釋迦氏譜 1.85

1.85

Fifth, verifying it by glory and pre-eminence: The great treasure of the world, the most venerable ruler of humans, is the cakravartin king. The Great Sage of sentient beings, the guide of the four modes of birth, is the Dharmarāja. These two kings ascend the seat at the center of the continent; residing in the center to govern the distant is how it must be in principle and truth. As for other lesser sages and lesser kings, they rectify and shepherd beings according to their capacities, exercising transformation according to their lands, without discussing whether they are off-center or central. Why is this? Because lands, mountains, and rivers are all the circumstantial recompense of human beings; depending on whether people are superior or inferior, their recompense must be refined or coarse. Now, Central India's location is lofty and flourishing, which clearly reveals that it is what the karmic recompense of the two kings has called forth. The sage emperors of this land also had their veneration, yet the Five Emperors and Three Kings did not reach the land of the Cock Fields (India). Only after the Qin and Han did people hear of the regions of the Western Territories. This led Gan Ying and Zhang Qian (Bowang) to follow each other across the Snow Peaks, and Marquis Huo and Ban Chao (Dingyuan) successively trod there; mostly traversing north of the Congling and River, rarely emerging south of the Fragrant Snows. Therefore, the western barrier of the Iron Gate was truly Dahae (Daxia) and the Yuezhi, which were originally lands of the Xianyun and states without literature. How could they improperly claim to be the central land and a region with culture? (Therefore, the four commanderies west of the Yellow River were inhabited by the Xiutu, and only when Emperor Wu of Han opened them did they come into our possession today.)