[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [釋迦氏譜](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2041) › 1.83 # 釋迦氏譜 1.83 釋迦氏譜 1.83 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.83](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2041.1.83) 三以時序明之。夫以陰陽寒暑隨方起用。此土神州炎涼不等。南則瘴癘炎盛。北則方暑凝氷。雖有少華終非大舉。中天竺國。冬夏常調弗苦寒熱。卉木恒茂無悴流霜。蓋由處非邊鄙風雨無差。陰陽交泰庶物停毒。故西域圖經云。五天竺國。北洎雪山。南洎大海。六萬餘里川澤坦然。更無山阜但有河水分注。林木森列。餘之三方面帶山隴。遞相連屬有類東川。良由世界初搆群生業力。結茲勝壤以待佛興。即事求諸非中何謂。案高僧傳云。昔晉何承天善明緯候。無二晷景。與智嚴法師共詳偏正。嚴云。余曾遊天竺備謁聖儀。至於晷刻頗懷。通覽中天竺國。夏至之日方中無影。良是地中故也。此方雒南測影臺者。至夏至日終有餘分。故非大夏但名東夏也。承天聞此無以抗言。 > Third, clarifying it by the seasons: Yin and yang, cold and heat, produce their functions according to the direction. In this land of the Divine Province, cold and heat are not uniform; in the south there are miasmas and pestilences with blazing heat, while in the north, even in the midst of summer, ice freezes. Although there is slight moderation, it is ultimately not universally balanced. In Central India, winter and summer are constantly tempered, without suffering from cold or heat; grasses and trees are ever lush, never withering from falling frost. This is precisely because, its location not being peripheral or remote, the wind and rain have no irregularity; yin and yang harmoniously interact, and all things are free from venom. Therefore, the Illustrated Guide to the Western Regions states: "The Five Indias reach the Snow Mountains (Himālaya) in the north and the great ocean in the south; for over sixty thousand li the rivers and marshes are flat and smooth, with no hills or mounds, but only streams branching and flowing, and forests standing dense. The other three directions are skirted with mountains and hills, continuously adjoining one another, resembling the eastern streams." This is truly because, at the initial formation of the world, through the karma of all living beings, this superior terrain was formed to await the arising of the Buddha. Seeking it in facts, if this is not called the center, what is? According to the Biographies of Eminent Monks: In the past, during the Jin dynasty, He Chengtian was skilled in understanding the astronomical signs, and no two gnomon shadows differed \[in his calculations\]. He thoroughly investigated the off-center and the central together with Dharma Master Zhiyan. Zhiyan said: "I once traveled to India and fully paid homage to the sacred personage; as for the gnomon markings, I took them deeply to heart. In a thorough survey of Central India, on the day of the summer solstice, at exact midday there is no shadow. This is truly because it is the center of the earth." At the gnomon-measuring terrace south of Luoyang in this land, on the day of the summer solstice there is still a remaining fraction \[of shadow\]. Therefore, this is not Daxia, but merely called Eastern Xia. When Chengtian heard this, he had no words to rebut him. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 1.82](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2041.1.82) - [Next: 1.84](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2041.1.84) - [Up: 1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2041.1) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2041~en-mt.1.83) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2041.1.83](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2041.1.83) · Pramāṇa