大唐故大德贈司空大辨正廣智不空三藏行狀 1.2.2

1.2.2

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.