佛祖統紀 45

English (machine translation) 45

Language: English

45.1

Composed by the Śramaṇa Zhipan of Donghu in Siming under the Song [dynasty], in the Xianchun era.

45.2

Treatise on the Prosperity and Decline of the Dharma, Seventeen, part twelve.

Renzong (sixth son of Zhenzong; his mother was the Consort Li. She dreamed that two suns were in the sky and one suddenly fell, which she caught in the lap of her robe, whereupon she became pregnant. The fourteenth day of the fourth month was designated the Qianyuan Festival. He was buried in Yongzhao Mausoleum).

45.4

The first year of Tiansheng [1023]. His Majesty frequently wore a jade crown carved with an image of Avalokiteśvara. The attendants, presenting jade to him, repeatedly requested that he change it. His Majesty said: "The Three Excellencies and the hundred officials who bow below are all the eminent and worthy of the realm. How could I dare receive it? It is merely that the distinction between sovereign and minister leaves no alternative. Wearing this crown, I intend to have them return their homage to the Great Being" (Zhengshi jiaji). ○ An edict ordered the palace attendant Yang Huaigu to offer incense and proceed to Ling Shan in Tianzhu to pray for the country's welfare. Dharma Master Ciyun [Zun]shi again requested that the Tiantai doctrinal texts be admitted into the canon; Huaigu memorialized this to His Majesty. ○ The state of Zhunian in the Southern Sea sent envoys to present Indian Sanskrit scriptures on gold leaves. An edict ordered the Tripiṭaka Master Dharmarakṣa to translate them. ○ Dharma Master Fazhi of Yanqing in Siming examined his students on doctrinal meanings, calling it "Opening the Curtain in Forty-Two Chapters," which has served as a model down to the present.

45.5

The second year [1024]. An edict granted the admission of the Tiantai doctrinal texts into the canon, bestowed one hundred ounces of silver, and provided a vegetarian feast for a thousand persons at Ling Shan. Ciyun composed the *Jiaocang suihan mulu* (Case-by-Case Catalogue of the Doctrinal Canon), explaining the main purports of the various works. ○ The celebrated Siming scholar Wei Kai traveled to Luoyang for study. He met the Daoist practitioner Li Shining at an inn, who said to Kai: "In your home prefecture, at the Jiexiang [nunnery], there is a mute girl who is the ancient Buddha Vipaśyin. If you return, you should go pay homage to her." When asked what she looked like, he replied: "The one sweeping the ground with a withered arm is she." When Kai returned, he hurriedly went to the nunnery to look for her. An old nun said: "The holy maid passed away seated over a year ago." She then showed him her portrait. He lit incense and paid homage, feeling ashamed and regretful that he had not seen her venerable countenance. The following year, while passing through Qiantang as a guest at the home of the clerk Chen Shi, he suddenly saw over ten small children surrounding a young nun entering the gate, noisily shouting: "Mute girl! Mute girl!" Kai was startled and turned to look; she promptly demanded paper and wrote a gāthā: "Whose are the great earth, the mountains, and rivers? / There is not a single phenomenon that can be conceived. / In the night, bells and drums sound everywhere; / They smash the skull, yet people know it not." Behind the gāthā she further wrote: "Neither coming nor going." Kai stepped forward and bowed at her feet, briefly relating his intention to venerate her surviving portrait at Jiexiang. She again wrote a gāthā: "Swinging a handbell atop Mount Sumeru; / Shaking a bell at the bottom of the great ocean. / If you ask the mute girl's family and personal name: / Just this is her true name." She went out the door and departed. Kai pursued the children and asked: "Who is the mute girl?" The children said: "She is Buddha Vipaśyin." When he asked who the children were, they said: "Ask the mute girl!" Suddenly they all disappeared.

45.6

Recently, when I, Zhipan, passed through Yongdong, I found an old text in the book chest of the hermitage Qixin Yuanmiao. Reflecting that the mute girl was an ancient Buddha yet unknown to the world, I composed the *Record of the Ancient Buddha Vipaśyin of Jiexiang*. Afterwards, Yuanmiao gave it to the temple, and Wang Shiliang had it engraved on stone in the temple to mark the famous site. Note: in the canon, "Weiwei" is also called "Vipaśyin," here translated as "Superior Contemplation"; that is, contemplating all phenomena through the supreme and wondrous three contemplations, none of which is other than the principle of the three truths.

45.7

Li Shining of Shu was a man of the Dao. He obtained an ancient mirror of Xuanyuan, which could see far and near with penetrating clarity. The Academician Cai Junmo heard of this and disliked him. One night, [Cai] dreamed he was pressed by a tiger, and someone saved him, saying to Junmo: "You are a man of noble rank, but your cranium is not straight." He then pressed it with his hand. When he awoke from the dream, his head was still aching. The next day, Shining came to call on him; he was the very person seen in the dream. Later, when [Cai] was dispatched to govern Minzhong, Shining went to see Junmo again and said to him: "You have long suffered from an eye ailment; why did you dream of the Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna at night?" Shining immediately drew from his sleeve a painted image, exactly like the one in the dream, whereupon both [Cai's] eyes saw clearly as before. (See Li Bi's commentary on the poems of Duke Jing [Wang Anshi]. Shining possessed many supernatural feats; both Duke Jing and Duke Ouyang composed songs and poems recording his deeds.) ○ The Western Indian monks Aixian and Huxian came to present Sanskrit scriptures on palm leaves. They were granted purple robes.

45.8

The third year [1025]. Prior to this, at the beginning of the Tianxi era, an edict ordered the realm to restore the ponds for releasing living beings. Dharma Master Fazhi of Nanhu in Siming gathered assemblies on the Buddha's birthday every year to practice the rites, releasing fish and birds to pray for the sovereign's longevity. This year, the commandery reported the matter [to the court], and an edict ordered the Bureau of Military Affairs Official Liu Jun to compose a text to record it; the Commandery Governor Zeng Hui erected a stele at the temple gate (the text is found in the *Guangjiao zhi*). One night, the Dharma Master dreamed that the monastery guardian deity told him: "Tomorrow the Chancellor will arrive." Soon after, Zeng Hui entered the temple leading his son Gongliang. The Master told him of the dream. The mother and lady thanked him, saying: "When he attains nobility later, we will not dare forget it." When Gongliang later became Chancellor, he purchased fields and opened buildings, annually ordaining his disciples (there is Chancellor Zeng's land donation document recorded in the *Jiaoxing lu*). ○ Hanlin Academician Xia Song, together with Tripiṭaka Master Weijing and others, presented the newly translated *Scriptural Sounds and Meanings* in seventy scrolls. ○ Ma Liang, administrator of the Department of State Affairs, stated: "The Buddha's path is noble and weighty, a teacher to humans and devas. I request that those who have committed corporal crimes or are tattooed not be received for ordination." An edict granted this.

45.9

The fifth year [1027]. Tripiṭaka Master Weijing presented a catalogue of the Buddhist Canon in two cases, titled by imperial decree *Tiansheng shijiao lu* (Tiansheng Buddhist Catalogue), totaling 6,197 scrolls. ○ At Tianzhu Temple in Hangzhou, on the evenings of the full moons of the seventh and eighth months, osmanthus seeds rained down from heaven. Dharma Master Ciyun sowed them in the soil and composed a poem to record it.

45.10

The sixth year [1028]. The Emperor composed the *Hymn to the Three Jewels* to bestow upon the chief ministers and the Translation Bureau. ○ Dharma Master Fazhi of Nanhu in Siming instituted the Guāngmíng Repentance on New Year's Day, scheduled for five days. Sitting cross-legged, he expounded the Dharma, suddenly invoked Amitābha Buddha several hundred times, and passed away quietly. His open casket was displayed for seven days; his facial features were as if alive, and his nails and hair grew. On the day of cremation, an extraordinary fragrance was pervasive, the relics were countless, and the root of his tongue did not decay, resembling a lotus flower.

45.11

The seventh year [1029]. An edict ordered the extensive construction of the Cihua Temple in the capital, saying to the grand councillors: "This is done to transfer merit to the late Emperor. Henceforth, corvée labor must not be initiated without just cause."

45.12

The ninth year [1031]. An edict ordered the commanding official of Shaozhou to proceed to Nanhua Temple on Mount Baolin to welcome the sixth patriarch's robe and bowl to the capital for veneration. When they arrived, they were enshrined in the Qingjing Hall of the Imperial Palace. An edict commanded the Vice Minister of War Yan Shu to compose the *Record of the Sixth Patriarch's Robe and Bowl*. ○ The Institute for the Propagation of the Dharma reported: "The monk Huaiwen once traveled to Tianzhu and erected a stūpa for Emperor Zhenzong beside the diamond throne of the Buddha. Now he wishes to go again to erect two more stūpas for the Empress Dowager and the present Emperor. He requests that the sacred preface of the late reign, the Empress Dowager's vow text, and His Majesty's *Hymn to the Three Jewels* be granted to be carved on stone beneath the stūpas, and that a kāṣāya be made to present to the statue of Śākyamuni." An edict granted this, and further ordered court literati to compose the *Record of the Monk Huaiwen Traveling to the Western Heavens Three Times*. ○ Earlier, Taizu doubted whether Vinaya Master Xuan's Buddha tooth was genuine and sent an envoy to fetch it from Luoyang and burn it in a fierce fire; its color did not change. With a heart of reverent wonder at this supernatural marvel, he composed a vow text. During the reign of Taizong, it was tested again with fire, and [the Emperor] composed a gāthā in praise to express his reverence (see the *Three Reigns' Imperial Inscriptions Stele*). Consequently, it was enshrined in the Lotus Cloister of Da Xiangguo Temple. Zhenzong once welcomed and worshipped it under the Linggan Stūpa of Kaibao Temple; on the night of veneration, a divine light burst forth, and he composed a gāthā in praise (see the *Three Reigns' Imperial Inscriptions Stele*). Because of the reverent services of three reigns, His Majesty welcomed and placed it in the palace, washing it with rose water (produced in the realm of Sanfoqi in the Southern Sea, extraordinarily fragrant). Suddenly, a relic was found within a cavity, displaying five colors that dazzled the onlookers. He thereupon composed a eulogy, stored it in a double golden basin, and reverently returned it to the temple. The eulogy reads: "The Three Sovereigns concealed their substance, all returning to the earth; / The Five Thearchs hid their forms, already turned to dust. / Master Kong is praised as a sage within the realm; / Laozi is also spoken of as true in the world. / Burying their frames, one sees only empty abandoned mounds; / In what place can they show their bodies to later generations? / Only my Master's golden bone remains: / Having undergone a hundred smeltings, its color is ever fresh." (The character 䀃 is pronounced tuí [túi], a vessel resembling a basin; the Basic Annals mistakenly wrote 盝, which is now corrected).

45.13

The author remarks: The Buddha's Path is the Great Path; the Buddha's body is the True Body. Speaking of the Great Path, the Dharma realm leaves nothing out, unlike Confucius and Laozi who are restricted to regions. Speaking of the True Body, it is permanently abiding and unperishing, unlike Confucius and Laozi who undergo birth and death. As for the so-called Buddha's tooth and relics, these are merely a single phenomenon of the True Body manifesting transformations in response to beings. How could the mundane water and fire destroy them? Renzong, following the reverent devotion of three reigns, specially composed the eulogy, and moreover disparaged the ancestral masters of the emperors, Ruism, and Daoism, precisely because the way of benevolence and righteousness and the transformation of pure stillness only teach people within the realm to attain the blessings of humans and devas; they do not possess the capacity of the Buddha's Path to transform beings to transcend the world. Therefore, in Ruism and Daoism, one does not depart from this body, and all may practice them; yet Buddhist learning is the foundation for future transcendence of the world. Reverently perusing the imperial composition, one knows its words are immediate while its purport is far-reaching.

45.14

On the first day of the tenth month of the first year of Mingdao [1032], Dharma Master Ciyun of Tianzhu passed away while seated, expounding the Dharma. People saw a great star fall on Vulture Peak with brilliant red light. During the previous reign, the Master had presented the *Ritual for the Protection of the State through the Golden Light*. When His Majesty read it and reached the vow text saying, "All heavenly beings with majestic spirits protect our state, and the holy sovereign and benevolent king's compassion reigns without bounds," he patted the table and sighed: "Having obtained this man, I could bring about good governance." When he urgently summoned him, the Master had already entered extinction.

45.15

The seventh month of the second year [1033]. Nanhu in Siming escorted the relics of Dharma Master Fazhi and interred them at the Patriarchal Gate of the Chongfa Monastery in the southern city.

45.16

The first year of Jingyou [1034]. Wang Sui, Participant in Determining Governmental Matters, abridged the *Jingde chuandeng lu* into fifteen scrolls. The Institute for the Propagation of the Dharma compiled and catalogued it into the canon. ○ An edict ordered that postulants throughout the realm be tested on the recitation of the *Lotus Sūtra*, and those who passed were granted ordination. Song Shou and Xia Song, Participants in Determining Governmental Matters, were appointed to jointly supervise it. There was a postulant reciting the sūtra who could not pass; when asked how many years he had studied, he replied: "Ten years." The two officials laughed and pitied him; agreeing upon returning home each to take the sūtra and recite it, Shou took ten days and Song seven days without missing a single character (*Guitian lu*). ○ In this year, there were 385,520 monks and 48,740 nuns throughout the realm.

45.17

The second year [1035]. The Emperor composed a preface to the *Tianzhu ziyuan* (Origins of Tianzhu Script) and presented it to the Translation Bureau. This book was translated symmetrically between Chinese and Sanskrit by Dharmarakṣa and Weijing into seven scrolls; the study of linguistics (śabdavidyā) truly originated with this. His preface states: "As for the leaders of translation, there were five Tripiṭaka masters such as Tianxizai (four from the Western land: Tianxizai, Dānapāla, Faxian, Dharmarakṣa; one from the Eastern land, namely Weijing); those who took down by brush, composed the text, and verified the meaning numbered seventy-nine from Fajin to Huideng. The monks from the Five Indias who presented Sanskrit scriptures numbered eighty from Fajun to Dharmakīrti. The monks from this land who went to fetch scriptures and were able to return numbered 138 from Cihan to Ximi. There were 1,428 Sanskrit texts, translated into 564 scrolls." ○ In the eleventh month, an edict ordered Kong Zongyuan to inherit the enfeoffment of Duke Wenxuan.

45.18

The third year [1036]. Imperial son-in-law Commandant Li Zunxu expanded the *Chuandeng lu* into thirty scrolls and presented it to the throne. It was granted the title *Tiansheng guangdeng lu* (Tiansheng Record of the Extensive Transmission of the Lamp), with an imperial preface. ○ Lü Yijian, Right Assistant Director of the Department of State Affairs and Commissioner for Scriptural Polishing, and Song Shou, Participant in Determining Governmental Matters and Scriptural Polishing Official, stated: "Following the imperial decree to continue the compilation of the *Fabao lu*, from the fourth year of Xiangfu down to the present, the third year of Jingyou, 161 scrolls have been compiled. We request that an imperial preface be granted according to the former precedent." In the fourth year [1037], the Emperor composed the preface to the *Jingyou xinxiu fabao lu* and granted its admission into the Great Canon.

45.19

The second month of the Baoyuan era, in the fifth month [1039]. Huaiwen, who had traveled three times to the Western Heavens, together with the monks Deji, Yongding, and De'an, returned from the state of Magadha in Central India. They presented Buddha-bone relics, palm-leaf Sanskrit scriptures, palm seeds, bodhi tree leaves, aśoka tree leaves, bodhi-seed rosaries, and nineteen rubbings of Western Indian steles. They were summoned to audience, consoled, and granted the title Master of Manifesting the Teachings, purple robes, and gold and silk.

45.20

In the first year of Qingli [1041], the Tripiṭaka Master Weijing said: "The scriptures brought from the Western Regions, both old and new, number ten thousand scrolls. Maintaining the Court of State Ceremonial incurs the expenditure of grain allowances (the Chief Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial was in charge of guests from the four quarters; in later generations, he also took charge of Indian monks from the Western Regions). I request to cease and abolish the translation of scriptures." The Emperor said: "How could I dare immediately abandon the ancient models of the three sages? Furthermore, were it not for the Court of State Ceremonial, the records of precious tributes could not be recognized." Shortly thereafter, Palace Censor Kong Fudao presented a memorial, requesting that translation of scriptures be discontinued. The Emperor produced Weijing's memorial and showed it to him, admonishing him that the grand rites of previous reigns must not be abolished at will (from Xiangshan yelu). ○ Fan Zhongyan, while pacifying Hedong, lodged at the courier station of Baode, where he obtained an old scripture in one fascicle entitled Eulogies on the Karmic Causes, Fruits, and Conscious Views of the Sixteen Arhats, which was not recorded in the Tripitaka canon. Zhongyan thereupon wrote a preface for it, stating: "These eulogistic verses comprise seven stanzas per venerable one; all are words on awakening to the origin and attaining Buddhahood. When I read them, with each stanza came an awakening; only then did I know that within this mundane world there exists the boundless sacred Dharma, and that the Great Canon contains true texts that had been left out." Thereupon he transmitted it to the Śramaṇa Huizhe of Jiangling so that he could circulate it in the world (from his Family Collection). ○ Policy Remonstrator Ouyang Xiu, admiring Han Yu's denunciation of Buddhism and Daoism, composed three essays on the "Original Discourse." Their summary stated: "The Buddhist teaching has been a scourge to the Central Realm for over a thousand years. Among the eminent, unconfused, and powerful men of each generation, none has failed to desire its removal. Yet once removed, it convenes again in great numbers, ultimately reaching a point where nothing can be done about it," and so forth. "During the times of Yao, Shun, and the Three Dynasties, the royal governance was enlightened and clear, and teachings of propriety and righteousness filled the world. In such an age, even if there were a Buddha, he would have had no way to enter. But when the Three Dynasties declined, royal governance suffered defects, and propriety and righteousness fell into disuse, more than two hundred years later the Buddha arrived in the Central Realm. Speaking from this, the reason the Buddha became our scourge is that he took advantage of that time of deficiency and neglect to come; this is the root cause of our suffering this scourge," and so forth. "Propriety and righteousness are the root of triumphing over Buddhism. If the rites of seasonal hunts, marriages, funerals, sacrifices, and local archery—all the implements for instructing the people—are completely provided, then Buddhism will have no way to enter." (Master Ouyang took propriety and righteousness as the root in seeking to triumph over Buddhism; hence it was called the "Original Discourse.") It also stated: "The teaching of Buddhism today may be called treacherous and evil." It also stated: "For a thousand years, Buddhism and Daoism have plundered the Central Realm" (all seen in the Collection of Retired Scholar Liuyi). ○ In the second year [1042], earlier, Dharma Master Benru of Mount Dongye gathered a hundred monks to cultivate the Lotus Long Repentance for one year. In the seventh month of this year, Commandant-Consort Li Zunxu reported it to the imperial court. He was granted the title Shenzhao and a purple square robe. He had once seen a tiger lying down in the southwest of the mountain; striking it with his staff, he said: "This is not your dwelling place." The tiger bowed its head and left. Later, he built a hut as a hermitage at the place where the tiger had lain. In this year, he retired in leisure here. Admiring the style of Mount Lu, he formed a White Lotus Society with Duke of Xun Zhang Dexiang and other worthy men. In six or seven years, it gradually became a grand monastery. The Emperor, having long heard of his spiritual demeanor, thereupon bestowed the plaque 'Bailian' (White Lotus). In the sixth month of the third year [1043], after a prolonged drought, an edict ordered the reception of the Buddha's tooth from Xiangguo Monastery into the inner palace, where the Emperor personally prayed. In an instant, heavy rain poured down. Thereupon, a golden hall with four gates was made to resemble a heavenly palace in order to enshrine and store it. He further composed an aspiration text to show his refuge and veneration. ○ Prime Minister Zhang Dexiang was concurrently appointed Translation and Text-Polishing Commissioner.

45.21

The fourth year [1044].

45.22

○ In the sixth month, a fire occurred at the Linggan Pagoda of Kaibao Monastery. An imperial directive ordered a palace commissioner to take the relic pagoda buried in the pagoda foundation into the inner court for veneration, with preparations made to rebuild it. Remonstrance Official Yu Jing remonstrated vigorously; the Emperor was displeased. ○ Policy Remonstrator Ouyang Xiu was struck down by memorializing officials, remanded to the imperial prison, and thoroughly interrogated. He was demoted to Chuzhou. The following year, as he was about to return to Luling, his boat moored at Jiujiang. Thereupon, following his whim, he traveled to Mount Lu, entered Donglin and Yuantong [Monastery], and called upon the Chan Master Zuyin Juné to discuss the Dao with him. The Master moved freely through the Hundred Schools and reconciled them with the Buddhist Dharma. (The Record of the Grand Historian, Hereditary House of Confucius, states: "He made a compromise with the Master." "Zhe" means to judge; "zhong" means what is proper. In the Biography of Yang Xiong in the Han History, it is written: "made a compromise with Chonghua," according to Yan Shigu.) Xiu respectfully submitted in his heart; he listened with rapt attention, forgetting his weariness, until midnight without being able to stop. Silently he nodded in agreement; the anti-Buddhist sentiments he usually held melted away from within. He lingered for over ten days, unable to bear leaving. Some said that this was precisely analogous to Tuizhi [Han Yu] meeting Dadian. When Xiu first arrived, the Master bowed and made him take a seat, saying: "Sir, your distant visit—could it be that the Way of the sages of Western India accords with your mind?" Xiu replied with an imposing vigor: "I study the Way of Confucius and Mencius, and privately admire Master Han's repelling of Buddhism and Daoism. What is there to take from the Dharma of Western India?" The Master assumed a stern countenance and questioned him: "Tuizhi opposed Buddhism and Daoism, comparing himself to Mencius repelling Yang and Mo. Buddhism and Daoism are great sages, not comparable to Yang and Mo. Tuizhi could not even succeed in repelling them, let alone someone today who desires to emulate him! Formerly, Master Wenzhong spoke of the Buddha as a sage, yet Tuizhi denounced him as a barbarian ghost. These were words of great arrogance." Xiu said: "Scholars discard the Zhongshuo, historians did not grant him a biography, and Tuizhi kept his mouth shut and did not praise him. Now Master, you cite him, asserting that the Buddha is a sage; who in the realm would follow that?" The Master said: "Master Wenzhong was a pure Confucian. Had he assisted Taizong, he would surely not have been inferior to the governance of the Three Dynasties. Had his official post been the compilation of history, he would certainly have ranked Buddhism and Daoism among the sages. Formerly, when Chen Shuda compiled the History of the Sui, he avoided suspicion in his own time, but Sima Junshi composed a biography to supplement it. Tuizhi concealed worthies and did not praise them; how could this be the public-spirited mind of the empire? Pi Rixiu said: 'Mencius and Xun Qing supported and transmitted the Way of Confucius down to Master Wenzhong.' Sikong Tu said: 'Heaven brought forth Master Wenzhong to bring about the utility of the sages; therefore followers such as Fang and Du expanded civilian and military accomplishments to assist in the governance of the Zhenguan era.' These all suffice to understand Master Wenzhong. Among the followers of Xun Qing, Han Fei valued criminal law and harmed the world, while Li Si burned the Book of Odes and Book of Documents and destroyed Qin; the calamities of Yang and Mo did not reach this extent! The disciples of Master Wenzhong were able, through the way of benevolence and righteousness, to assist the House of Tang to achieve order and peace. As for Ziyun [Yang Xiong] and Tuizhi, they merely set up empty words; we have not heard of their followers having the effect of assisting the Han or reviving the Tang. In that case, is not the Way of Master Wenzhong superior to that of Xun, Yang, and Master Han? Yet scholars of later generations turn their backs and do not know it!" (Wang Ji, the younger brother of Master Wenzhong, reported that Hou Junji lacked loyalty to the ruler; the matter implicated Zhangsun Wuji, and because Shuda avoided suspicion, he did not compose a biography for him).

45.23

Xiu said: "Cases where Master Han did not accord with the Dao and Master Wenzhong are few. Had he encountered Taizong, he would certainly have displayed to the utmost what he held within." The Master said: "Xianzong was a ruler of dynastic restoration. We have not heard of Tuizhi offering any assistance or support at that time; rather, he took the repelling of Buddhism and Daoism as his personal achievement, desiring to compare himself to Mencius repelling Yang and Mo. His eagerness to triumph and seek fame was as extreme as this! Furthermore, as for Tuizhi denouncing the Buddha as a barbarian ghost, allow me to briefly distinguish it. The Buddha as a sage descended from the Tuṣita Heaven and took birth in the family of a sacred king in Central India; why call him a barbarian? The Buddha as a sage is neither born nor destroyed, abiding permanently across vast kalpas, the object of veneration for humans and devas; why call him a ghost? Are these not words of great arrogance by Tuizhi? Tuizhi's ancestor of seven generations back was Han Qi. During the Yongxing era of the Later Wei, he surrendered to the Tuoba from Helian Qugai (The Helian clan was the Left Worthy King of the Xiongnu, later occupying Shuofang with the dynastic title Great Xia. The Tuoba clan of Emperor Daowu of the Later Wei arose from the Northern Di). Coming from the Western Rong to submit to the Northern Di—he did not observe taboo for his own ancestor, yet instead dared to slander the Buddha, a sage? Tuizhi was afraid of the transgressions of praise and blame in compiling history (in his 'Letter in Reply to Xiu Cai Liu,' he wrote: 'For one who compiles history, if there are no human misfortunes, there will certainly be divine punishment'), yet he did not consider that the transgression of disparaging the Buddha was even more to be feared! He took the repelling of Laozi as his personal task, yet served Immortal Mao as an elder brother and ingested his elixir, ultimately dying when carbuncles broke out (Tuizhi said that Han and Mao shared the same surname). His son Chang was incompetent as a collator of texts (while collating the Book of Han, he changed 'golden root carriage' to 'gold and silver carriage') and was eventually dismissed and sent home; within a few generations, his line was extinguished. Was that not also something from which divine punishment and human misfortunes could not be escaped? Tuizhi initiated the repelling of Buddhism and Daoism, and you, Sir, have now chimed in with him. This will cause fame-seeking scholars of later generations to cite the Han and Ouyang clans as their standard; how could this not be a burden on your magnificent virtue? The proverb says: 'He who is good at reviling will also be well reviled by others.' In your past composition of the 'Original Discourse,' you were diligently devoted to defaming the Buddha; how could the multitude of voices not defame you before the imperial ears? Your words took the rituals of seasonal hunts, funerals, sacrifices, and local archery as the basis for triumphing over Buddhism; this is just like Tuizhi's 'Tracing the Way' (Yuandao)—he did not actually know the Way!" Xiu was greatly astonished and blushed; he apologized to him, saying: "My mind is already completely relieved. With what will you instruct me?" The Master said: "The Buddhist Way takes awakening the mind as its foundation. For many lifetimes, Sir, you embodied the Way; it was only due to a lapse of mindfulness that you were born in Donghua as a renowned Confucian, where, clinging one-sidedly to worldly teachings, you forgot your origin. If you can truly bring forth a mind that regards the sacred and the ordinary as equal, silently realize it, instantly dispel self-conceit, and entirely repent your past wrongs; observe that glory and disgrace are fundamentally empty, and realize that death and life are of one accord; then pure mindfulness will shine forth, and your heavenly nature will be revealed alone; only then can you inquire into the path of this Way." From this point on, Xiu had considerable awakening. Later, when he entered court to participate in major state affairs, he always praised him before high officials, and their exchange of letters through the seasons never ceased (the Śramaṇa Zuxiu of Shu recorded the event of Ouyang Xiu meeting Chan Master Né, composing the Unofficial Biography of Ouyang. Lay Buddhist Su Xiang Yangzhi of Houhu and Duke of Wei Zhang Jun wrote prefaces for it. Xiu resided at Shangfeng in Tanzhou, received the Dharma from Chan Master Huanglong Xin, and called himself the 'Hermitage of Six Concealments').

45.24

The commentary says: Both Confucius and Master Wenzhong declared the Buddha to be a sage. The Han clan, however, said: "The Buddha is an uncivilized barbarian." Ouyang, composing his "Original Discourse," said: "The Buddhist Dharma has been a scourge to the Central Realm." These two gentlemen did not know that the Buddha was a sage; because they did not know the vastness of heaven and earth, they did not know what was a barbarian and what was the Central Realm; because they did not know the subtlety of the Buddhist Dharma, they did not know what was the root and what was the scourge. If there are those among Confucian masters who desire to repel Buddhism, if they have not yet examined its canonical texts, consulted scholars, and thoroughly reflected upon that to which its principles return, then I fear they will be rash, wanton, and disrespectful, just like the temporary misspoken words of Han and Ouyang. Yet when Tuizhi inquired about the Way from Dadian, he himself claimed to have gained an entry point. Therefore, Luzhi said: "After Tuizhi met Dadian, his essay-writing became superior in principle, and his repelling of Buddhism also slightly diminished." When Ouyang met Zuyin, he respectfully submitted in his heart. Therefore Dongpo said: "Yongshu did not like Buddhism, yet that which was illuminated by his intelligence and achieved by the power of his virtue was truly the Buddhist Dharma!" People today merely know how to recite their previous opposition and rejection, but are unable to examine their subsequent faith and submission. For this reason, these two gentlemen ended up bearing the reputation of having denounced Buddhism; how unfortunate!

45.25

An imperial decree enfeoffed the forty-sixth generation grandson of Confucius, Zongyuan, as the Duke of衍Sheng (Yansheng Gong). Fifty temple households from Xianyuan County were assigned to serve in sweeping and cleaning.

45.26

In the fifth year [1045], Su Xun of Meishan traveled to the capital Bianjing to take the jinshi examination but failed. Sailing upstream on the river to Xunyang, he ascended Mount Lu to call upon Chan Master Zuyin Né to ask about the Dharma. (Dongpo said: "In the dinghai year of Qingli, my late father asked about the Dharma at Yuantong; Master Né grasped his underlying purpose.")

45.27

In the sixth year, bingxu [1046], Shouxian, Abbot of Zhengjue Chan Cloister in Jiangning Prefecture, rebuilt the brick pagoda of the Great Sage of Sizhou. Puzhuang, Abbot of Tianxi Monastery, composed the record of interring the relics.

45.28

In the seventh year, there was no rain in spring. An envoy was dispatched to Mount Dahong in Suizhou to pray for rain. The envoy arose early in the morning and knocked at the hall, where he met a divine monk in purple robes, who looked directly at him. On the following day, heavy rain fell. By imperial edict, [the monk] was conferred the title Master of Compassionate Endurance and Efficacious Succor (Ciren Lingji). ○ Zhang Fangping, Grand Protection of the Crown Prince, had once served [as prefect] in Chuzhou. Visiting a monks' lodge, he by chance caught sight of the *Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra*. Taking it in hand, he suddenly felt as though he had recovered an old belonging. Before finishing the roll he unrolled, past hindrances melted away like ice. Inspecting the brushstrokes closely, the handwriting was unmistakably his own. From this he attained awakening and entry, and he frequently elucidated the essentials of the mind using the four opening verses of the sūtra. Su Shi wrote an inscription at the back of the sūtra, stating: "What the former Buddha taught is the most wondrous, the real, definitive meaning; hence it is called the Chapter on the Buddha's Speech as the Mind. The ancestral teacher Bodhidharma transmitted it to the Second Patriarch, saying: 'I observe that among all the scriptures and teachings in Cīnasthāna, only this four-scroll *Laṅkāvatāra* can be used to imprint the mind.' Patriarch after patriarch transmitted it to one another as the mind-dharma, just as physicians have the *Nan jing*. Every phrase is principle, every character is Dharma. Later accomplished ones made it divine and illuminated it; like a pearl rolling in a basin, like a basin rolling about a pearl, nothing is unfeasible. Shi has visited the master's gate for thirty years. This year, passing through the Southern Capital, I saw the master at his private residence. The master was then seventy-nine; illusory extinction was completely exhausted, and the light of wisdom was round and complete. Shi is also old amid grief and hardship, with all hundred thoughts grown cold like ash. Deeming me capable of instruction, the master bestowed this sūtra on me, and gave thirty thousand cash to have it printed and distributed along the Yangzi and Huai rivers. Chan Master Foyin Yuan of Jinshan, considering that printing and distributing copies was limited while carving printing blocks would make it inexhaustible, wrote it out and had it carved on blocks, to be held in perpetuity at Jinshan." ○ An imperial laud on the translation of sūtras was bestowed upon the Tripiṭaka Master Dharmarakṣa (Fahu).

45.29

In the eighth year, the Remonstrance Official Sima Guang repeatedly submitted memorials requesting the establishment of an heir apparent. The Emperor, hearing that [the monk] Fahua of Kaibao Monastery possessed extraordinary conduct, burned incense at night and prayed in silence. The next day, he invited the Great Being Fahua to a vegetarian feast at the Huacheng Hall. At dawn, the Emperor stood still in Taoist attire, waiting. Soon, an attendant from the inner palace memorialized, saying: "Fahua has hurried in through the Right Flank Gate and is approaching the bedchamber. Rebuking him could not stop him." The Emperor laughed and said: "It was I who summoned him." When he arrived, he went directly up to the imperial couch, sat cross-legged, and received the vegetarian feast. The Emperor asked about the heir apparent, and he requested paper and wrote the characters "thirteen thirteen" in succession. Later, Emperor Yingzong succeeded to the throne; he was indeed the thirteenth son of the Prince of Pu (the Prince of Pu was Emperor Renzong's elder brother). ○ Zeng Gongliang, Drafting Drafter, went into mourning for his mother and requested leave to return home. The local monk Yuanda took the same boat to Qiantang and entered Tianzhu [Monastery] to pay homage to the Great Being. Entering the gate, he saw a woman in plain white robes who said to him: "When Secretariat Drafter Zeng is fifty-seven, he will enter the Central Secretariat as Senior Grand Councilor. In that year, you will also receive a master's title." Presently, she was seen no more. When he reached that year, he was indeed appointed Prime Minister, and Yuanda was promoted to Great Master on account of Lord Zeng's favor. Gongliang's previous life had been Qing of Caotang. He was over ninety years old when a lady of the Zeng family came to the monastery to offer a vegetarian feast and gave him clothes and goods. Qing was touched by her intention. When the lady gave birth to a son, Qing passed away while sitting upright. ○ Ouyang Xiu, Participant in Determining Governmental Affairs, was appointed Prefect of Yangzhou. Chan Master Zuyin Ne of Mount Lu dispatched a monk to convey greetings. Xiu ate together with him, and chanced to say: "Goryeo sent an envoy to ask about three essential points in Cao Cao's commentary on *Sunzi* where there were no explanatory notes. None of the worthy scholars at court dared to answer. An edict questioned me, and I did not know the answer either." The monk said: "The venerable master in our mountains must certainly understand this meaning." Xiu was delighted, adorned the prefectural hall's retinue, and took the fast post-horses to welcome him. The master said to the envoy: "Military affairs are secret matters and must not be displayed to others." When the envoy returned to report, [Xiu] immediately answered the imperial edict with these words (*Donglin lu*). Xiu later wrote a preface to the commentary on *Sunzi*, which said: "Sun Wu took being inexhaustible as wondrous; his text is brief yet the meaning is deep." Moreover, in his eulogy for King Zhongyi of Qian, he wrote: "Inside was Chuli, not to be shown to others." These were all derived from Zuyin's insight.

45.30

The author remarks: In my youth, when I served my teacher Master Yuan (named Ji, who was Prefectural Director of Studies and nephew of Lord Jiezhai Zhengxian), I saw him reading military texts of Sun and Wu with local scholars. I heard him discuss: "The warfare of Confucians accords with the Constant Way. Cherishing and nurturing the officers and men, not slaying a single person without cause—this is benevolence. Saving the times and braving perils without forgetting one's sovereign—this is righteousness. Two armies facing off sending envoys back and forth—this is propriety. Securing the borders, bringing rest to the people, and each keeping the covenant—this is trustworthiness. As for being in the right while the other is in the wrong, sending forth troops with correctness and gaining victory through unorthodox strategy—this is wisdom. Now, one with wisdom does not stagnate in one corner. There are those who calculate beforehand and conquer, and there are those who adapt to circumstances on the spot and conquer. The application of wisdom is unfixed, communicating with the divine; even the closest kin, father and son, cannot tell one another. That being so, how could words on paper be sufficient to exhaust its meaning?" Forty-five years have passed since I heard these words. Now observing what is recorded in the *Donglin lu*, I am even more convinced that Lord Yuan's words share the same intent as Zuyin's.

45.31

(The *Ouyang waizhuan* states: When the Lord arrived at Yuantong, Lord Fan Wenzheng sent a letter to Yongsbu, asking about the unresolved doubts in *Sunzi* which Cao Cao did not annotate. As soon as the Master finished examining it, he took another sheet and explained it. The Lord broke into a cold sweat for the entire night).

45.32

In the ninth year, Ouyang Xiu was Prefect of Yingzhou. The official courtesan Lu Mei was skilled at witty conversation, and her mouth emitted the fragrance of lotus flowers. There was a śramaṇa from Shu who knew people's past lives. Xiu asked him about her. The monk said: "In her past life, this woman was a nun who recited the *Lotus Sūtra* for thirty years. Through a single errant thought, she ended up like this." Xiu asked the courtesan: "Have you ever read the *Lotus Sūtra*?" The courtesan said: "Having lost myself in this place, how could I read sūtras?" Xiu ordered his attendants to teach her; hearing it once, she immediately recited it. When she attempted other scriptures, she was unable to do so (*Dunzhai xianlan*). In the first year of Huangyou, an imperial edict ordered the reconstruction of the Linggan Stūpa to enshrine the relics (it had been rebuilt because it was destroyed by fire in the fourth year of Qingli). ○ An imperial edict dispatched an inner palace envoy to Ruguansi in Chenliu to welcome the Buddha's finger-bone relic. Some thought it was a counterfeit. The Emperor ordered it to be tested with fierce fire and struck with a golden hammer; it suffered no damage whatsoever. Presently, the relic poured forth light that illuminated the western direction. The Emperor said: "The merit is great. Shall it return to Chanjiao [Monastery]?" He then contained it in a crystal jewel casket, composed an imperial vow text, and had it reverently escorted back to the monastery. Earlier, the people of Chenliu had built a monastery for the śramaṇa Yijin and requested the plaque 'Chanjiao'. Suddenly an Indian monk arrived and said: "I have brought the Buddha's finger-bone relic from Tianzhu, seeking an auspicious place to enshrine it. None other than the Master can protect it." He offered it and left. Thereafter, auspicious light frequently manifested, and prayers were often answered (stele composed by Pang Jie). ○ Since the temples were destroyed in the Zhou dynasty and restored during the Jianlong era, in both the left and right sectors of the capital there were only the Nanshan Vinaya school and the doctrinal studies of Xianshou and Ci'en. Talented scholar-officials of surpassing intelligence were weary of hearing discussions of names and characteristics (nāmalakṣana), while Tiantai's cessation-and-contemplation and Bodhidharma's Chan lineage had not yet been able to flourish there. From the Chunhua era onward, Siming and Tianzhu practiced the Way; in the southeast, the contemplation-of-mind lineage-eye illuminated the world. Yang Yi and Chao Jiong brought it to light. Emperor Zhenzong praised and rewarded them, bestowing the titles Fazhi and Ciyun. Although the court and the public admired them for a time, they ultimately could not establish their teachings in the capital. At this point, the inner palace attendant Li Yunning memorialized to convert a residence in Bianjing to establish a Chan platform; an plaque was thus granted with the name Shifang Jingyin. The Emperor had turned his attention to the emptiness lineage and issued an edict seeking one possessed of the Way to dwell there. Ouyang Xiu and others requested that Yuantong June answer the call. Ne declined due to illness and accordingly recommended Huailian to replace him (*Ouyang waizhuan*).

45.33

In the second year, Grand Councilor Wen Yanbo concurrently served as Commissioner for Sūtra Translation and Textual Polish. Yanbo, while in the capital, joined with Chan Master Jingyan to form an assembly of one hundred thousand monks and laypeople to recite the Buddha's name, making the vow for rebirth in the Pure Land. ○ By imperial edict, Chan Master Huailian of Jingyin Chan Monastery in the Left Sector entered the Huacheng Hall for an imperial audience and ascended the seat. Zhilin and others from the Monastic Secretariat of the Right Sector posed questions, and his responses satisfied the imperial intention. He was granted the title Dajue (Great Awakening). ○ Earlier, Old Shun had resided at Qixian on Mount Lu. The Prefect of Nankang, out of personal resentment, had defrocked him. Dajue welcomed him to Jingyin and lodged him in the main room. Whenever the Emperor summoned the Master into the inner palace, [Huailian] never mentioned it. One day, the Prince of Jia visited the monastery and saw Dajue standing beside Shun in attendance with great reverence. Surprised, he asked the attendants and learned that Dajue had once entered Shun's room [as a disciple]. Returning, he reported this to the Emperor. The Emperor summoned [Shun] to an audience in an informal hall. His Taoist countenance was extraordinary and imposing. Revering him, [the Emperor] said: "He is indeed a lofty person of the mountain forests." Thereupon he wrote on a fan granting Xiaoshun permission to return to monkhood as before, to reside again at Qixian Monastery, and bestowed upon him a purple robe and a silver bowl.

45.34

In the fifth year, the śramaṇa Zhi Jixiang and others from Western India arrived at court to present Sanskrit scriptures. They were granted purple robes. ○ An imperial edict directed Ouyang Xiu, Song Qi, and Fan Zhen to compile the *History of the Tang*. Biographies such as those of the eminent monks Xuanzang and Shenxiu, the biographies of occult arts, and even texts concerning the Zhenguan era's construction of monasteries to pray for the blessing of fallen soldiers were all deleted. There was Chan Master Zijue of Jingyin, who had initially studied under Sima Guang and once heard him say: "Yongshu disliked Buddhism. Whatever in the old Tang history pertained to its matters he invariably excised." He had once taken both versions and collated them, finding over a thousand deleted passages. He thereupon said: "Those that ride on empty talk of nature, destiny, and morality are the writings of Han Yu; those that obliterate the real effects of order, chaos, success, and failure are the *New Book [of Tang]*." Fan Zuyu, hearing Guang's words, subsequently wrote the *Tang Mirror*, secretly making up for the deficiencies of the *New Book* (*Ouyang waizhuan*). ○ Sima Guang once read the *Wenzhongzi*, which called the Buddha a sage. He then said: "If it is truly like this, then the Buddha's mind can be seen!" He thereupon composed six Chan verses. The final stanza said: / "His words serve as teacher for a hundred generations, / His actions serve as law for the entire world. / Being a worthy and being a great sage: / This is what is named Buddha and Bodhisattva." / On a day of leisure, he toured various monasteries in Luoyang. The corridors were silent. Suddenly, bells and drums sounded, leading him to the dining hall, where he saw the śramaṇas sitting upright in complete silence, just taking up their spoons and chopsticks. Guang rejoiced and said to his attendants: "I never thought that the rites and music of the Three Dynasties would be preserved among the dark-robed [monks]!" In the first year of Zhihe, an imperial decree stated that Tripiṭaka Master Dharmarakṣa's moral discipline and virtue were eminent and supreme, and that he should be specially granted a six-character master title: Great Master Puming Cijue Chuanfan (Universally Bright, Compassionate and Awakened Transmitter of Sanskrit). ○ The Emperor dreamt of going to the gate of Jingde Monastery and seeing a dragon coiled on the ground. Waking in astonishment, he sent an envoy to inspect it; he saw a monk lying outside the gate, whose name was Daolong. The next day he summoned him to an audience. His responses were detailed and sharp. He was granted the title Chan Master Mingwu (Luminous Awakening), and an edict ordered the Huayan Cloister to be built outside the Cao Gate for him to reside in. In the second year, Chan Master Dajue Huailian of Jingyin submitted a memorial requesting permission to retire to the mountains in old age. The Emperor said: "The mountains are none other than the substance of suchness. Where would you return?" The Master then presented a eulogy: / "A thousand clustered cloudy mountains, ten thousand ravine streams; / My idle body retires in old age atop this peak. / With devoted care, I pray for [imperial] longevity like the heavens; / A single stick of pure incense fills the stone chamber." / The Emperor once bestowed a borneol-camphor bowl upon him. Facing the envoy, the Master burned it, saying: "According to our Dharma, we wear robes of decayed color and eat from clay and iron; this bowl is not according to the Dharma." When the envoy returned to report, the Emperor praised and sighed in admiration all the more.

45.35

In the first year of Jiayou, on the Qianyuan Festival, an edict ordered the Fusheng Stūpa Cloister of Kaibao Monastery to hold a great vegetarian feast and bestow kāṣāyas on the monks. ○ Li Fugui, Prefect of Xiangzhou, excavated the stūpa foundation of Longxing Monastery and obtained a relic of the Buddha's hair, which spiraled like a conch. When pulled, it became extremely long, and people passed through it back and forth without interruption. Grand Councilor Han Qi built a hall on that site to enshrine it. In the third year, Tripiṭaka Master of Sūtra Translation, Grand Master of the Silver-Blue Glories with Golden Seal, Probationary Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, Great Master Puming Cijue Chuanfan Dharmarakṣa passed away at the age of ninety-six. ○ The Western Xia state memorialized that new monasteries had been built in their territory and requested the bestowal of the Tripiṭaka scriptures; an edict granted it. In the fifth year, Fu Bi, Concurrent Manager of Affairs with the Secretariat-Chancellery, concurrently served as Commissioner for Sūtra Translation and Textual Polish. ○ Duke Fu of Zheng invited Huayan Yong to reside at Zhaoti [Monastery] in Luoyang, and invited Lord Sima Wen to accompany him to welcome him. Suddenly they saw several dozen baggage carriers passing by. Lord Wen asked what they were, and [a bearer] replied: "It is the luggage of the new Abbot of Zhaoti." Lord Wen immediately ordered his carriage to return, saying to Duke Fu: "I have already seen him."

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佛祖統紀 — 志磐, Classical Chinese