佛祖歷代通載 5.66

5.66

（十一）　漢書西域傳。史官范曄論曰。西域風土之載前史未聞也。張騫懷致遠之略。班超奮封侯之志。終能立功西遐羈服外域。自兵威之所肅服。財賂之所懷誘。莫不獻方奇納愛質。露頂肘行東向而朝天子。故設戊巳之官分任其事。建都護之帥總領其權。其後甘英乃抵條支。而歷安息臨海以望大秦。拒五門陽關四萬餘里。靡不周盡焉。若其境俗性習之優薄。產載物類之區品。川河障嶺之基源。氣節涼暑之通隔。梯山棧谷繩行沙渡之道。身熱首痛風災鬼難之域。莫不備寫情形審求根實。至於佛道神化。興自身毒。而二漢方志莫有稱焉。張騫但著地多暑濕乘象而戰。班超雖列其奉浮圖不殺伐。而精文善法導達之功。靡所傳述。予聞之說也。其國則殷乎中土。玉燭和氣靈聖之所降集。賢懿之所挺生。神迹詭異則理絕人區。感驗明顯則事出天外。而騫超無聞者。豈非道祕往運數開叔葉乎。不然何誣異之甚也。漢自楚王英始盛齋戒之祀。桓帝又修華蓋之飾。將微義未譯而但神明之耶。詳其清心釋累之訓。空有兼遣之宗。道書之流也。且好仁惡殺蠲救崇善。所以賢達君子多愛其法焉。然好大不經奇譎無已。雖鄒衍談夭之辯。莊周蝸角之論。尚未足以概其萬一。又精靈起滅因報相尋。若曉而昧者。故通人多惑焉。蓋導俗無方適物異會。取諸同歸措夫疑說。則大道通矣。曄字蔚宗。生晉末仕於宋。凡史籍議論釋氏。自曄而始。

(11) In the "Treatise on the Western Regions" of the Book of the Han, the court historiographer Fan Ye states in his appraisal: Records of the geography and customs of the Western Regions were unheard of in previous histories. Zhang Qian conceived strategies to reach distant lands, and Ban Chao strove with the ambition to be enfeoffed as a marquis; in the end, they were able to establish achievements in the far west and subjugate the foreign territories. From where the prestige of arms brought solemn submission and where gifts and bribes enticed them, none failed to offer rare regional products and send beloved hostages, baring their heads, crawling on their elbows, and facing east to pay court to the Son of Heaven. Therefore, the Wuji Colonel officers were established to share administrative responsibilities, and the Commander of the Protectorate was instituted to direct supreme authority. Afterwards, Gan Ying even reached Tiaozhi, traversed Anxi, and approached the sea to gaze toward Daqin, forty-odd thousand li distant from the Five Gates and the Yang Pass; there was nowhere he did not explore to the fullest. As for the richness or poverty of their border customs and inherent dispositions, the categories of their products and native materials, the sources of their rivers and mountain barriers, the continuity or severance of their hot and cold seasons, their routes scaling mountains, treading cliff paths, tightrope walking, and crossing sands, and their regions of bodily fever, head pain, wind disasters, and demonic hazards—all of these were thoroughly depicted in their circumstances, and their fundamental realities were closely investigated. Yet as for the spiritual transformation of the Buddha's path, which arose in Shendu, neither of the Gazetteers of the two Han dynasties made mention of it. Zhang Qian merely noted that the land was very hot and damp, and that they rode elephants into battle; Ban Chao, though listing that they worshipped the Buddha and did not slaughter, failed to transmit or narrate anything of the efficacy of its refined scriptures and good teachings in guiding people. According to the accounts I have heard, that country is more prosperous than the Central Plains; it is where the harmonious pneuma of the Jade Candle descends and gathers, where sages and spirits assemble, and where worthy and eminent people are born. Its miraculous traces and marvelous signs transcend the human realm in principle; its evidential responses are distinct, and its events exceed the celestial bounds. That Qian and Chao heard nothing of this—was it not that the Dao was kept secret in past ages and the turn of destiny opened only in later generations? Otherwise, why would there be such a vast discrepancy? Since King Ying of Chu in the Han dynasty first extensively maintained the sacrifices of fasting, Emperor Huan also adorned canopies with parasols; were they simply treating it as a spirit because its subtle meanings had not yet been translated? If we examine its teachings on purifying the mind and releasing burdens, and its principle of casting aside both emptiness and existence, it belongs to the category of Daoist books. Moreover, it loves benevolence, abhors killing, provides relief and succor, and promotes goodness; this is why worthy and eminent gentlemen mostly cherish its teachings. However, it is excessively fond of the grandiose and the uncanonical, and its marvels are without end; even Zou Yan's eloquence in discoursing on heaven and Zhuang Zhou's argument on the snail's horns are not sufficient to encompass one ten-thousandth of it. Furthermore, the arising and ceasing of the spirit and the mutual pursuit of cause and retribution seem clear yet remain obscure; therefore, men of universal learning are mostly perplexed by it. Indeed, guiding the worldly has no single method, and adapting to things brings different encounters; if one takes what converges toward the same end and sets aside doubtful doctrines, then the Great Dao will be thoroughly open. Ye, courtesy name Weizong, was born at the end of the Jin and served in the Song. All discussions and appraisals of the Śramaṇa in historical records begin with Fan Ye.