eighteenth year, Chan Master Lang of Zuoxi expounded the teaching of calming and contemplation (śamatha-vipaśyanā) for Chan Master Zhanran of Jingxi. An edict ordered monasteries and Daoist temples across the empire to establish practice-halls for the Tianzhang Festival to pray for the Emperor's longevity. The monk Zhisheng of Chongfu Monastery in the western capital presented the twenty volumes of the Kaiyuan Buddhist Catalogue that he had compiled, establishing five thousand and forty-eight volumes as the standard count, and an imperial decree ordered it incorporated into the Great Canon. Su Gui, the assistant magistrate of Wugong County, constantly recited the Diamond Sūtra, and his entire household of fifty members ate vegetarian food. His wife, Lady Cui, because of her emaciated condition, secretly ate meat; it turned into a bone stuck in her throat, and her breathing ceased for ten days while she was encoffined. Reviving, she recounted seeing King Yama, who rebuked her, saying, "Your husband is a flesh-body bodhisattva; why did you steal and eat meat? Relying on the merit of his reciting the sūtra, your life is extended by twenty years. You may return and tell this to people." When the Emperor heard of it at that time, he also brought forth the resolve to uphold the sūtra, and those who followed the transformation were very numerous. The monk Haitong carved a Maitreya Buddha statue out of the rock along the bank of the Great River in Jiazhou, three hundred and sixty feet high, covered by a nine-story pavilion, and gave the monastery the plaque name Lingyun.

40.29

In the twentieth year, Tripiṭaka Master Vajrabodhi died. He was posthumously named National Preceptor of Abhiṣeka. His disciple, Tripiṭaka Master Amoghavajra, obeying his testamentary instructions, returned to Tianzhu and went to Siṃhala, where he encountered Nāgabodhi and received the eighteen assemblies of abhiṣeka rituals along with over five hundred scriptures and treatises. / Earlier, during the Western Jin, there was a monk named Yixing who established a Buddhist shrine atop a cliff in a mountain valley thirty li southeast of Mao County. By this time, the eminent monk Farui, tracing the old site, built a monastery at the eastern foot of the mountain. Wan Qirong, Director of the Palace Library, built a Prabhutaratna Stūpa at the southwest corner. The Master dwelt in that place, reciting the Lotus Sūtra daily. He moved the Taibai spirit to manifest as a heavenly youth who delivered offerings to him. Walking the path around the stūpa at night, people saw the Master's body as tall as the stūpa. For this reason, he was called Dhyāna Master Taibai, and the mountain was named Tiantong (the common tradition that Dhyāna Master Qi opened the mountain is mistaken). / An edict was issued: 'Mani is fundamentally a false view, falsely claiming to be the Buddhist teaching. Since it is the religious doctrine of the Western Hu, let its followers practice it on their own; no punishment is required.'

40.30

The commentary says: The Buddha stated that among the ninety-six kinds of heterodox paths, only the Buddha's path is correct. Thus we know that the rest are all false doctrines, not even worth discussing. Since Mani is a false view, the imperial court should immediately have banned it. Yet now they permit them to practice it freely without imposing punishment, never considering that if any here become tainted by their practices, the transmission of falsity through falsity will suffice to bring confusion and corruption to the Buddha's Dharma. Alas, I do not know why the ruler and ministers of that time were so incapable of making the distinction!

40.31

In the twenty-first year, Vinaya Master Daoxuan of Nanshan produced the Abridged and Revised Dharmaguptaka Prātimokṣa, enabling renunciants to chant and practice it.

40.32

In the twenty-third year, Tripiṭaka Master Śubhakarasiṃha manifested his decease. A stūpa was erected for him in the western hills of Longmen.

40.33

In the twenty-fourth year, an imperial edict promulgated the Imperially Annotated Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra throughout the empire. / The Secretariat memorialized requesting that monks and nuns throughout the empire be placed under the Court of State Ceremonial. / Wu Daoxuan, courtesy name Daozi, achieved consummate mastery in painting, generally taking Zhang Sengyou as his model. The Emperor summoned him into court service. At Jinggong Monastery, he painted the transformation tableau of Hell. When the people of the capital viewed it, they were all terrified of sin and cultivated goodness; the butchers and wine-sellers in the two markets could find no buyers (in the present age there is a stone-carved Daozi Guanyin).

40.34

In the twenty-fifth year, an edict ordered that monks and nuns remain subordinate to the Bureau of Sacrifices, while Daoist priests were to be subordinate to the Court of the Imperial Clan, because the Li clan belonged to the imperial register.

40.35

In the twenty-sixth year, an edict ordered that the two monasteries of Longxing and Kaiyuan be established in all commanderies throughout the empire. / The śramaṇa Faxiu dreamed of an extraordinary monk who exhorted him to prepare five hundred kāṣāyas to offer to Huixiang Monastery. When he awoke, he was astonished by this; he then begged among the people to make them until the number was reached. Suddenly one day, he met a monk who said, 'I will guide you into Huixiang Monastery.' Following him into the Zhongnan Mountains, he saw halfway up a cliff a lofty vermilion gate with a plaque reading 'Huixiang.' Hastening inside, he saw senior elders of the upper quarters, and the monks greeted and inquired after one another. Faxiu brought out the kāṣāyas and distributed them throughout the monastery. An elder led him into an empty chamber and said to him, 'This was the former chamber of the Tang Son of Heaven. Formerly, while dwelling here, he was fond of music and was demoted to become the ruler of the human realm; after a long time he shall return.' He instructed Faxiu, saying, 'Take this jade flute and the kāṣāya back and present them to the Tang Son of Heaven.' When Faxiu returned, he went to the palace and presented them in a memorial. The Emperor took the flute and played it, just as if it were an instrument he had used of old (Biographies of Eminent Monks).

40.36

In the twenty-seventh year, an edict ordered that monks and Daoist priests throughout the empire, on state memorial days, proceed to Longxing Monastery to practice the ritual path and conclude the fast; and on the Qianqiu Festival to pray for imperial longevity, proceed to Kaiyuan Monastery.

40.37

In the twenty-eighth year, Dhyāna Master Xingsi of Qingyuan in Jizhou passed away while sitting. The Master received the Dharma from the Sixth Patriarch. During the reign of Emperor Xizong, he was posthumously conferred the title Dhyāna Master Hongji, and his stūpa named Guizhen. In the twenty-ninth year, Qi Huan, Surveillance Commissioner of Henan, said, 'The Supreme Path deserves reverence and should be looked up to. Yet [monks and priests] have not been spared flogging, which brings disgrace upon their decorum. If monks or Daoist priests commit offenses, it is requested that they be dealt with strictly according to the codes and regulations for monks and priests, and the local prefectures and counties must not arbitrarily execute punishments.' The memorial was approved. / Tripiṭaka Master Amoghavajra returned from Siṃhala to Guangzhou. Surveillance Commissioner Liu Juji requested him to establish an abhiṣeka ritual altar. Moving Mañjuśrī to manifest his body, he delivered people numbering in the tens of millions.

40.38

In the first year of Tianbao, five kingdoms of the Western Regions, including Kangju and the Dashi, invaded Anxi (the Tang dynasty established the four protectorates of Andong, Anxi, An'nan, and Anbei). The Emperor summoned Tripiṭaka Master Amoghavajra into the palace to recite the esoteric spells of the Renwang huguo jing. The Emperor personally held the incense burner. When he had completed just twice seven recitations, the Emperor saw over five hundred divine beings standing in the palace courtyard. The Master said, 'This is Dujian, the second son of King Vaiśravaṇa of the northern heavens. Accompanying Your Majesty's prayer, he has gone to rescue Anxi. Please provide an offering of food to dispatch him.' In the fourth month, Anxi sent a memorial saying, 'On the eleventh day of the second month, within black clouds to the northeast of the city, there appeared a man in golden armor over ten feet tall. In the sky, the sounds of drums and horns shook heaven and earth. Among the enemy tents, golden mice gnawed through their bowstrings. The five kingdoms immediately collapsed and fled. In an instant, the Heavenly King was seen manifesting his form above the city gate-tower.' When the Emperor ordered this verified, it coincided precisely with the day the dhāraṇī was recited (the present custom of installing Heavenly Kings on city gate-towers and military camps originates from this).

40.39

In the second year, an edict was issued: 'It is recorded in the Buddhist scriptures that Mount Luofu is the dwelling place of Huashou Bodhisattva; let Yanxiang Monastery, the Huashou Terrace, and the Mingyue Precept Platform be specially established there.' / Earlier, the śramaṇa Chujin was reciting the Lotus Sūtra at Qianfu Monastery in the capital. When he came to the 'Chapter on the Treasure Stūpa', his body and mind were tranquil and a treasure stūpa suddenly appeared. He then sat in dhyāna for six years, vowing to erect this stūpa. On the day the foundation was laid, the multitude heard heavenly music and rare fragrance. In the imperial palace, the Emperor dreamed that the two characters 'Chu Jin' appeared in empty space. When he inquired of his ministers, they all replied regarding the Master. He then personally wrote the plaque for the Prabhutaratna Stūpa and bestowed silk and copper coins to aid the work.

40.40

In the third year, the construction of the Prabhutaratna Stūpa at Qianfu Monastery was completed. It moved five-colored clouds to envelop the stūpa, and myriads of people looked up in reverence. Chujin again gathered monks of great virtue beneath the stūpa to practice the Lotus Samādhi, which moved the appearance of three thousand and seventy relics. / An edict ordered that Kaiyuan monasteries in all commanderies cast life-sized gilded bronze Buddha images of the Emperor. / Dhyāna Master Benjing of Mount Sikong was summoned to the imperial palace to be questioned on the essential teachings of the Chan school; an edict ordered him to dwell at Bailian Monastery. / Dhyāna Master Huairang of Nanyue manifested his decease. He was posthumously named Dhyāna Master Dahui, and his stūpa named Zuisheng Lun. The Master received the Dharma from the Sixth Patriarch.

40.41

In the fourth year, an edict was issued: 'The scriptural teachings of Persia originated from Daqin. The Persian monasteries in the two capitals should be renamed Daqin.' / The Daoist priest Wu Yun of Mount Zhongyue was summoned for an audience. When asked about the essentials of the Dao, he replied, 'Among those deep in the Dao, none surpass the five thousand words of Laozi.' When asked further about methods of cultivating transcendence and immortality, he replied, 'These are matters for rustic men who pursue them through accumulated years; they are not things upon which a ruler of men should bestow his mind.' At that time, the eunuch Gao Lishi, who had long served the Buddha, slandered him before the Emperor; Wu Yun then took his leave to return to Mount Mao. Having been dismissed, Yun composed a treatise to disparage the Buddhist teachings. Chen Shaoyou, Surveillance Commissioner of Western Zhe, invited Dharma Master Shenyong to settle the dispute. Yong agreed to a face-to-face debate on heterodoxy and orthodoxy. No sooner had the banners and drums faced each other than Yun suffered utter defeat. Yong then composed the Fanniexie Lun (Treatise on Overturning Heterodoxy) to attack the remaining partisans. Shaoyou reported this to the court, and an order was issued appointing Yong as the Buddhist Controller (Yong was the successor to Zuoxi).

40.42

In the fifth year, Siṃhala sent an envoy to court to offer palm-leaf manuscripts of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, necklaces, and white cotton cloth. / An edict ordered Tripiṭaka Master Amoghavajra to reside at the Court of State Ceremonial and enter the palace to perform the abhiṣeka ritual for the Emperor. At that time, there had long been no rain; the Master erected an altar and performed the ritual, whereupon heavy rain fell everywhere. He also forbade a great wind, and the wind immediately ceased accordingly. / In the sixth year, an edict placed monks and nuns throughout the empire under the Commissioners of Merit and Virtue of the Two Streets. For the first time, ordination certificates issued by the Bureau of Sacrifices were ordered to use damask silk. An edict ordered monasteries throughout the empire to select youths of genuine practice, ordaining three persons in each commandery.

40.43

In the fourteenth year, because the northern region possessed a rugged and unyielding spirit and many monks in the monasteries practiced riding and archery, the Emperor summoned the śramaṇa Biancai to serve as Preceptor at the Ordination Platform to provide instruction and guidance.

40.44

Emperor Suzong (Heng, third son of Xuanzong).

40.45

In the first year of Zhide, in the first month, An Lushan, Military Commissioner of Fanyang, rebelled. In the fifth month, Emperor Xuanzong, the Crown Prince, and the civil and military officials departed Chang'an intending to take refuge in Shu. When they reached Mawei, several thousand commoners requested that the Crown Prince remain in the east to destroy the rebels. The śramaṇa Daoping of Jincheng forcefully urged deliberating military affairs at Lingwu to plan the restoration. Consequently, Ping was appointed Senior General of the Jinwu Guard. Reaching Linggao, he repeatedly fought with the rebels and heavily defeated them. When affairs were settled and enfeoffments were distributed, Ping firmly declined. An edict then ordered him to reside at the two monasteries of Chongfu and Xingqing, bestowing a purple robe, gold, and silk upon him. In the seventh month, the Crown Prince ascended the throne at Lingwu, honoring Xuanzong as the Retired Emperor. / While the Emperor was at Lingwu, because military provisions were insufficient, Chancellor Pei Mian requested the sale of ordination certificates for monks and Daoist priests, which were called 'incense water money' (the beginning of selling ordination certificates). / At that time, as the rebel turmoil was at its height, someone advised the Emperor that he should rely on the Buddha's protection. He summoned one hundred śramaṇas to enter the traveling palace to chant and sing hymns morning and evening. One night the Emperor dreamed of a śramaṇa with a golden body chanting 'Ratnaketu Tathāgata.' When he questioned his attendants, someone replied, 'In the Baicao Valley of Helan, there is a Silla monk named Muro who constantly chants this name.' He was summoned to an audience at the traveling palace. Soon after, Amoghavajra arrived, and both were retained and entrusted with praying for blessings. / Du Hongjian memorialized that Biancai be installed at Longxing Monastery; an edict appointed him Preceptor of the Shuofang Circuit. / When the Retired Emperor stayed at Chengdu, the eunuch Gao Lishi memorialized, 'In the market south of the city, there is a monk named Yinggan who distributes gruel on the broad thoroughfares to save the poor and starving, praying that the fortune of the dynasty be purified again and the realm recovered. He wishes to establish a monastery east of the superior prefecture to accumulate blessings for the state.' The Retired Emperor was pleased and personally wrote the plaque for the Dashengci Monastery, granting one thousand mu of land. An edict ordered Dhyāna Master Jeon of Silla to lay out the design, comprising ninety-six cloisters and eight thousand five hundred sections in all. Dhyāna Master Jeon later went to Mount Jiuhua in Chizhou, where he passed away while sitting; his whole body did not decay, and his bones were like linked golden chains; his age was ninety-nine. / In the twelfth month, the Retired Emperor returned from Chengdu to the capital. / An edict ordered the śramaṇa Yuanjiao to establish a Bhaiṣajyaguru ritual sanctuary at Kaiyuan Monastery in Fengxiang. Suddenly, forty-nine plum tree shoots sprouted within the assembly. Yuanjiao and others submitted a memorial offering congratulations. The imperial response said, 'The flourishing of the auspicious plums is an omen of the rising of the state; that they sprouted within the saṅghārāma shows that the Tree of Awakening also shares in this glory. Moved by this extraordinary auspicious sign, We rejoice together with you, Master.' / An edict ordered that the Buddha's bone from Famen Monastery in Fengxiang be welcomed into the palace to establish a ritual sanctuary, commanding śramaṇas to praise and pay homage to it morning and evening. An edict ordered that monasteries be built on each of the Five Sacred Peaks, selecting those of lofty conduct to head them. Laypeople who could recite one hundred sheets of scripture were granted ordination under the status of 'Clarifier of Classics.' At that time, the monk Biao passed as the top candidate. Alternatively, those who paid one hundred strings of copper coins were permitted to obtain certificates for tonsure. / The śramaṇa Huichang of Mount Luofu, entering a mountain cave while picking tea, saw an inscription in gold characters reading 'Holy Arhat Monastery.' After staying inside for three days, he emerged to find himself at Mount Mao, where five years had passed in the human world.

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佛祖統紀 — 志磐, Classical Chinese