續高僧傳 4.8

4.8

竊聞。六爻探賾局於生滅之場。百物正名。未涉真如之境。猶且遠徵羲冊。覩奧不測其神。遐想軒圖。歷選並歸其美。伏惟。皇帝陛下。玉毫降質金輪御天。廓先王之九州。掩百千之日月。斥列代之區域。納恒沙之法界。遂使給園精舍並入堤封。貝葉靈文咸歸冊府。玄奘往因。振錫聊謁崛山。經途萬里。怙天威如咫步。匪乘千葉。詣雙林如食頃。搜揚三藏。盡龍宮之所儲。研究一乘。窮鷲嶺之遺旨。並已載於白馬還獻紫宸。尋蒙下詔賜使翻譯。玄奘識乖龍樹。謬忝傳燈之榮。才異馬鳴。深愧寫瓶之敏。所譯經論紕舛尤多。遂荷天恩留神構序。文超象繫之表。若聚日之放千光。理括眾妙之門。同惠雲之濡百草。一音演說億劫罕逢。忽以微生親承梵響。踊躍歡喜如聞受記。表奏之日。尋下勅曰。朕才謝珪璋言慚博達。至於內典尤所未閑。昨製序文深為鄙拙。惟恐穢翰墨於金簡。標瓦礫於珠林。忽得來書謬承褒讚。循躬省慮彌益厚顏。善不足稱空勞致謝。又重表謝。勅云。朕性不讀經。兼無才智。忽製論序。翻污經文。具覽來言枉見褒飾。愧逢虛美唯益真慚。自爾朝宰英達咸申擊讚。釋宗弘盛氣接成陰。皇太子述上所作三藏聖教序曰。夫顯揚正教。非智無以廣其文。崇闡微言。非賢莫能定其旨。蓋真如聖教者。諸法之玄宗。眾經之軌䠱也。綜括宏遠奧旨遐深。極空有之精微。體生滅之機要。詞茂道曠。尋之者不究其源。文顯義幽。履之者莫測其際。故知。聖慈所被業無善而不臻。妙化所敷緣無惡而不翦。開法網之綱紀。弘六度之正教。拯群有之塗炭。啟三藏之祕扃。是以名無翼而長飛。道無根而永固。道名流慶。歷遂古而鎮常。赴感應身。經塵劫而不朽。晨鍾夕梵。交二音於鷲峯。慧日法流。轉雙輪於鹿苑。排空寶蓋。接翔雲而共飛。莊野春林。與天花而合彩。伏惟。皇帝陛下。上玄資福。垂拱而治八荒。德被黔黎。斂衽而朝萬國。恩加朽骨。石室歸於貝葉之文。澤及昆蟲。金匱流乎梵說之偈。遂使阿耨達水通神甸之八川。耆闍崛山接嵩華之翠嶺。竊以。法性凝寂。靡歸心而不通。智地玄奧。感懇誠而遂顯。豈謂重昏之夜。燭慧炬之光。火宅之朝。降法雨之澤。於是百川異流。同會於海。萬區分義。總成乎實。豈與湯武校其優劣。堯舜比其聖德者哉。玄奘法師者。夙懷聰令。立志夷簡。神清髫齓之年。體拔浮華之世。凝情定室匿迹幽巖。栖息三禪巡遊十地。超六塵之境。獨步迦維。會一乘之旨。隨機化物。以中華之無質。尋印度之真文。遠涉恒河終期滿字。頻登雪嶺更獲半珠。問道往還十有七載。備通釋典利物為心。以貞觀十九年二月六日。奉勅於弘福寺翻譯聖教。要文凡六百五十七部引大海之法流。洗塵勞而不竭。傳智燈之長焰。皎幽闇而恒明。自非久植勝緣。何以顯揚斯旨。所謂法相常住。齊三光之明。我皇福臻。同二儀之固。伏見御製眾經論序。照古騰今。理含金石之聲。文抱風雲之潤。治輒以輕塵足岳墜露添流。略舉大綱以為斯記。自此常參內禁。扣問沈隱。翻譯相續不爽法機。勅賜雲納一領。妙絕古今。又勅天下。寺度五人維持聖種。皆其力也。冬十月隨駕入京。於北闕造弘法院。鎮恒在彼。初於曲池為文德皇后造慈恩寺。追奘令住度三百人。有令寺西北造翻經院。給新度弟子一十五人。弘福舊處仍給十人。今上嗣籙素所珍敬。追入優問禮殊恒祑。永徽二年。請造梵本經臺。蒙勅賜物。尋得成就。又追入內。於修文殿翻發智等論。降手詔飛白書。慰問優洽。顯慶元年正月。為皇太子於慈恩設大齋。朝寀總至。黃門郎薛元超。中書郎李義府曰。譯經佛法之大。未知何德以光揚耶。奘曰。公此之問。常所懷矣。譯經雖位在僧。光價終憑朝貴。至如姚秦鳩摩羅什。則安成侯姚嵩筆受。元魏菩提流支。則侍中崔光錄文。貞觀初波頗初譯。則僕射蕭瑀太府蕭璟庶子杜正倫等。監閱詳定。今並無之不足光遠。又大慈恩寺。聖上切風樹之哀。追造壯麗。騰實之美勿過碑頌。若蒙二公為致。則不朽之迹。自形於今古矣。便許之。明旦遣給事宣勅云。所須官人助翻者已處分訖。其碑朕自作。尋勅。慈恩翻譯文義須精。宜令左僕射于志寧。中書令來濟。禮部許敬宗。黃門郎薛元超。中書郎李義府等。有不安穩隨事潤色。若須學士任追三兩人。及碑成請神翰自書。蒙特許。克日送寺。京寺咸造幢蓋。又勅王公已下太常九部及兩縣伎樂。車徒千餘乘駐弘福寺。上居安福門。俯臨將送。京邑士女列於道側。自北之南二十餘里充牣衢街。光俗興法無與儔焉。又賜山納妙勝前者并時服玩百有餘件。顯慶二年。駕幸洛陽。預從安置東都積翠宮。召入大內麗日殿。翻觀所緣等論。又於明德宮。翻大毘婆沙等論。奘少離桑梓。白首言歸。訪問親故。零落殆盡。惟有一姊。迎與相見。訪以墳隴。旋殯未遷。便卜勝地。旋塋改葬。其少室山西。北緱氏故縣東北。遊仙鄉控鶴里鳳凰谷。即奘之生地也。下近有少林寺。即魏孝文所立。是翻十地之所。意願栖託為國翻譯。蒙手勅云。省表知欲晦跡巖泉追林遠而架往。託慮禪寂軌澄什以標今。仰挹風徽寔所欽尚。朕業空學寡靡究高深。然以淺識薄聞。未見其可。法師津梁三界汲引四生。智皎心燈定凝意水。非情塵之所曀豈識浪而能驚然以道德可居。何必太華疊嶺。空寂可舍。豈獨少室重巒。幸戢來言勿復陳請。即市朝大隱。不獨貴於昔賢。見聞弘益更可珍於即代。遂因寢言。顯慶三年下勅為皇太子造西明寺成。令給上房僧十人以充侍者。有大般若者。二十萬偈此土八部咸在其中。不久下勅令住玉華。翻經供給一准京寺。遂得託靜不爽譯功。以顯慶五年正月元日。創翻大本。至龍朔三年十月末了。凡四處十六會說。總六百卷。般若空宗此焉周盡。於間又翻成唯識論辯中邊論唯識二十論品類足論等。至十一月表上此經。請製經序。於蓬萊宮通事舍人馮義宣勅許之。奘生常以來願生彌勒。及遊西域。又聞無著兄弟皆生彼天。又頻祈請咸有顯證。懷此專至益增翹勵。後至玉華。但有隙次。無不發願生覩史多天見彌勒佛。自般若翻了。惟自策勤行道禮懺。麟德元年告翻經僧及門人曰。有為之法必歸磨滅。泡幻形質何得久停。行年六十五矣。必卒玉華。於經論有疑者可速問。聞者驚曰。年未耆耄何出此言。報曰。此事自知。遂往辭佛。先造俱胝十億像所。禮懺辭別。有門人外行者。皆報好去。今與汝別亦不須來來亦不見。至正月九日告寺僧曰。奘必當死。經云。此身可惡猶如死狗。奘既死已勿近宮寺。山靜處埋之。因既臥疾。開目閉目見大蓮花鮮白而至。又見偉相知生佛前。命僧讀所翻經論名目已。總有七十三部一千三百三十卷。自懷欣悅。總召門人。有緣並集云。無常將及急來相見。於嘉壽殿。以香木樹菩提像骨。對寺僧門人辭訣。并遺表訖。便默念彌勒。令傍人稱曰。南謨彌勒如來應正等覺。願與含識速奉慈顏。南謨彌勒如來所居內眾。願捨命已必生其中。至二月四日。右脇累足右手支頭。左手髀上鏗然不動。有問何相。報曰。勿問。妨吾正念。至五日中夜。弟子問曰。和上定生彌勒前不。答曰。決定得生。言已氣絕。迄今兩月色貌如常。又有冥應略故不述。又下勅葬日聽京城僧尼幢蓋往送。於是素蓋素幢浮空雲合。哀笳哀梵氣遏人神。四俗以之悲涼。七眾惜其沈沒。乃葬於白鹿原四十里中。皂素彌滿。其塋與兄捷公相近。苕然白塔近燭帝城。尋下別勅。令改葬樊川。與州縣相知供給吏力乃又出之。眾咸歎異。經久埋瘞色相如初。自非願力所持。焉能致此。

"I have heard that the exploration of mysteries by the six lines [of the hexagrams] is confined to the realm of arising and ceasing, and the rectification of names for the myriad things has not yet touched the sphere of true suchness. Yet men still draw evidence from afar in Fu Xi's texts, observing the obscure without plumbing their spirit; or they look back in reverie to the diagrams of the Yellow Emperor, scanning the records and ascribing all beauty to them. I humbly consider that Your Majesty the Emperor, possessing the white curl between the eyebrows descended in form, wielding the golden wheel to govern heaven, has expanded the nine provinces of the ancient kings, outshining hundreds of thousands of suns and moons. You have opened the territories of successive dynasties and embraced the realms of phenomena as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, so that the Jetavana vihāra has been brought within your imperial borders, and the sacred texts on palm leaves have all entered the imperial archives. In former days, relying on past conditions, Xuanzang shook his tin staff and paid homage to Gṛdhrakūṭa. Crossing a journey of ten thousand li, he relied on imperial majesty as though it were but a few paces. Without riding the thousand-petaled lotus, he reached the Twin Trees as if in the space of a single meal. Searching out and gathering the Tripiṭaka, he exhausted what was stored in the Dragon Palace; investigating the One Vehicle, he plumbed the bequeathed purport of Vulture Peak. All these were borne upon a white horse and presented back to the Purple Palace. Soon after, I received an imperial edict graciously commissioning me to translate them. Xuanzang's understanding falls far short of Nāgārjuna, and I have undeservedly usurped the honour of transmitting the lamp; my talent is unlike Aśvaghoṣa's, and I am deeply ashamed of lacking the agility to pour from vessel to vessel. In the scriptures and treatises translated, errors and blunders are exceedingly numerous. Yet I have received heavenly grace, as Your Majesty deigned to compose a preface. Its text transcends the realm of the hexagram lines and appendices, like clustered suns releasing a thousand rays; its principle encompasses the gate of myriad wonders, like a cloud of grace moistening the hundred grasses. Preaching with a single voice is rarely encountered in a hundred million kalpas; that in this humble life I should personally receive the brahma sound fills me with dancing joy, as though hearing a prophecy of enlightenment." On the day the memorial was presented, an imperial edict was soon issued: "Our talent falls short of jade tallies and our words are inferior to wide learning; as for the inner scriptures, We are especially unfamiliar with them. The preface text composed yesterday is deeply vulgar and clumsy; We only feared defiling the golden tablets with Our brush and ink, or displaying tiles and gravel in a forest of pearls. Suddenly receiving your letter, We have undeservedly accepted your praise; examining Ourself and reflecting within, We feel all the more brazen. It is not worthy of praise, and you have troubled yourself in vain to send thanks." Again he presented a memorial of thanks. The imperial decree said: "By nature We do not read the scriptures, nor do We possess talent or wisdom. Suddenly composing a preface to the treatises, We have on the contrary defiled the scriptural texts. Having fully perused your words, We see that We have been unjustly praised and adorned; embarrassed to receive empty praise, We feel only true shame." Thenceforth, the eminent ministers at court all expressed their praise, and the Buddhist order flourished vigorously, its aura gathering into clouds. The Crown Prince composed a preface for the Tripiṭaka Sacred Teachings Preface written by the Emperor, saying: "Now, in making known the correct teachings, without wisdom there is no way to broaden their text; in exalting and elucidating the subtle words, without worthiness none can determine their purport. Indeed, the sacred teachings of true suchness are the profound source of all phenomena, the model and track of the myriad scriptures. Embracing the vast and profound, their hidden purport reaches far; plumbing the subtlety of emptiness and existence, they embody the critical pivot of arising and ceasing. With luxuriant words and a vast Way, those who search do not exhaust their source; with manifest text and subtle meaning, those who tread do not measure their bounds. Thus we know that where the sacred compassion reaches, there is no good karma that is not attained; where the wonderful transformation unfolds, there is no evil condition that is not cut away. Opening the guidelines of the net of Dharma, promoting the correct teachings of the six perfections, saving the misery of sentient beings, and unlocking the secret chambers of the Tripiṭaka—hence, its name flies far without wings, and its Way is eternally firm without roots. Its way and name spread blessings, remaining steadfast through antiquity; its responsive manifestation bodies endure without decay through dust-mote kalpas. Morning bells and evening brahma chants mingle their two sounds on Vulture Peak; the sun of wisdom and the flow of the Dharma turn the twin wheels in the Deer Park. Jewelled canopies clearing the sky fly together with soaring clouds; spring groves adorning the countryside match the colours of heavenly flowers. I humbly consider that Your Majesty the Emperor, endowed with blessings from high Heaven, rules the eight frontiers by letting your robes hang down; your virtue covers the black-haired people, and the ten thousand states adjust their lapels to pay court. Your grace extends to bleached bones, as palm-leaf texts are brought to the stone chambers; your bounty reaches tiny insects, as verses of brahma preaching circulate in golden coffers. Thus, the waters of Lake Anavatapta connect with the eight rivers of the imperial domain, and Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa adjoins the verdant peaks of Song and Hua. I respectfully consider that the dharmatā is serene and still; there is none who turns their mind toward it without penetrating it. The realm of wisdom is profound and subtle; when sincere earnestness moves it, it is revealed. How could we have expected that in the deep night of darkness, the light of a wisdom torch would shine forth, and in the morning of the burning house, the moisture of the Dharma rain would descend? Thereupon the hundred rivers, though flowing differently, meet together in the sea; the myriad dividing meanings all culminate in the real. How could this be compared with the merits of Tang and Wu, or its sacred virtue equated with Yao and Shun? Master of the Law Xuanzang has cherished intelligence from early on, setting his will upon peace and simplicity. His spirit was pure in his childhood years; his conduct rose above the superficial world. Quieting his mind in the room of absorption, he concealed his traces among hidden crags; resting in the three dhyānas, he roamed through the ten stages. Transcending the realm of the six sense-objects, he strode alone through Kapilavastu; comprehending the purport of the One Vehicle, he transformed beings according to their capacities. Because China lacked the original texts, he sought the true texts in India, journeying afar across the Ganges to complete his goal of the full words, and repeatedly ascending the Snow Mountains to obtain the half-jewel. Travelling back and forth inquiring into the Way for seventeen years, he fully mastered the Buddhist scriptures, making the benefit of beings his mind. On the sixth day of the second month of the nineteenth year of Zhenguan, he translated the sacred teachings by imperial decree at Hongfu Monastery: a total of six hundred and fifty-seven works of essential texts. Drawing from the Dharma flow of the great ocean, he washed away worldly defilements without exhaustion; transmitting the enduring flame of the lamp of wisdom, he illuminated deep darkness so that it is ever bright. Had he not long planted superior conditions, how could he have made known this purport? What is called the enduring nature of dharmas matches the brightness of the three luminaries; our Emperor's blessings match the firmness of heaven and earth. Humbly observing the imperial prefaces to the various scriptures and treatises, which illuminate the past and soar through the present, their principles contain the resonance of metal and stone, and their style embraces the richness of wind and clouds, I, Zhi, have presumed to add a speck of dust to a mountain or drop of dew to a river, summarily presenting the main outline to compose this record." From then on, Xuanzang frequently entered the inner palace, where the Emperor inquired into deep and hidden matters; the translation work continued without missing the spiritual capacity of the Dharma. An imperial edict bestowed a cloud-patterned patchwork robe, exquisitely surpassing antiquity and the present. It was also decreed that across the empire, five men per monastery be ordained to preserve the sacred seed, all through his influence. In the tenth month of winter, he followed the imperial retinue into the capital, where the Hongfa Academy was built at the northern gate, and he was constantly stationed there. Earlier, the Cien Monastery had been built at Quchi for Empress Wende; Xuanzang was summoned to reside there, and three hundred people were ordained. An order was given to build a translation cloister in the northwest of the monastery, granting fifteen newly ordained disciples, while ten were still granted to the former site at Hongfu. When the current Emperor succeeded to the throne, he had always treasured and respected him, summoning him for generous inquiries and treating him with rites far exceeding the ordinary protocol. In the second year of Yonghui, Xuanzang requested to build a scripture terrace for Indic manuscripts, and received imperial gifts of materials, so that it was soon completed. He was again summoned into the palace to translate treatises such as the Abhidharmasamuccaya in the Xiuwen Hall. Imperial handwritten decrees in flying-white calligraphy were sent down, comforting him with great generosity. In the first month of the first year of Xianqing, a great vegetarian feast was held at Cien Monastery for the Crown Prince, attended by all the court officials. Xue Yuanchao, Attendant Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, and Li Yifu, Secretariat Drafter, said: "The translation of scriptures is the greatest matter of the Buddha's Dharma; we do not know what virtue might glorify it?" Xuanzang said: "What you gentlemen ask has long been in my mind. Although the position of translation belongs to monks, its glory and prestige ultimately rely on court dignitaries. For instance, with Kumārajīva of the Yao Qin, it was Yao Song, Marquis of Ancheng, who took down the translations; with Bodhiruci of the Northern Wei, it was Cui Guang, Attendant-in-Ordinary, who transcribed the texts. In the beginning of the Zhenguan era, when Prabhākaramitra first translated, Left Vice Director Xiao Yu, Court of Imperial Treasury Chamberlain Xiao Jing, and Deputy Supervisor of the Crown Prince Du Zhenglun inspected and determined the texts. Today there are none of these, which is insufficient to glorify it afar. Furthermore, for the Great Cien Monastery, His Majesty felt the deep grief of the wind and the trees, and ordered its magnificent construction; the beauty of its rising fame cannot surpass a stele and eulogy. If I could receive the help of you two gentlemen to bring this about, the immortal traces will naturally be manifested for present and antiquity." They readily agreed. The next morning, a palace attendant was dispatched to announce the edict: "The officials needed to assist in translation have already been appointed. As for the stele, We shall compose it Ourself." Soon an edict was issued: "The translation of texts and meanings at Cien Monastery must be precise. Let Yu Zhining, Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, Lai Ji, Director of the Secretariat, Xu Jingzong, Minister of Rites, Xue Yuanchao, Attendant Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, and Li Yifu, Secretariat Drafter, polish the text wherever it is awkward. If scholars are needed, two or three men may be summoned at will." When the stele was completed, Xuanzang requested the Emperor's divine brush to write it personally, which was specially granted. A date was set to send it to the monastery. The monasteries in the capital all made banners and canopies. An edict also commanded the princes, dukes, and below, the nine musical sections of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the musicians of the two counties, with over a thousand carriages and followers, to gather at Hongfu Monastery. The Emperor stood at the Anfu Gate, overlooking the procession as it was sent off. The men and women of the capital lined the roadside; stretching from north to south for more than twenty li, they filled the streets. The glory to worldly customs and the promotion of the Dharma were without parallel. He was also granted a mountain-patterned patchwork robe finer than the previous one, along with more than a hundred items of seasonal clothing and trinkets. In the second year of Xianqing, the imperial retinue visited Luoyang, and Xuanzang accompanied it, being accommodated at the Jicui Palace in the Eastern Capital. He was summoned into the Liri Hall of the Great Inner Palace to translate treatises such as the Ālambanaparīkṣā. He also translated the Mahāvibhāṣā and other treatises in the Mingde Palace. Having left his hometown when young, Xuanzang returned with white hair. When he inquired about his relatives and old friends, almost all had passed away; only one older sister remained, who went out to meet him. When he asked about the family graves, they had only received temporary burial and had not been relocated, so he divined an auspicious site, relocated the tombs, and reburied them. Northwest of Mount Shaoshi and northeast of the old Gou clan county, in Phoenix Valley of Konghe Village in Youxian Township, was Xuanzang's birthplace. Nearby below was the Shaolin Monastery, founded by Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei, which was the place where the Daśabhūmika Sūtra was translated. His intention was to reside there to translate for the state. He received an imperial brush-written decree saying: "Examining your memorial, We know you wish to conceal your traces among crags and springs, following Huiyuan to surpass the past, and entrust your thoughts to dhyāna stillness, taking Sengcheng and Kumārajīva as models to set an example for the present. Looking up with admiration to your lofty character, We truly revere it. Our karma is empty and Our learning scanty, unable to plumb the heights and depths; yet with Our shallow knowledge and slight hearing, We do not see that this is permissible. The Master of the Law is a bridge across the three realms, drawing forth the four kinds of beings; your wisdom is as bright as the lamp of the mind, and your absorption is as still as the water of intention. It is not obscured by the dust of emotions; how could the waves of consciousness alarm it? Since the Dao and virtue can be inhabited anywhere, why must it be the tiered peaks of Mount Taihua? Since emptiness and stillness can be lodged in anywhere, how could it be solely the multiple ridges of Mount Shaoshi? May you heed Our words and make no further requests. Great recluses dwell in markets and courts; this was not only valued by ancient worthies. Broadening benefit through what is seen and heard is even more precious in our present era." The matter was thereupon dropped. In the third year of Xianqing, an imperial edict ordered the construction of Ximing Monastery for the Crown Prince. When completed, an order was given to grant ten monks of superior quarters to serve as attendants. There was the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, consisting of two hundred thousand verses, containing all eight divisions known in this land. Soon an edict was issued ordering him to reside at Yuhua, where provisions for translation were supplied exactly as at the capital monasteries; thus he was able to rely on quietude without disrupting his translation work. On the first day of the first month of the fifth year of Xianqing, he began translating the great text, and finished it at the end of the tenth month of the third year of Longshuo. It was preached in four places in sixteen assemblies, comprising a total of six hundred fascicles; the Prajñā emptiness school was thereby fully completed. In the interim, he also translated the Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi-śāstra, Madhyāntavibhāga-śāstra, Viṃśikāvijñaptimātratāsiddhi, Prakaraṇapāda-śāstra, and others. In the eleventh month, he presented this scripture to the throne and requested an imperial preface. At the Penglai Palace, Palace Receptionist Feng Yi announced the edict granting it. Throughout his life, Xuanzang had always vowed to be born in the presence of Maitreya. When he travelled to the Western Regions, he heard that Asaṅga and his brother had both been born in that heaven; and having frequently prayed, he obtained clear signs, which made his resolve all the firmer and spurred his efforts even more. Later, after arriving at Yuhua, whenever he had leisure, he never failed to make the vow to be born in Tuṣita Heaven to see Maitreya Buddha. From the time the Prajñāpāramitā was completed, he only spurred himself on to practice the Way and perform rites of repentance. In the first year of Linde, he said to the translation monks and his disciples: "Conditioned dharmas must inevitably return to destruction; how could this phantom-like physical form remain long? I am sixty-five years old; I shall surely die at Yuhua. Those who have doubts about the scriptures and treatises may quickly ask." Those who heard were startled and said: "Your age is not yet advanced; why do you utter such words?" He replied: "I know this myself." He then went to take leave of the Buddha, paying homage, repenting, and saying farewell before the image of the ten million [Buddhas] he had earlier made. To those disciples who were going outside, he said: "Farewell; I am parting with you now. You need not come again, for if you come, you will not see me." On the ninth day of the first month, he said to the monastery monks: "Xuanzang must surely die. The scriptures say: 'This body is detestable, like a dead dog.' When Xuanzang dies, do not place me near palaces or monasteries; bury me in a quiet place in the mountains." He then fell ill and lay down. Whether opening or closing his eyes, he saw a great white lotus flower arriving, fresh and pure; he also saw a magnificent form, and knew he would be born before the Buddha. He ordered the monks to read aloud the titles of the scriptures and treatises he had translated, which totalled seventy-three works in one thousand three hundred and thirty fascicles. He felt joy within himself. He summoned all his disciples who had conditions with him to gather, saying: "Impermanence is about to arrive; come quickly to see me." In the Jiashou Hall, with an image-frame of the Bodhi [tree] made of fragrant wood, he took leave of the monastery monks and disciples, and having completed his final memorial, he silently recollected Maitreya, ordering those beside him to chant: "Namo Maitreya Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha! May I and all conscious beings swiftly behold your compassionate face! Namo to the inner assembly where Maitreya Tathāgata resides! May I, having cast off this life, be born without fail in their midst!" On the fourth day of the second month, he lay on his right side with feet folded, resting his head on his right hand, his left hand on his thigh, utterly motionless. Someone asked what posture this was, and he replied: "Do not ask; it hinders my right mindfulness." At midnight on the fifth day, a disciple asked: "Will the Upādhyāya certainly be born before Maitreya?" He answered: "I will definitely attain birth." Having spoken, his breath ceased. Up to two months later, his complexion and appearance were as usual. There were also unseen responses, which are omitted and not recounted. An imperial edict was also issued permitting the monks and nuns of the capital to send him off with banners and canopies on the day of burial. Thereupon, plain canopies and plain banners floated in the sky, gathering like clouds; sorrowful pipes and sorrowful brahma chants arrested the spirits of men and gods. The four classes of laypeople grieved over it, and the seven assemblies lamented his passing. He was buried on the Bailuyuan plain within forty li; white and black filled the way. His grave was close to that of his brother, Venerable Jie. A lofty white pagoda shone near the imperial city. Soon, a separate edict ordered his reburial at Fanchuan, with the prefectures and counties instructed to supply laborers, and he was disinterred. All marveled in admiration: though long buried, his appearance was just as before. Had he not been sustained by the power of his vows, how could this have come to pass?"