[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) › [大唐故大德贈司空大辨正廣智不空三藏行狀](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2056) › 1.2 # 大唐故大德贈司空大辨正廣智不空三藏行狀 1.2 大唐故大德贈司空大辨正廣智不空三藏行狀 1.2 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.2.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2056.1.2.1) 皇帝灌頂大師法號不空。 以普賢行願。 傳大菩提心金剛智印。 奉佛教令。 拔濟群品。 持大法寶。 為時而來。 翼贊三朝。 近三十載。 大師本西良府。 北天竺之波羅門族也。 先門早逝。 育于舅氏。 便隨母姓。 初母康氏之未娠也。 有善相者言曰。 爾後畢生菩提薩埵。 言訖不見。 大奇之。 遂沐浴換衣。 斷語持念。 未經三日。 坐而假寐。 夢佛微笑。 雙目光流。 入母人頂。 忽而驚寤。 遍體流汗。 因覺有身。 香燈已後。 夜室如晝。 十二月而生。 生而能言。 風神出凡。 精氣殊眾。 六波羅密。 四無量心。 宛若生知。 非關師授。 唯佛與佛。 乃能究焉。 昔者婆伽梵毘盧遮那。 以金剛頂瑜伽祕密教王真言法印。 付屬金剛手菩薩。 垂近千載。 傳龍猛菩薩。 數百年後。 龍猛傳龍智阿遮梨耶。 後數百年。 龍智傳金剛智阿遮利耶。 金剛智傳今之大師。 雖源一流派分。 蓋數十人而已。 家嫡相繼。 我師承其六焉。 初大師隨外氏觀風大國。 生年十歲。 周遊巡歷武威太原。 十三事大弘教。 祖師道悉談章波羅門語論。 輒背文而諷誦。 剋日而洞悟。 祖師大奇。 他日與授菩提心戒。 引入金剛界大曼茶羅。 驗之擲花。 知有後矣。 十五初落髮。 二十進具戒。 善一切有部律。 曉諸國語。 識異國書。 先翻經常使譯語。 對唐梵之輕重。 酌文義之精華。 討習聲論十二年功六月而畢。 誦文殊願。 一載之限。 再夕而終。 後於祖師處。 哀祈瑜伽五部三密。 求之三載。 未遂夙心。 為法之故。 欲歸天竺。 是日宿于新豐逆旅。 祖師此夜偶然而夢。 京城諸寺佛菩薩像。 悉皆東行。 忽而驚悟。 令疾命還。 及聞迴至。 祖師大喜。 我之法藏。 盡將付汝。 次於他晨。 為與傳授五部之法。 灌頂護摩阿闍梨教。 大日經悉地儀軌。 諸佛頂部眾真言行。 一一傳持。 皆盡其妙。 後數年。 祖師奉詔歸國。 大師隨侍。 至河南府。 祖師示疾而終。 是時開元二十九年仲秋矣。 影塔既成。 以先奉先師遺言。 令往師子國。 至天實初。 到南海郡。 信舶未至。 採訪劉巨鱗。 三請大師。 哀求灌頂。 我師許之。 權於法性寺。 建立道場。 因劉公也。 四眾咸賴。 度人億千。 大師之未往也。 入曼荼羅。 對本尊像。 金剛三密。 以加持。 念誦經行。 未踰旬日。 文殊師利現身。 因誠大願不孤。 夙心已遂。 便率門人含光惠𮗿僧俗三七。 杖錫登舟。 採訪已下。 舉州士庶大會。 陳設香花。 遍于海浦。 蠡梵栝于天涯。 奉送大師。 凡數百里。 初至訶陵國界。 遇大黑風。 眾商惶怖。 作本天法。 \[橠-多+(口/一)\]之無効稽首膜拜。 哀求大師。 惠𮗿小師。 亦隨慟叫。 大師告曰。 今吾有法。 爾等勿憂。 遂右執五智菩提心杵。 左持般若佛母經。 申作法加持。 誦大隨求。 纔經一遍。 惠𮗿亦怪之。 風優海澄。 師之力也。 後又遇疾風。 大鯨出海。 噴浪若山。 有甚前患。 商人之輩。 甘心輸命。 大師哀愍。 如舊念持。 亦令惠𮗿。 誦娑竭羅龍王經。 未移時剋。 眾難俱弭。 次達海口城。 師子國王。 遣使迎之。 大師見王。 王大悅。 便請大師住宮。 七日供養。 每日常以真金浴斛。 滿貯香水。 王為大師。 躬自澡浴。 次及太子后妃輔相。 如王禮大師。 他日尋普賢阿闍梨等。 奉獻金寶錦繡之屬。 請開十八會金剛頂瑜伽法門毘盧遮那大悲胎藏。 建立壇法。 并許門人含光惠𮗿。 同授五部灌頂。 大師自爾。 覺無常師。 遍更討尋諸真言教。 并諸經論五百餘部。 本三昧諸尊密印。 儀形色像。 壇法標幟。 文義性相。 無不盡源。 他日王作調象戲。 以示國人。 登高望之。 無敢近目。 > The Emperor's Consecration Master had the Dharma-name Amoghavajra (Bukong). With the practices and vows of Samantabhadra, he transmitted the Vajra-wisdom seal of the great bodhicitta. Receiving the commands of the Buddha's teaching, he delivered and rescued all beings. Holding the treasure of the Great Dharma, he arrived according to the times. Assisting three imperial reigns for nearly thirty years, the Master was originally from Xiliangfu, of a Brahmin clan of North India. His father died early, and he was raised by his maternal uncle, thereupon taking his mother's surname. Earlier, before his mother, the lady Kang, was pregnant, a physiognomist told her: “Hereafter you will certainly give birth to a bodhisattva.” Having spoken, he disappeared. She marveled greatly at this, and thereupon bathed, changed her clothes, ceased speaking, and maintained mindfulness. Before three days had passed, as she sat dozing, she dreamt of the Buddha smiling, two streams of light pouring from his eyes and entering into her crown. She suddenly awoke with a start, her whole body bathed in sweat, whereupon she realized she was with child. From the time the incense and lamps were lit, the nighttime chamber was bright as day. He was born after twelve months. At birth he could already speak, his bearing transcendent, his vital energy far surpassing the ordinary. The six perfections and the four immeasurable minds were as if known from birth, not depending on instruction from a teacher. Only Buddha and Buddha could completely fathom him. Formerly, the Bhagavān Vairocana entrusted the mantra Dharma-seal of the Vajraśekhara Yoga Secret Sovereign of Teachings to Vajrapāṇi Bodhisattva. After nearly a thousand years, it was transmitted to Nāgārjuna Bodhisattva. Several centuries later, Nāgārjuna transmitted it to the ācārya Nāgabodhi. Several centuries after that, Nāgabodhi transmitted it to the ācārya Vajrabodhi. Vajrabodhi transmitted it to the present Master. Although descending from a single source its branches divided, there were only several dozen people; the direct lineage succeeded one after the other, and our Master was the sixth in its succession. Initially, the Master followed his maternal relatives to observe the customs of the great empire. At ten years of age, he traveled through Wuwei and Taiyuan. At thirteen, he served \[the Master of\] Greatly Propagating the Teaching \[Vajrabodhi\]. When the ancestral master expounded the Siddham primer and the grammatical treatises of the Brahmins, \[Amoghavajra\] would immediately recite them with his back to the text and understand them thoroughly within a set day. The ancestral master marveled greatly at him. On another day, he bestowed upon him the bodhicitta precepts and led him into the Great Maṇḍala of the Vajradhātu; testing him by having him cast a flower, he knew he would have a great future. At fifteen, he first shaved his hair; at twenty, he received full ordination. He was skilled in the Vinaya of the Sarvāstivāda school, understood the languages of various countries, and recognized the scripts of foreign lands. When the former translation of scriptures was conducted, he was constantly employed to translate spoken words, weighing the relative nuances of Chinese and Sanskrit, and selecting the finest essence of the text and its meaning. Undertaking the study of the science of phonetics, twelve years' labor was completed in six months. Reciting the vows of Mañjuśrī, a task allotted a full year, was finished in two nights. Later, at the ancestral master's place, he piteously pleaded for the five divisions and three mysteries of Yoga; seeking them for three years, he had not yet fulfilled his longtime wish. For the sake of the Dharma, he wished to return to India. On that day, he lodged in an inn at Xinfeng. That night, the ancestral master happened to dream that the statues of buddhas and bodhisattvas in all the monasteries of the capital were all traveling eastward. Suddenly waking with a start, he ordered \[messengers\] to quickly summon him back. When he heard that \[Amoghavajra\] had returned, the ancestral master rejoiced greatly: “My treasury of the Dharma, I will entrust entirely to you!” The following morning, he transmitted to him the Dharma of the five divisions, the ācārya teachings of consecration (abhiṣeka) and fire oblation (homa), the siddhi rituals of the Mahāvairocana Sūtra, and the mantra practices of the various uṣṇīṣa deities, transmitting and maintaining them one by one, exhausting all their subtleties. Several years later, the ancestral master received an imperial decree to return to his home country, and the Master accompanied him as his attendant. Arriving at Henanfu, the ancestral master manifested illness and passed away. This was in the mid-autumn of the twenty-ninth year of Kaiyuan. After the commemorative stūpa was completed, following the former master's posthumous instructions commanding him to go to the Lion Kingdom (Siṃhala / Sri Lanka), he reached Nanhai Commandery at the beginning of Tianbao. As the dispatch boat had not yet arrived, the Investigating Commissioner Liu Julin thrice requested the Master, pleading for consecration. Our Master granted it, and temporarily established a bodhimaṇḍala at Faxing Monastery; thanks to Lord Liu, the fourfold assembly all relied upon him, and the people saved numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Before the Master set out, he entered the maṇḍala, faced the icon of the primary deity, and performed empowerment through the three vajra mysteries. While reciting and circumambulating, before ten days had passed, Mañjuśrī manifested his body. Because of this sincerity, his great vow was not in vain, and his longtime wish was fulfilled. He then led his disciples Hanguang, Huilang, and others, twenty-one monastics and laypeople in all, took up his staff, and boarded the ship. From the Investigating Commissioner on down, the gentry and commoners of the entire prefecture assembled in great numbers, arranging incense and flowers everywhere along the sea coast. Conch shells and Sanskrit chants resounded to the ends of the sky as they saw the Master off for several hundred li. First arriving at the borders of the kingdom of Holing, they encountered a great black tempest. All the merchants were terrified and performed their native divine rites, but in their distress to no avail. They bowed their heads and made full prostrations, pleading piteously to the Master. The novice monk Huilang also wept and cried out in fear. The Master declared to them: “Now I possess the Dharma; you all need not worry.” Thereupon, holding in his right hand the five-wisdom bodhicitta vajra and in his left the Prajñāpāramitā-mātā Sūtra, he performed the ritual empowerment and recited the Mahāpratisarā \[dhāraṇī\]. Having passed through it merely once, Huilang too marveled at it: the wind subsided and the sea became calm—it was through the power of the Master. Later they encountered fierce winds again, and a great whale emerged from the sea, spouting waves like mountains, even worse than the previous peril. The merchants resigned themselves to giving up their lives. The Master took pity on them, recited and maintained mindfulness as before, and also ordered Huilang to recite the Sāgara-nāgarāja Sūtra. Before a moment had passed, all perils were quelled. Next, they arrived at the port city, where the king of the Lion Kingdom dispatched envoys to welcome him. When the Master had an audience with the king, the king was greatly pleased, and invited the Master to reside in the palace and receive offerings for seven days. Each day, using a bath tub of pure gold filled with perfumed water, the king personally bathed the Master. Next, the crown prince, the queens, consorts, and ministers also paid homage to the Master just like the king. On another day, he sought out the ācārya Samantabhadra and others, offering them gifts of gold, jewels, brocades, and silks, and requested the opening of the Vajraśekhara Yoga Dharma-gate of the Eighteen Assemblies and the Mahāvairocana Mahākāruṇika-garbhadhātu, the establishment of the altar rituals, and permission for his disciples Hanguang and Huilang to receive together the consecrations of the five divisions. From then on, the Master realized that \[wisdom\] has no permanent teacher, and thoroughly searched out all the mantra teachings as well as more than five hundred texts of various sūtras and treatises; the fundamental samādhis and secret mudrās of the various deities, their ritual forms, colors, and images, the emblems of the altar rituals, and the textual meanings, natures, and characteristics—none of which he did not trace to its very source. On another day, the king staged a performance of taming elephants to display to his countrymen; when people mounted high places to view it, none dared look directly at it from close range. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.2.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2056.1.2.2) 大師密誦佛眼真言。 并結大印。 住於慈定。 當衢而立。 狂象十餘。 數步之內。 頓倒忙走。 舉國奇之。 又遊五天。 巡歷諸國。 事跡數繁。 闕而不記。 天寶五載。 還歸上京。 進師子國王尸羅迷伽表。 及金瓔珞。 般若梵甲。 諸寶白㲲等。 奉勅令權住鴻臚寺。 他日有詔。 請大師入內。 建立曼荼羅。 為玄宗皇帝。 五部灌頂。 是年移住淨影寺。 是歲也終夏愆陽。 帝請大師入內祈雨。 制日時不得賖。 雨不得暴。 大師奏大孔雀明王經壇法。 未盡三日。 膏澤彌洽。 皇帝大悅。 自持寶箱。 賜大師紫袈裟。 帝為披擐。 并賜絹二百疋。 後有大風卒起。 勅令大師止風。 大師請一銀瓶。 作加持法。 須臾風止。 帝殊器重。 後有池鵝。 誤觸瓶倒。 風擊如前。 勅令再止。 隨止隨効。 帝倍加敬。 恩命號為智藏。 八載恩旨。 許歸本國。 垂驛騎之五疋。 到南海郡。 後勅令且住。 十二載。 勅令赴河瀧節度御史大夫哥舒翰所請。 十三載。 到武威。 住開元寺。 節度已下。 至于一命。 皆授灌頂。 士庶之類。 數千人眾。 咸登道場。 與僧弟子含光。 授五部法。 次與今之功德使開府李元琮。 授五部灌頂。 并授金剛界大曼茶羅。 是日也道場地大動。 大師感而謂曰。 此即汝心之誠所致也。 十五載夏。 奉詔還京。 住大興善寺。 至德中。 鑾駕在靈武風翔。 大師常密使人問道。 奉表起居。 又頻論剋復之策。 肅宗皇帝。 亦頻密諜使者。 到大師處。 求祕密法。 并定收京之日。 果如所料。 乾元中。 帝請大師。 於內建立道場。 及護摩法。 帝授轉輪王七寶灌頂。 上元末。 皇帝聖躬不康。 請大師。 以大隨求真言。 拂除七遍。 聖躬萬福。 帝特加殊禮。 大師表請入山。 李輔國勅令終南山智矩寺修功德。 念誦之夕。 大樂薩埵。 舒毫發光。 以相驗之。 位隣悉地。 大師又曰。 眾生未度。 吾安自度之。 遂已先聖登遐。 今皇御宇。 渥恩日甚。 錫賚便繁。 今略述而已。 仁王密嚴二經。 皇帝特製經序。 勅命頒行之日。 慶雲大現。 舉朝表賀。 編之國史。 永泰元年十一月一日。 制授大師特進試鴻臚卿。 號大廣智三藏。 大曆三年。 大師於興善寺立道場。 賜瑞錦褥十二領。 繡羅幡三十二口。 價直千萬。 又賜二七日入道場大眾齋糧。 近侍大臣諸禁軍使。 勅令入灌頂道場。 道俗之流。 別有五千餘眾。 四年冬。 大師奏。 天下寺食堂中。 特置文殊師利為上座。 恩制許之。 須宣宇內。 五年夏五月。 詔請大師。 往太原臺山修功德。 是歲也有彗出焉。 法事告終。 妖星自伏。 季秋屆于京師。 皇上以所乘師子。 聽并御鞍轡。 遣中使出城迎大師。 大師固辭。 恩命不許。 乃乘之入對。 皇上大悅。 并僧俗弟子。 咸賜內殿齋飯。 錫賚束帛甚厚。 六年春玉二月。 勅賜大師道場繡羅幡二十四口。 繡縵天一。 并繡額一。 十月聖誕日。 大師進前後所譯經。 有勅宣示中外。 編入一切經目籙。 并僧俗弟子等。 都賜物五百一十疋。 七年春。 勅賜絹一百疋。 是歲春夏旱。 有詔。 請大師祈雨。 中使李憲誠。 奉宣恩旨。 若三日內雨足。 是和上功。 非過三日關和尚事。 大師受制。 建立道場。 一日已終。 及依法祈請。 亦不過限。 大雨豐足。 皇帝大悅。 設千僧齋。 并僧弟子衣七副。 以報功也。 冬大師奏。 造文殊閣。 聖上自為閣主。 貴妃韓王。 華陽公主贊之。 凡出正庫財。 約三千萬數。 特為修崇。 八年春。 賜大師絹二百疋。 充乳藥。 五月奉勅。 譯薩路荼王經一卷。 賜絹二百二十疋。 冬十二月十四日。 上文殊閣梁。 一切費用。 皆是恩旨。 別有錫賚。 > The Master silently recited the Buddhalocanā Mantra, bound the great mudrā, and abided in the samādhi of loving-kindness. Standing right in the street, more than ten mad elephants, within several paces, abruptly collapsed and then fled frantically. The entire country marveled at it. He also traveled through the Five Indias, touring the various kingdoms; his exploits were so numerous that they are omitted and not recorded here. In the fifth year of Tianbao (746), he returned to the upper capital. He presented the memorial from King Śīlāmegha of the Kingdom of Siṅhala, along with golden necklaces, Sanskrit manuscripts of the Prajñāpāramitā, various precious gems, white cotton cloth, and other items. By imperial decree, he was ordered to reside temporarily at the Court of State Ceremonial (Honglu si). On a later day, an imperial edict was issued inviting the Master to enter the palace, erect a maṇḍala, and confer upon Emperor Xuanzong the initiation of the Five Divisions. That year, he moved to reside at Jingying Temple. That year, at the end of summer, there was a drought. The emperor invited the Master into the palace to pray for rain, stipulating that the time must not be delayed and the rain must not be violent. The Master submitted the altar ritual of the Mahāmāyūrī-vidyārājñī Sūtra. Before three days had passed, the sweet rain soaked everything thoroughly. The emperor was overjoyed. Personally holding a precious casket, he bestowed upon the Master a purple kāṣāya, which the emperor draped over him with his own hands, and also bestowed two hundred bolts of silk. Later, a violent wind suddenly arose. An imperial decree ordered the Master to halt the wind. The Master requested a silver vase and performed an empowering rite; in an instant, the wind ceased. The emperor esteemed him extraordinarily. Later, a pond goose accidentally knocked the vase over, and the wind blew furiously as before. An imperial order commanded him to halt it again; as soon as he stopped it, the effect was immediate. The emperor respected him doubly, and by gracious decree bestowed on him the appellation ‘Zhizang’ (Treasury of Wisdom). In the eighth year (749), by gracious imperial decree, he was permitted to return to his native country, and five relay post-horses were bestowed on him. He reached Nanhai Commandery, but a later imperial decree ordered him to remain for the time being. In the twelfth year (753), an imperial decree ordered him to respond to the invitation of Geshu Han, Military Commissioner of Helong and Censor-in-Chief. In the thirteenth year (754), he arrived in Wuwei and resided at Kaiyuan Temple. From the military commissioner down to officials of the first rank, all received initiation from him. Among the gentry and common people, a multitude of several thousand persons all mounted the bodhimanda. To his monk disciple Hanguang, he transmitted the teachings of the Five Divisions. Next, he conferred the initiation of the Five Divisions upon Li Yuancong, the present Commissioner of Merit and Virtue and Opener of the Office, and also bestowed upon him the Great Maṇḍala of the Vajradhātu. On that day, the ground of the bodhimanda shook greatly. Moved, the Master said to him, ‘This was brought about by the sincerity of your mind.’ In the summer of the fifteenth year (756), he received an imperial edict to return to the capital and reside at Daxingshan Temple. During the Zhide era (756–758), when the imperial carriage was in Lingwu and Fengxiang, the Master frequently sent secret emissaries to inquire after the emperor’s welfare and submit memorials paying respects, and also repeatedly discussed strategies for the recovery \[of the capital\]. Emperor Suzong also frequently dispatched secret messengers to the Master’s place to seek esoteric teachings and to determine the date for recapturing the capital, which indeed turned out as predicted. During the Qianyuan era (758–760), the emperor invited the Master to establish a bodhimanda in the palace and perform the homa ritual. The emperor received the Chakravartin’s Seven Treasures initiation. At the end of the Shangyuan era (760–761), the emperor’s sacred person was unwell. He invited the Master to brush him clean seven times with the Mahāpratisarā Mantra, and the sacred person attained boundless well-being. The emperor accorded him extraordinarily special courtesy. The Master submitted a memorial requesting to enter the mountains. Li Fuguo decreed that he cultivate merit at Zhiju Temple on Mount Zhongnan. On an evening of recitation, Mahāsukhasattva extended rays of light from his white curl between the brows; verifying it by this sign, his stage bordered on siddhi. The Master further said, ‘Sentient beings are not yet saved; how can I deliver myself alone?’ Thereupon, the late sage passed away. When the present emperor ascended the throne, his profound favor increased daily and the bestowals and gifts were frequent; here they are only briefly narrated. For the two sūtras of the Benevolent Kings and Ghanavyūha, the emperor specially composed sūtra prefaces. On the day an imperial decree ordered their promulgation and circulation, auspicious clouds appeared in great numbers; the entire court presented memorials of congratulation, which were recorded in the national history. On the first day of the eleventh month in the first year of Yongtai (765), by imperial decree, the Master was conferred the title of Specially Advanced, Probationary Chief Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, and granted the title Great Master of Broad Wisdom, Tripiṭaka. In the third year of Dali (768), the Master established a bodhimanda at Xingshan Temple. He was bestowed twelve auspicious brocade mats and thirty-two embroidered silk banners, valued at ten million \[cash\]. In addition, provisions for a vegetarian banquet were bestowed upon the great assembly entering the bodhimanda for two seven-day periods. The close attendants, ministers, and commanders of the imperial guards were ordered by decree to enter the initiation bodhimanda, while among the clergy and laity there were separately over five thousand people. In the winter of the fourth year (769), the Master submitted a memorial requesting that in the dining halls of temples throughout the realm, Mañjuśrī be specially placed as the principal seat. The gracious decree granted it, to be promulgated throughout the realm. In the fifth month, the summer of the fifth year (770), an imperial edict invited the Master to go to Mount Tai in Taiyuan to cultivate merit. In that year, a comet appeared. When the ritual services were concluded, the sinister star subsided on its own. In the third month of autumn, he arrived at the capital. The emperor, with the lion-steed that he himself rode, along with the imperial saddle and bridle, sent an inner commissioner outside the city to welcome the Master. The Master resolutely declined, but the gracious command did not permit it. Thereupon, riding it, he entered for an audience. The emperor was overjoyed, and bestowed a vegetarian meal in the inner palace on both the monastic and lay disciples, presenting them with bundles of silk in great abundance. In the intercalary second month in the spring of the sixth year (771), an imperial decree bestowed on the Master’s bodhimanda twenty-four embroidered silk banners, one embroidered canopy, and one embroidered lintel banner. On the Imperial Birthday in the tenth month, the Master presented the sūtras he had translated over time. A decree was issued to promulgate them within and outside \[the court\] and enter them into the catalogue of the complete scriptures. To the monastic and lay disciples and others, a total of five hundred and ten bolts of goods were bestowed. In the spring of the seventh year (772), an imperial decree bestowed one hundred bolts of silk. In that year, there was a drought in spring and summer. An edict was issued inviting the Master to pray for rain. The inner commissioner Li Xiancheng conveyed the gracious decree: ‘If it rains sufficiently within three days, it is the Upādhyāya’s merit; if it exceeds three days, it does not concern the Upādhyāya.’ The Master received the order and established a bodhimanda. One day having elapsed, when he prayed according to the ritual, it also did not exceed the time limit: abundant rain fell in sufficiency. The emperor was overjoyed, provided a vegetarian meal for a thousand monks, and presented seven sets of robes for the monastic disciples to reward his merit. In the winter, the Master memorialized requesting the construction of a Mañjuśrī Pavilion. His Sacred Majesty personally became the Pavilion Patron, and the Noble Consort, the Prince of Han, and Princess Huayang assisted it. In all, approximately thirty million \[cash\] from the main treasury was spent, especially for its construction. In the spring of the eighth year (773), two hundred bolts of silk were bestowed upon the Master for milk and medicine. In the fifth month, by imperial decree, he translated the King Garuḍa Sūtra in one scroll, and was bestowed two hundred and twenty bolts of silk. On the fourteenth day of the twelfth month in winter, the beam of the Mañjuśrī Pavilion was raised. All the expenses were covered by gracious decree, and there were separate imperial gifts. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.2.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2056.1.2.3) 相望道路。 九年春正月。 賜綵六十疋。 夏四月。 賜絹三百疋。 充衣鉢。 六月十一日。 有詔。 就加開府儀同三司。 封肅國公。 食邑三千戶。 餘如故。 累讓不許。 諸弟子相次馳賀。 大師不悅曰。 聖眾儼如。 舒手相慰。 白月圓滿。 吾之去時。 柰何臨終。 更竊名位。 附令懇讓。 大師自去。 冬臘中夜。 命弟子趙遷。 持筆硯。 吾欲略一涅槃荼毘儀軌。 使爾後代。 准此送終。 遷稽首三請。 伏乞慈悲。 且久住世。 大師笑而不許。 自春及夏。 停飧輟寢。 宣揚妙法。 誡勗門人。 每語乃普賢行願出生無邊門經。 勸令誦持。 再三歎息。 其先受法者。 偏使屬意觀菩提心本尊大印真詮阿字。 了法不生證大覺身。 若指諸掌。 慰誨勤勤悲喜交集。 汝等於法。 宜踰身命。 是所聞者斯不易焉。 吾思往日。 涉險冐危。 為法委身。 窮歷拜國。 周遊往返。 十餘萬里。 爾等當思此意。 速此修行。 無殉利以辱身。 勿為名而喪道奉我臨終之誠。 成爾書紳之勗。 以大曆九年六月十五日午時。 浴香水。 換新服。 端居正容。 命草辭表。 北面瞻望。 東首倚臥。 住大印身定中便去。 神雖往而容貌如舊。 氣將盡而色澤逾鮮。 斯法力之加。 豈死相而能壞。 行年七十。 僧臘五十。 僧弟子惠朗。 次承灌頂之位。 餘知法者。 蓋數十人而已。 聖上哀悼。 輟朝三日。 念師資之啟沃。 觀遺跡而惻愴。 絹三百匹布二百端。 米麵四百石。 油七石。 柴十五車。 炭三車。 賜錢四十萬。 又賜造塔錢二百餘萬。 齋七供養。 仍別支給。 日日中使予慰存問。 勅功德使李元琮知喪事。 初大師之將終。 眾相先現。 諸僧夢千仞寶幢。 無故摧倒。 文殊新閣。 忽然崩壞。 大振院宇。 比至驚悟。 聲猶在耳。 金剛智杵飛空上。 大興善寺後。 池水盡枯涸。 林竹生實。 庭花變色。 諸事異相。 近數十條今略序之。 餘皆不錄。 昔者如來滅度。 雙林改白。 文宣歿世。 泗水逆流。 雖古今之有殊。 驗徵應之不異也。 七月六日。 就塔所。 具荼毘之禮。 隨喜者億千萬數。 是日有詔。 使高品劉仙鶴就致祭。 并贈司空諡曰大辨正廣智不空三藏和上。 尊其德也。 荼毘火滅。 於餘燼中。 凡得舍利數百粒。 八十粒進入內。 又於頂骨中。 有一粒。 半隱半現。 後有勅。 令於大興善寺舊住院中。 起舍利塔。 特賜造塔錢萬餘貫。 承後諸弟子在院者。 聖恩愛及如大師在日。 皇上據四海之圖籍。 十有三年矣。 所賜大師手詔數十首。 皆聖人密旨。 並却進奉。 遠自先朝。 至今聖代。 所有黑制卷軸盈篋。 錫賚束帛。 不知其數。 累年繫月。 積若岳。 未甞言貯畜。 輒不謀於生計。 今並不書。 每在中禁。 建立道場。 頗積年歲。 傳授法印。 加持護摩。 殄除災異。 增益吉祥。 祕密之事。 大師未曾輒有宣爾。 今並不列於行狀。 諸類事跡。 其徒寔繁。 蓋存於別傳。 付法弟子。 輸誠國家。 則在於遺書進奉。 陳博情蓋題於辭表。 大師自開元。 至今大曆。 翻譯經法。 凡一百二十餘卷。 諸佛示權。 摧魔護國。 非臣下堪聞者。 緘在於天宮。 普賢行門。 菩提般若。 是瑜伽修行者。 須宣於人代。 大師據灌頂師位。 四十餘年。 入壇弟子。 授法門人。 三朝宰臣。 五京大德。 緇素士流。 方牧岳主。 農商庶類。 蓋億萬計。 其登戒壇。 二千弟子。 一切有部。 獨為宗師。 嗚呼大師。 訓人之道。 其徒不一。 泯合二諦。 適于眾因。 先觀性以示方。 非妄投而虛力。 以大海之法寶。 隨所受而適心。 以雪山之妙藥。 故應病而令服。 是以有蘇悉地毘盧遮那金剛頂經諸真言部。 若戒定慧。 頓漸半滿。 > looked upon one another on the roads. In the ninth year, in the first month of spring, sixty bolts of coloured silk were bestowed. In the fourth month of summer, three hundred bolts of plain silk were bestowed to replenish his robes and bowl. On the eleventh day of the sixth month, an edict was issued: he was promoted on the spot to Specially Advanced with the Same Ceremonial Treatment as the Three Excellencies (kaifu yitong sansi), enfeoffed as Duke of the State of Su (Suguogong), with an estate of three thousand households; the rest remained as before. He repeatedly declined, but it was not granted. The various disciples came in succession to offer congratulations. The Master, displeased, said, 'The noble assembly appears before me, extending their hands to console me. When the white moon is full, that will be the time of my departure. Facing death, how could I further steal renown and rank?' He sent someone to earnestly decline it. In the winter during the twelfth month, in the middle of the night, the Master himself took his leave \[of worldly affairs and\] ordered his disciple Zhao Qian to hold brush and inkstone, saying, 'I wish to outline a ritual manual for nirvāṇa and cremation (jhāpeti), so that you of future generations may see me off in accordance with this.' Qian bowed his head and made three requests, humbly begging his compassion to remain long in the world. The Master smiled and did not consent. From spring to summer, he stopped eating and went without sleep, proclaiming the wondrous Dharma and admonishing his disciples. Whenever he spoke, it was from the Samantabhadra-caryā-praṇidhāna and the Anantamukha-nirhāra-dhāraṇī-sūtra, urging them to recite and uphold them, sighing again and again. To those who had previously received the Dharma, he especially instructed them to set their minds on contemplating the bodhicitta, the Great Mudrā of the tutelary deity (yidam), and the true principle of the syllable A, understanding that dharmas are unborn and realizing the body of Great Enlightenment. \[He explained these\] as clearly as pointing to the palm of his hand. His consoling admonitions were earnest and frequent, grief and joy mingling together: 'Toward the Dharma, you must value it beyond life and limb. What you have heard is indeed not easy to obtain. Recalling past days, I braved hazards and risked danger, giving my life for the Dharma, journeying throughout the kingdoms of homage, travelling back and forth over a hundred thousand li. You must contemplate this intention and swiftly cultivate this practice. Do not pursue gain so as to disgrace your person, nor seek fame so as to forfeit the Path. Receive my sincerity at death, and let it become an admonition written upon your sashes.' On the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the ninth year of Dali, at midday, he bathed in fragrant water, changed into fresh robes, sat upright with a dignified countenance, and ordered a farewell memorial to be drafted. Facing north and gazing forth, with his head toward the east, he reclined and departed while abiding in the bodily samādhi of the Great Mudrā. Though his spirit departed, his countenance remained as before; though his breath was exhausted, his complexion grew ever fresher. This was the empowerment of the Dharma's power—how could the marks of death destroy it? His worldly age was seventy; his monastic age was fifty. His monk-disciple Huilang succeeded him in the rank of consecration (abhiṣeka). The others who knew the Dharma were only several tens of people. The Sovereign mourned deeply, suspending court for three days. Mindful of the master's instruction and moistening rain, he gazed upon his remaining traces in sorrow. \[The court granted\] three hundred bolts of plain silk, two hundred bolts of cloth, four hundred piculs of rice and flour, seven piculs of oil, fifteen carts of firewood, three carts of charcoal, and forty myriads of cash. In addition, more than two hundred myriads of cash were bestowed to construct a stūpa. Offerings for the seven seven-day memorial services were also provided separately. Daily, palace messengers conveyed condolences and made inquiries. An imperial edict directed the Commissioner of Merits Li Yuancong to oversee the funeral arrangements. Earlier, when the Master was about to pass away, many signs had appeared beforehand. Various monks dreamt that a jewelled banner of a thousand fathoms collapsed without cause, and the new pavilion of Mañjuśrī suddenly crumbled, shaking the courtyards violently; by the time they awoke in fright, the sound was still in their ears. A diamond vajra pestle flew up into the sky. Behind Daxingshan Monastery, the pond water dried up completely, the bamboo groves bore fruit, and the garden flowers altered their colours. These anomalous occurrences numbered nearly several dozen; they are briefly summarized here, and the rest are not recorded. Of old, when the Tathāgata entered extinction, the twin groves turned white; when Wenxuan passed from the world, the waters of the Si River flowed backward. Though ancient and modern times differ, their verified signs and responses are no different. On the sixth day of the seventh month, at the stūpa site, the cremation rites were fully performed. Those who rejoiced in sympathy numbered tens and hundreds of millions. On this day an edict was issued, sending the High-grade Official Liu Xianhe to present sacrifices on the spot, and posthumously conferring the title of Grand Preceptor (sikong) with the posthumous name Master of Grand Distinction and Correctness, Vast Wisdom, Amogha Tripiṭaka Preceptor (Dabianzheng Guangzhi Bukong Sanzang Heshang), in honour of his virtue. When the fire of cremation had died down, within the remaining ashes, several hundred relics (śarīra) were obtained in all. Eighty grains were presented into the palace. Moreover, in the parietal bone, there was one grain, half-hidden and half-visible. Later an edict was issued ordering that a relic stūpa be erected in his former residing courtyard at Daxingshan Monastery, with a special bestowal of more than ten thousand strings of cash to build the stūpa. Toward the disciples who succeeded him in the courtyard, the imperial love and favour extended just as during the Master's lifetime. The Emperor has held the maps and registers of the four seas for thirteen years. The imperial letters handwritten by the Sovereign and bestowed upon the Master numbered several tens, all being confidential edicts of the Sage, and all were returned and submitted \[to the court\]. Extending from the previous reign down to the present holy era, the scrolls of black-ink edicts filled chests; the gifts of tied silks were beyond count. Accumulated through years and months, they piled up like a mountain; yet he never spoke of hoarding, nor did he ever scheme for a livelihood. Now these are not recorded. Whenever he established a ritual site (bodhimaṇḍa) in the inner precincts, over many passing years, he transmitted the seals of the Dharma, performed empowerment homa, eliminated calamities and anomalies, and increased auspiciousness. Of these esoteric matters, the Master never readily spoke. Now they are not set down in this account of conduct. The various events of this kind were truly numerous; they are preserved in separate biographies. His transmission disciples' dedication of loyalty to the state was submitted in his testamentary letters; the expression of his profound sentiments was inscribed in his farewell memorials. From the Kaiyuan era down to the present Dali era, the Master translated sūtras and teachings totalling more than one hundred and twenty fascicles. Those wherein the Buddhas revealed expedient means to vanquish māras and protect the state, which ministers and subjects are not suited to hear, are sealed away in the celestial palace. The gates of practice of Samantabhadra, bodhi, and prajñā—these are for yoga practitioners, and must be proclaimed in the human realm. The Master held the rank of Consecration Master for more than forty years. Disciples who entered the maṇḍala and students who received the Dharma—chancellors of three reigns, eminent virtues (bhadantas) of the five capitals, monastics and lay literati, regional governors and mountain lords, peasants and merchants of all classes—numbered tens and hundreds of millions. Those who mounted his ordination platform numbered two thousand disciples; for the Sarvāstivāda, he stood alone as ancestral master. Alas, the Master's way of instructing men was manifold! Reconciling the two truths, he adapted to their various causes. First observing their natures to show them the path, he did not mistakenly bestow teachings or expend effort in vain. Using the Dharma-jewels of the great ocean, he pleased their hearts according to what they could receive; using the wondrous medicine of the Snow Mountains, he ordered them to take it in response to their illness. Thus there are the Susiddhikara, the Vairocana, the Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha (Vajraśekhara), and the various dhāraṇī sections, with the precepts, concentration, and wisdom, sudden and gradual, half and full, > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.2.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2056.1.2.4) 大師之教也。 如是大師。 其存也三朝帝師。 其歿也萬人哀痛。 教法懸於日月。 生死霑於雨露。 二七僧人。 常入天宮之會。 三千門士。 猶承聖上之恩。 且佛教東來。 向近二千載。 傳勝法。 沐光榮。 實未有與大師同年而語者也。 諸弟子等所痛。 夜室光沈。 釋門喪寶。 天柱中折。 濟舟忽覆。 氾氾苦海。 將何所依。 淚盡繼血。 心摧魄喪。 小子遷執巾棒錫九載于茲。 握筆持硯八年而已。 叨居翻譯之次。 竊承祕奧之躅。 大師所有行化之由。 會親稟受。 平生之日。 命令序述。 在於侍奉。 未暇修纂。 況乃奉臨終遺言。 固辭不獲。 臨之氣盡。 悲淚難裁。 乩諸故事。 十無在一。 謹狀。 > these being the Master's teachings. Thus was the Master: while living, the Imperial Preceptor of three reigns; when dead, mourned by ten thousand people. His teachings hang alongside the sun and moon; beings in birth and death are moistened by his rain and dew. Twice seven monks regularly entered the assemblies of the celestial palace; three thousand disciples still receive the Holy Sovereign's favour. Furthermore, since Buddhism came to the east nearly two thousand years ago, in transmitting the supreme Dharma and receiving imperial glory, truly none can be mentioned in the same breath as the Master. What the disciples grieve over: the light in the dark room has sunk, the Śākya gate has lost its jewel, the heavenly pillar has snapped in the middle, and the rescue boat has suddenly overturned. Floating on the bitter sea, upon what shall we rely? Our tears are exhausted and followed by blood; our hearts are broken and our spirits lost. I, the humble youth Qian, have held the towel and borne the staff for nine years now, and have grasped the brush and held the inkstone for eight years. Unworthily occupying a place in the translation bureau, I have secretly received his esoteric footprints. The reasons and circumstances of all the Master's teaching and transforming were personally received by me; during his lifetime, he ordered me to compose an account. While attending upon him, I had no leisure to compile it; how much less could I firmly refuse when receiving his dying testamentary command! As his breath expired, my sorrowful tears could hardly be checked. Divining the past events, not one in ten is included here. Respectfully submitted. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2056~en-mt.1.2.1) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [宋高僧傳](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2061.1.43) — 贊寧, Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2056.1.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2056.1.2) · Pramāṇa