續高僧傳 4.6.5

4.6.5

There was also a vihāra over three hundred feet tall, inside which the various manifestations and transformations were beyond description. Erected within was a bronze image over eighty feet tall, with a magnificent six-storey pavilion elaborately adorned with splendid ornaments; it had been built by King Pūrṇavarman, the elder brother of Śīlāditya. There was also a brass vihāra roughly eighty feet tall, built personally by Śīlāditya, whose carvings and embellishments were not yet complete, employing a thousand workers daily. By the established custom of that realm, persons of virtue and prestige were revered. For the masters of treatises whose wisdom and discernment were pure and far-reaching, the king granted appanages of up to ten cities; down to lesser gradations of reward, it was not less than three cities. Currently at this monastery there were over three hundred bhadantas who received such fiefs. Those who had mastered the scriptures and above did not handle monastic chores. Scholarship was prized, and unusual doctrines were consulted and investigated; consequently, from Agni westward throughout the realm of the seas, those who had left the household were mostly scholastic exegetes. They traveled back and forth across states entirely without impediment; even though the kings defended their borders, they did not dare bar their way. Hence the disciples there were broadly learned and abundantly accomplished. [Xuan]zang had traveled through many states, and his renown had preceded him for a long time. When he was about to arrive at the monastery, the assembly appointed forty bhadantas to proceed to the manor to welcome him for an overnight stay; this manor was the original village of Maudgalyāyana. The following day after the meal, over two hundred monks and more than a thousand laymen came carrying litters, banners, canopies, incense, and flowers to welcome and usher him into the grand assembly. After exchanging greetings with the assembly, they proclaimed that he was to reside in the monastery, sharing everything equally with the community. Then they appointed twenty men to guide him to the dwelling of the Treasury of the True Dharma—that is, the treatise-master Śīlabhadra. He was one hundred and six years old, and because the assembly revered him, they called him the 'Treasury of the True Dharma.' Broadly learned and with a tenacious memory, there was not a single scripture or treatise—internal or external, Mahāyāna or Hīnayāna—that he did not thoroughly master. He was the one whom King Śaśāṅka had buried alive in the past, but had been carried out by bandits and hidden deep in the wilderness; later, when the Dharma flourished, he revealed himself and was extolled by clerics and laymen alike. King Śīlāditya had augmented his appanage by ten cities, levying taxes to provide revenue, with which [Śīla]bhadra erected monasteries and shrines. After [Xuan]zang had made obeisance and praised him, he ordered him to take a seat and asked where he had come from. He replied that he had come from the land of Cīna, wishing to study treatises such as the Yogācārabhūmi. Hearing this, [Śīlabhadra] wept, and summoned his disciple Jayabhadra to recount what had happened to him before. [Jaya]bhadra said, 'Three years ago, the upādhyāya suffered severe pain as though pierced by knives, and wished to die by abstaining from food. In a dream, a golden man said: “Do not loathe your body. In the past you were a king and harmed many living creatures; you should repent and blame yourself—how could you end your own life? A monk from Cīna is coming here to study; he is already on the road and should arrive in three years. If you confer the Dharma upon him, and he in turn disseminates it, your sins will naturally be extinguished. I am Mañjuśrī, and I have come especially to urge you.” The upādhyāya has now recovered.' The Treasury of the True Dharma asked, 'How long have you been on the road?' [Xuan]zang said, 'It has been three years since I departed.' Since this coincided with the dream, grief and joy mingled together. After the rituals of gratitude were completed, [Xuanzang was accommodated]. By the monastery's established rule, the establishment was set at ten men who were fully versed in the Tripiṭaka; one position had long been vacant, and on account of [Xuan]zang's reputation he was appointed to that seat. He was provided daily with twenty trays of fine delicacies, one bushel of mahā-puruṣa rice, betel nut, cardamom, borneol camphor, milk, ghee, and honey, along with four pure attendants and one servant; when traveling, he rode an elephant palanquin escorted by thirty men. As for 'mahā-puruṣa rice,' it is non-glutinous rice, as large as black beans, whose fragrance wafts a hundred paces; it is found only in this land, and only the king and those who know the Dharma may partake of it. Therefore, those in this monastery who were fully versed in the Tripiṭaka were granted twenty trays—that is, [supplies for] twenty days; graded downwards, those who had mastered one scripture were still granted five trays—five days; below this, they were provided according to their monastic rank. [Xuanzang] then requested Śīlabhadra to lecture on the Yogācārabhūmi; the listeners numbered several thousand. It took fifteen months to complete one round. Then he lectured on it a second time, taking nine months to finish. In addition, [Xuanzang] received instruction on works such as the Nyāyānusāra, Prakaraṇāryavācā, and Abhidharma. Yet toward the Yogācārabhūmi he was particularly devoted in study; for five years, without ceasing morning or evening, he engaged in broad discussions, reluctant to return east. [Śīla]bhadra admonished him, saying: 'I am old. Seeing you risk your life to seek the Dharma, having traveled for ten years before arriving here today, I do not begrudge my frail old age and have exerted my strength to elucidate it for you. The Dharma is prized for being disseminated; how could you expect only your own personal benefit? If you further consult other schools, I fear you will miss the opportune moment. Wisdom is boundless, and only a Buddha can exhaust it. Human life is like dew, gone in a morning or evening. You should return at once.' Thereupon he prepared travel provisions for him and bestowed scriptures and treatises upon him. [Xuan]zang said, 'I respectfully heed your instruction. I intend to tour south through the various kingdoms, and then head north on my return route, for I must not break my past promise to Gaochang.' Thereupon he traveled east through a great mountain forest to the land of Īraṇaparvata, where he saw the Buddha's footprint from sitting, impressed into stone about an inch deep, five feet two inches long and two feet one inch wide; beside it was a vase print sunk into the stone about an inch deep, with an eight-petaled floral pattern appearing just like new. There was also a footprint of the Buddha standing, one foot eight inches long and over six inches wide. Traveling southeast again, the route passed through five countries, covering nearly four thousand li to the kingdom of Samataṭa, which bordered the great sea, where four Buddhas had once traversed; he saw a blue-jade image eight feet high. Northeast from here amidst the mountains and seas were six countries in all, reaching Linyi; the road was blocked and long, and also infested with pestilence, so he did not travel there. Traveling west from there for nearly two thousand li, he reached the kingdom of Karṇasuvarṇa, where heterodoxy and orthodoxy were practiced concurrently; there were three distinct monasteries that did not consume curds and butter, belonging to the school of Devadatta. Traveling southwest again for over seven hundred li, he reached the country of Oḍra, whose eastern border faced the sea, where there was the city of Caritra, where many merchants stopped by the seashore. In the great southern sea lay the kingdom of Siṅghala—that is, 'Grasper of the Lion.' It was estimated to be over twenty thousand li away. Looking south every night, one could see the bright radiance of the precious jewel on the Tooth Relic stupa in that kingdom blazing brilliantly against the horizon. Traveling southwest again, he passed through many countries, all of which had miraculous traces; after about five thousand li he reached the kingdom of Dakṣiṇa-Kośala, which was the central territory of South India. They revered the Buddha's Dharma, and the monastic disciples numbered around ten thousand. The land was broad and spacious, with contiguous forests and fields. Over three hundred li southwest of the royal capital was Mount Bhramaragirī (Black Bee Mountain). In the past, the ancient great king had built this monastery for Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna. This monastery had five storeys above and below, carved out of the rock; water was channeled to swirl around it, displaying many marvelous transformations, and it could only be reached by following the flow of the water. Pure attendants were ordered to guard it strictly, so few ever ascended it. Inside the niche was a stone image of exceedingly immense proportions. When the monastery was completed, Nāgārjuna applied medicine to the mountain, turning it into purple gold, peerless in the world. There was also a scriptural repository containing countless bound palm leaves; according to ancient traditions, they all dated from the initial council and were preserved intact down to the present. Although the Buddha's Dharma outside was repeatedly destroyed, this one mountain had maintained its lineage without change.