宋高僧傳 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

On a day of the tenth month in the first year of Duangong [988 CE], Grand Master Tonghui of Tianshou Temple on the Left Street, recipient of the purple robe, the subject monk Zanning presents this memorial.

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The subject monk Zanning and others state: In the seventh year of Taiping Xingguo [982 CE], we respectfully received the imperial decree ordering us to compile the Gaoseng zhuan so that it might enter the Tripiṭaka together with the newly translated sūtras. We, your subjects, sought out records from afar and collected extensively from stone inscriptions. It has now been compiled into thirty scrolls, and we respectfully approach the imperial palace to present it. May it expand the jasper cases to greater breadth, and prolong the jade calendar to greater length. We, your subjects, are truly filled with trepidation and fearful anxiety, utterly trembling with awe. We have heard that beyond the celestial sphere there lies the distinct realm of Śakra; and amid the ocean of Dharma, many saṅgharatna arise. The heavens of Śakra offer a model, as Ānanda recorded events and registered words; the saṅgharatna are worthy of praise, as Huijiao composed treatises and produced biographies. How glorious is our Buddha, styled the 'Great Omniscient One'! Knowing that the teaching would have no reliance, he entrusted it to the potent sovereign. Two thousand years after [his demise], at the beginning of ten thousand years [of the Dharma], we humbly reflect upon His Majesty the Emperor—Responsive to the Mandate, Governing Heaven, Sagely in Culture, Heroic in War, Greatly Sagely, Utmost in Brilliance, and Widely Filial: a divine dragon in the heavens, the cherished sun ascending high. The realm expands, the four barbarian tribes request officials and offer tribute, the seasons and calendar are harmonious, the hundred grains fill the granaries and cover the fields; the imperial plowing of the sacred field is encouraged, and festive banquets are bestowed so that all rejoice; Confucian studies are especially promoted, and the profound teaching is revived. Thus the qilin, which is not a beast of the Central Plains, and the white pheasant, which is not a bird of the wilderness, now wander among the imperial parks and are kept as domestic creatures. Recently, from Shan to Pu, the Yellow River has flowed clear along a single stretch; from antiquity to the present, the blue history records this response of a thousand years. This is surely because Your Majesty has come from the Immovable Ground to manifest as a king of long life. When translations are completed into scriptures, you compose profound imperial prefaces; when turning words into hymns, you proclaim the inexhaustible voice of the Dharma. Furthermore, you sent down the phoenix decree commanding the compilation of a history of the saṅgha. Meeting this fortune of Yongxi and extending the style of Zhenguan, you gathered and selected versatile talents—how could this fall upon someone of slight learning like me? Could I fail to capture the rhinoceros and cut its horn, pluck the kingfisher and trim its feathers, meticulously seeking out outstanding figures and modeling myself upon histories that chronologically record the years? What I regret is that in the empty gate my learning is scanty; what could an offspring of the Śākya clan know? If there is anything worthy of view, this authentic record merely imitates Chen Shou; if it conceals deep errors and contravenes the classics, the blame should fall upon Sima Qian. This serves to fulfill Your Majesty's mind to surely recruit neglected worthies, and assists Your Majesty's excellence in restoring fallen classics. Now, meeting the Qianming Holy Birthday, I respectfully send my disciple the recipient of the purple robe Xianzhong, who jointly received the decree from the beginning, together with the recipient of the purple robe Zhilun of Xiangguo Temple, to present and submit it. We humbly beg Your Sagely Compassion to deign to glance over it. We respectfully reflect that the Sagely Sovereign is the master of literary composition, whereas this petty subject is not a minister of honest history. If heaven's design is revealed, let the editorial principles be known. If we may handle the Northern Dipper to gauge and deliberate, or if a single measure is shown; only by holding the Southern Winnowing Basket to winnow and sift can the chaff be eliminated. We, your subjects, risk offending the Celestial Countenance, and are beyond measure trembling with terror, passionately anxious, and filled with deep apprehension. Respectfully presented.

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Imperial Response

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Decree to Grand Master Tonghui Zanning: We have examined the matter of the presentation of the thirty scrolls of the compiled You Song gaoseng zhuan by the monk Xianzhong of Tianshou Temple on the Left Street, recipient of the purple robe, whom you sent, and fully comprehend it. In the wondrous path of the ekayāna and the profound gate of the six pāramitās, rare persons have emerged in every generation to successively broaden the holy teaching. Without compilations and records, how could it be made manifest? Truly, you are of the authentic stream, dwelling with your mind in the grove of Dharma; in bringing this compilation to completion, you have rendered considerable toil. Seeing fully your encompassing ability, Our feelings of deep admiration and praise are profound. The Gaoseng zhuan that has been submitted has already been ordered to be incorporated into the Tripiṭaka by the Saṅgha Registry Office. We now bestow three thousand bolts of silk, which may be received upon arrival. Hence this commendation and instruction, which We expect you to understand fully. In the winter cold, We wonder if you have been well and at leisure lately? We shall not dwell at length on the purport of this letter. Decree of the eighteenth day.

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Preface to the Song Gaoseng zhuan

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Your subject has heard that the bhadrakalpa is vast and long, and the world is expansive; heaven and time are inexhaustible, and earth receives abundance without bound. The utmost spiritual pneuma fills within, and the great sagely teacher abides above. How great! Śākyamuni has just withdrawn, and Maitreya has not yet arrived; between them emerge people who command the era, and at this juncture are many sages of divided bodies who freely display the monastic appearance and delight in manifesting as śramaṇas. Their words and deeds are worthy of view, and tablets and slips competed to record them. Hence Wang Jin's Sengshi and Sun Chuo's Daoxian imitation of the Liezhuan circulated widely, modeling the Shijia and spreading afar, so that those who would aspire to Yan Yuan and emulate Lin Xiangru might become arhats with flying staves or superior beings who carry mountains. At that time, Pei Ziye composed the Zhongsong zhuan, Śramaṇa Faji compiled the Gaoyi shamen zhuan, Lu Gao wrote the Shamen zhuan, and Śramaṇa Baochang established the Mingseng zhuan; these were all primitive timber-carts anticipating the Hongfan, and earthenware drums preceding the Xianchi music. How could they know that those who followed would not leave such figures empty? Huijiao edited and emended, using headings of authentic practice and concealed light; Daoxuan gathered and wove, continuing the style of the lofty rather than the famous, ensuring that those who practiced the Way over six hundred years did not fall into oblivion. Ever since the composition of chapters under the Zhenguan era, and since the brush fell silent at Ximing Temple, such works have ceased to be heard of, and these writings were about to lapse. Yet times return again: once the harsh frost passes, lush blooms arrive; the world does not remain long desolate: once heaven and earth are in harmony, holy brilliance emerges. His Majesty our Emperor—Responsive to the Mandate, Governing Heaven, Sagely in Culture, Heroic in War, Greatly Sagely, Utmost in Brilliance, and Widely Filial: his yang-dragon virtue rises forth, and his authority matches the lightning of the Dipper. In treading the Great Way, Fu Xi and the Yellow Emperor yield the service of holding the reins; in possessing manifold heavenly talents, the Duke of Zhou and Confucius perform the duties of disciples. He discourses on good faith and cultivates harmony, exalts virtue and rewards merit; his unification leaves nothing omitted, shaming the hundred kings; the four seas seem to be viewed within his palm, and the myriad affairs all issue from the imperial heart. Yet on the Mysterious Female he keeps his mind, and on the Heaven of Śakra he rests his contemplation. Imparting the arts of longevity, he repeatedly opens the altar of the Great Unity; prolonging the duration of the continuous Dharma, the monks ordained have doubled the thousandfold vows. Stūpas rise toward the Han River; Sanskrit leaves are translated into Chinese, bringing the customs of the Buddha-land to align with the Jade Capital. Mourning that among these monastic companions there have been such persons in every generation, while longing for their luminous deeds went unheard, the records were indeed long deserted. We, your subjects, were erroneously favored with this worthy selection, yet all lack historical talent; the empty gate does not produce a Dong Hu, and our feeble hands find it hard to probe the cave of Yu. Nevertheless, we followed the old model of the ten categories and collected new names of the myriad practices. At times we examined eulogies and inscriptions; at times we verified records and gazetteers; at times we inquired of emissaries on light carriages, or consulted senior elders. In grinding and polishing, it roughly corresponds with sūtras and treatises; in collation and correction, it matches the historical texts. Inscribed into three sets, it fulfills above the expectation of the Ninefold Court, displaying the magnificence of the saṅgharatna and revealing the riches of the Buddhist house. Formerly, Jiaxiang wielded the editorial brush, exhausting beauty and goodness in the southeast; Chengzhao compiled and edited, bringing together the talents of the Guanzhong region. Was this not a confinement to local corners, passing on what was not widely practiced? How can that compare to our august dynasty, where the net is spread across the eight extremes, and when raised, nothing fails to arrive; the four barbarian tribes are subdued, and when sought, what matter is not provided? We, your subjects, searched in diverse directions and gathered materials from varied routes, as though seeing the harmony of a single family, without distinction among diverse lands. Thus, the completion of the ten categories was as easy as picking things up from the ground. Its main biographies number 533 persons, with 130 persons appended. Furthermore, at the end of each category, we modeled upon historical 'treatises' to express our judgment; based on events and speaking of their times, we provided the genealogical determinations of biographical masters. Its title is the You Song gaoseng zhuan. We hope it may serve like the bronze horse as a model to select swift coursers of a thousand li, or as writings seen on bamboo slips that constitute a chronicle of the Six Harmonies. May those who view it strive to advance, and those who awaken to it aspire to emulate, all ascending the mountain of samyak[-saṃbodhi] and entering the ocean of sarva[jña], eternally aiding the sagely calendar and jointly assisting the imperial brilliance, matching the radiant light of the cherished sun and answering the cries of long life on Mount Song. Respectfully presented on the Qianming Festival in the first year of Duangong by the subject monk Zanning and others.

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Chapter 1: Translation of Scriptures (Turning Sanskrit into Chinese; opening the ordinary to enter the sagely; thus the Dharma-wheel turns, revered by all Buddhas.)

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Chapter 2: Exegetical Understanding (Seeking text to find meaning; grasping the meaning and forgetting the words; fully achieving the three wisdoms; the two reliances ought to be transformed.)

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Chapter 3: Practice of Dhyāna (Cultivating to the point of non-thought; good and evil are both forgotten; forgetting that which is forgotten; constantly abiding in peaceful joy.)

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Chapter 4: Elucidation of the Vinaya (Strict and sparing of indulgence; upright and urgent in guarding; infant-like guarding of the three karmas, firm as a wall of metal and moat of boiling water.)

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Chapter 5: Protection of the Dharma (With good stewards in the household, what worry for guarding the treasury? With famous masters in the Dharma, external insults are warded off.)

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Chapter 6: Supernatural Resonance (Going contrary to ordinary principles; resonating and thereupon reaching through; transforming within the world, difficult to fathom upon observation.)

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Chapter 7: Renunciation of the Body (Hard to give up, yet easily abandoned; the foremost among givings; using an impure and leaking body to turn into a vajra-body.)

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Chapter 8: Intoning and Reciting (Among the ten kinds of Dharma masters, this one is eminent and great; dyeing with the citron flower, when the fruit forms, the pulp is red.)

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Chapter 9: Cultivating Blessings (For oneself and for others; blessings arise and transgressions are eradicated; conditioned goodness—how broad is its benefit!)

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Chapter 10: Miscellaneous Practices and Vocal Resonance (Synthesizing the various categories, all returning to the lofty; masters of guiding recitation, brightly illuminating the Buddha-vehicle.)

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Compiled under imperial decree by Grand Master Tonghui of Tianshou Temple on the Left Street under the Song, recipient of the purple robe, the śramaṇa Zanning and others.

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Chapter 1, Part 1: Translation of Scriptures (Three main biographies, one appended)

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Biography of Yijing of Great Jianfu Temple in Jingzhao under the Tang

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Śramaṇa Yijing, courtesy name Wenming, was of the Zhang clan and a native of Fanyang. In his childhood, he bid farewell to his parents and shaved his hair. He consulted widely with famous masters and extensively probed the multitude of texts, becoming well-versed in both internal and external learning and broadly knowledgeable in both ancient and modern times. At the age of fifteen, the aspiration sprouted within him to travel to the Western Regions, admiring the noble conduct of Faxian and longing for the lofty character of Xuanzang. Furthermore, he was so diligent that he never wasted time, never laying aside his book. Upon coming of age, he received upasampadā, which strengthened his upright aspiration all the more.

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In the second year of Xianheng [671 CE], at the age of thirty-seven, he finally set out. First arriving in Panyu, he found several dozen like-minded companions, but when about to board the ship, all the others shrank back and stopped. Yijing strove onward and traveled alone, experiencing every manner of hardship and danger. In every territory he reached, he fully mastered the speech and sounds. Whenever he met tribal chieftains, all showed him honor and respect. Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa and Mount Kukkuṭapāda he visited everywhere; the Deer Park and the Jetavana Grove he beheld in full. Wherever there were sacred traces, he pursued them all. Over the course of twenty-five years, he traveled through more than thirty kingdoms. In the midsummer of the yihai year, the first year of Zhengsheng under the Empress Regnant [Wu Zetian, 695 CE], he returned to the Heluo region. He had obtained nearly four hundred Sanskrit texts of sūtras, vinayas, and śāstras, totaling 500,000 verses, one true image of the Vajrāsana, and three hundred grains of śarīra. The Empress Regnant personally welcomed him outside the Shangdong Gate, with the monastic assemblies of various temples carrying banners, canopies, and sacred music in the vanguard. An imperial decree was issued for him to be lodged in Foshouji Temple.

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At first, he translated the Avataṃsaka-sūtra with the Khotanese Tripiṭaka Master Śikṣānanda. After the Jiushi reign era, he began translating independently. From the gengzi year [700] to the guimao year of the Chang'an era [703], at Fuxian Temple and at Ximing Temple in the western capital Yongjing, he translated such sūtras as the Golden Light Most Victorious King Sūtra, the Diamond-Cutter Prajñā[-pāramitā], the Maitreya Becoming a Buddha, the Single-Syllable Spell King, the King of Adornment Dhāraṇī, and the Long-Nailed Brahmacārin; such vinaya texts as the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, the Nidānamātṛkā, the One Hundred and One Karmans, and the Compendium; such śāstras as the Jewel in Hand, the Conceptual Designation of Bases, and the Instruction on the Six Gates; as well as Nāgārjuna's Verses of Exhortation—twenty works in all. The North Indian śramaṇa Anizhenna verified the Sanskrit text and its meaning; the śramaṇas Baolun, Fuli, Huibiao, and Zhiji recorded the words and checked the text; the śramaṇas Fabao, Fazang, Degan, Shengzhuang, Shenying, Renliang, Dayi, and Cixun verified the doctrinal meaning; and Xu Guan, Assistant Instructor of the Directorate of the National Academy, supervised the project, after which the fair copies were presented to the throne. The Empress Dowager composed the Preface to the Holy Teachings and ordered it prefixed to the beginning of the scriptures.

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When Emperor Zhongzong reached the yisi year, the first year of the Shenlong era [705], Yijing translated the Peacock King Sūtra at the Inner Bodhimaṇḍa of the eastern capital Luoyang. Furthermore, at the Great Fuxian Temple he produced four works: the Sūtra of Deva-putra Prasenajit, the Incantation of King of Fragrance Bodhisattva, and the Sūtra of the King of All Adornments. The śramaṇa Pāṇḍu read the Sanskrit text; the śramaṇa Xuanzan recorded the translation; the śramaṇa Dayi checked the text; the śramaṇas Shengzhuang and Lizhen verified the doctrinal meaning; Vice Minister of War Cui Shi and Supervising Secretary Lu Can polished the prose and corrected the characters; and Yang Shenjiao, Director of the Palace Library and Prince Consort Commandant, supervised the undertaking. The Emperor deeply revered the Buddhist scriptures and, drawing especially upon his imperial intellect, composed the Great Tang Preface to the Holy Teachings of the Tripiṭaka Commemorating the Dragon's Rise. He also went in person to the Western Gate of Luoyang to announce and display the newly translated scriptures to the assembled officials.

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In the second year [706], Yijing followed the imperial entourage back to the capital Yongjing, where a Translation Bureau was established for his residence at the Great Jianfu Temple. In the third year [707], an edict summoned him to enter the palace and observe the ninety-day summer retreat together with the other translating śramaṇas. Because the Emperor had previously resided in Fang Prefecture in dark adversity with nowhere to turn, he had prayed to the Medicine Buddha and received bestowed blessings; cherishing this past grace, he sought to unfold great undertakings once more. He thus ordered the religious disciples to translate anew in the Hall of Great Buddha Light. The text was completed in two fascicles, titled the Sūtra on the Merits of the Fundamental Vows of the Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Light Buddha. The Emperor presided at the Dharma banquet and personally recorded the translation with his own hand.

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In the gengxu year, the first year of the Tanglong era under Ruizong [710], he produced twenty works at the Great Jianfu Temple, including the Sūtra on the Merit of Bathing the Buddha Image, the Vinaya Miscellaneous Matters, the Prātimokṣa Sūtras of the Two Assemblies, the Jewel Origin of Vijñaptimātra, and the Explanation of the Alambana. The Tokharian śramaṇa Dharmavarma and the Central Indian śramaṇa Bāṇu verified the Sanskrit meaning; the Kaśmīri śramaṇa Dharmananda verified the Sanskrit text; the upāsaka and East Indian chieftain Īśvara verified the Sanskrit original; the śramaṇa Huiji, the upāsaka Li Shijia of Central India, and Dupuoduo read the Sanskrit originals; the śramaṇas Wengang, Huizhao, Lizhen, Shengzhuang, Aitong, and Siheng verified the doctrinal meaning; Xuanzan and Zhiji recorded the translation; the upāsakas Gautama Vajra of East India and Prince A顺 of Kaśmīra verified the translation; more than twenty officials—including Li Qiao, Grand Academician of the Institute for the Cultivation of Literature; Wei Sili, Minister of War; Zhao Yanzhao, Vice Director of the Secretariat; Lu Zangyong, Vice Minister of Personnel; Zhang Yue, Vice Minister of War; and Li Yi, Secretariat Drafter—polished and styled the prose; Left Vice Director Wei Juyuan and Right Vice Director Su Gui acted as supervisors; and Prince Yong, heir to the Prince of Guo and Grand Director of the Palace Library, served as co-supervisor.

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In the xinhai year, the second year of the Jingyun era [711], he translated scriptures such as the Divine Spell Praising the Merits of the Tathāgata again at the Great Jianfu Temple, with Chamberlain for Ceremonials Xue Chongsi supervising. From the Empress Dowager's Jiushi era down to Ruizong's Jingyun era, he translated a total of fifty-six works in two hundred and thirty fascicles. He also independently composed the Great Tang Record of Eminent Monks Who Sought the Dharma in the Western Regions, the Record of Buddhism Sent Home from the Southern Seas, the Essential Rules for Special Confession of Transgressions, the Essential Rules for the Use of the Three Types of Pure Water, and the Ritual Procedures for Protecting Life and Releasing Living Beings, making five works in nine fascicles. In addition, he produced the Sarvāstivāda Vastu, which correspond to the Khandhaka and Vagga of other vinayas—the difference being merely regional Sanskrit dialects—in about seventy-eight fascicles. Although Yijing translated across all three baskets of the canon, he concentrated especially on the vinaya section; during intervals between translating and editing, he meticulously instructed his disciples. In every affair he conducted, he prioritized vigilance and preservation. His use of the water-strainer and cleansing of impurities stood far out from the ordinary run. His students transmitted and practiced this throughout the capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang. How magnificent! This too was a grand event for the bequeathed Dharma.

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He died in the second year of the Xiantian era [713] at the age of seventy-nine, with a dharma age of fifty-nine; his funeral arrangements were provided by the officials. The Vastu he produced existed only in its original draft, for he had no leisure to review and annotate it before passing away. Nevertheless, in transmitting and translating sūtras and vinaya, he rivalled Master Xuanzang. Compared in their writings, Yijing had more literary flair; in transmitting esoteric mantras, he exhausted their subtleties to the utmost, and it was only then that conjunct sounds of two or three consonants were understood. His stūpa now stands on the high ridge north of Longmen in the capital Luoyang.

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The appraisal says: 'To translate' (yi) means 'to exchange' (yi), which means using what one has to exchange for what one lacks. It is like trifoliate orange and sweet orange: when cultivated after exchanging soils, sweet orange turns into trifoliate orange. Though the names trifoliate orange and sweet orange differ, their pungent fragrance, stems, and leaves are no different. It is also like the nyagrodha tree of the Western Regions, which is the willow of the Eastern Land: though the names are dissimilar, the substance of the tree is one. From the Han down to our present imperial Song, those who translated have been many. During the Jin and Wei periods, only people from Western India came, and they only called it 'nyagrodha'. The local scholars who assisted in the translation only grasped the meaning when the Western monks pointed to a willow. Later, Eastern monks went there and recognized that nyagrodha was the willow of the Eastern Land. The regional tongues of the two lands were then thoroughly understood at once. Those who were solely of the West or solely of the East—neither of these two groups was wholly perfect. Only when Eastern monks go to the West, completely master Sanskrit books, and thoroughly understand the Buddha's intent can they be called perfect. Among translators since the Song and Qi dynasties, there were certainly those who went there and returned; but when it comes to entering a realm, observing its customs, and necessarily hearing of its government, Master Xuanzang and Master Yijing truly attained reality. These two masters were completely versed in both, just like seeing the seal script and knowing it to be the Son of Heaven's document—truly trustworthy! In the Rites of Zhou, the Xiangxu interpreters communicated the speeches of foreign peoples; might not Yijing's talent and wisdom be called the Xiangxu of the Buddhist fold?

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Biography of Vajrabodhi of Guangfu Temple in Luoyang under the Tang

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Śramaṇa Vajrabodhi, translated into Chinese as Jingangzhi, was a native of the realm of Malaya in South India, which means 'Radiance' in Chinese; his country's territory lay near Mount Potalaka, the palace of Avalokiteśvara. His father was a brāhmaṇa skilled in the treatises of the five sciences and served as preceptor to the King of Kāñcī. When Vajrabodhi was a few years old, he could recite ten thousand words a day; what met his eyes was transmitted to his mind, never to be forgotten for the rest of his life. At the age of sixteen, he attained awakening to Buddhist principles and took no pleasure in studying the treatises of the Nirgranthas; he therefore shaved his head, dyed his robes, and left household life—this was through the power of plantings from past lives. Later he followed his teacher to Nālandā Temple in Central India to study the sūtras, abhidharma, and other teachings. Upon receiving full ordination, he heard the vinaya of all eighteen schools. He then went to West India to study the treatises of the Hīnayāna, as well as Yoga, the three mysteries, and the gate of dhāraṇī. In over ten years, he was completely versed in the Tripiṭaka. Next, he traveled again to the Lion Kingdom (Siṃhala), climbed Mount Laṅkā, and journeyed east to more than twenty kingdoms including Śrīvijaya and the Country of Naked People. Hearing that the Buddha Dharma flourished in Cīna, he sailed aboard a ship and came; because of many hardships, it took several years before he arrived.

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In the jiwei year of the Kaiyuan era [719], he reached Guangzhou. By imperial decree he was welcomed to Ci'en Temple, and soon moved to Jianfu Temple. At whatever monastery he stayed, he invariably erected a great maṇḍala empowerment altar to liberate the four assemblies. The two Chan masters Dazhi and Dahui, as well as Tripiṭaka Master Amoghavajra, all practiced the etiquette of disciples toward him. Later he accompanied the imperial entourage to Luoyang. That year, there was no rain from the first month until the fifth month; prayers at the sacred shrines of the sacred peaks and waterways met with no response. An imperial edict was therefore issued ordering Vajrabodhi to construct an altar and pray. Thereupon, using the unhooked hook and relying on the Bodhisattva method, he raised an altar four cubits deep at his residence, personally painted an image of the Seven Koṭī Bodhisattvas, and set a time to consecrate it, promising that rain would definitely follow the next day. The Emperor sent Chan Master Yixing to observe closely and discreetly. When the seventh day arrived, the scorching heat was suffocating, and not a floating cloud was in the sky. Only in the afternoon did he open the eyebrows and eyes; immediately, a northwest wind arose, scattering tiles and uprooting trees, while crashing clouds poured forth rain, causing astonishment near and far. At the place where the altar had been built, a hole was pierced through the roof, and water cascaded into the bodhimaṇḍa. At daybreak, the gentry and commoners of the capital all said: 'Vajrabodhi captured a dragon, which pierced the roof and flew away!' Every day tens of thousands of people sought to view the site; such was the miraculous efficacy of the altar method. At that time, the Emperor directed his mind toward Daoism and did not esteem Buddhism; the officials in charge, seeking to flatter his wishes, memorialized that foreign barbarian monks should be ordered to return to their home countries, and the day of departure was set. When an attendant told Vajrabodhi, he said: 'I am an Indian monk, and not a Central Asian barbarian; this does not pertain to the imperial decree, and I will not leave in the end.' Several days later, he suddenly mounted a relay carriage intending to go to Yanmen, and offered his farewells; the Emperor was greatly startled, and issued a handwritten imperial rescript retaining him.

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Earlier, the Emperor's twenty-fifth princess was deeply cherished by his love. Having been ill for a long time without recovery, she was moved to lie in the Xianyi Outer Residence, where she kept her eyes closed and did not speak for more than a month. An imperial order was issued commanding Vajrabodhi to administer the precepts to her; this was because they expected her death was certain, hence this command. Vajrabodhi went there, selected two seven-year-old girls from the palace, wrapped their faces and eyes in crimson silk, and had them lie on the ground. He had Niu Xiantong write an imperial edict on a sheet of paper, which was burned in another place, while Vajrabodhi recited secret spells over them. The two girls recited it in their trance without missing a single word. Vajrabodhi entered samādhi, and through his inconceivable power commanded the two girls to take the edict and go to King Yama. Within the space of a meal, King Yama ordered the princess's deceased wet-nurse, Lady Liu, to escort the princess's soul back following the two girls. Thereupon the princess sat up, opened her eyes, and spoke as normal. When the Emperor heard this, he did not wait for his imperial guard and galloped on horseback to the outer residence. The princess memorialized: 'The underworld's span cannot be altered; the King has now sent me back merely to briefly behold Your Majesty's countenance.' After about half a day, she then passed away forever. From that time on, the Emperor increased his devotion and trust.

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Consort Wu was uniquely favored throughout the six palaces, repeatedly donating precious curios. Vajrabodhi urged the Consort to urgently construct an image of Vajrāyus Bodhisattva, and also urged the Commandery Prince of Hedong to paint an image in the Vairocana Stūpa; he said to his disciples: 'The lifespans of these two will not be long.' After several months, all turned out as he had predicted; his foreknowledge was mostly of this kind.

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There was no principle Vajrabodhi did not penetrate, and no matter he did not verify; as for sūtras, treatises, monastic precepts, esoteric incantations, and other writings, he would analyze and explain them upon inquiry, like a bell responding when struck. Whenever anyone came to his gate, once Vajrabodhi saw their face, he never forgot them. As for speech, silence, activity, or rest, he remained serene and unchanging; in joy, anger, adversity, or favor, he showed no altered expression. Those who gazed upon and paid homage to him could not fathom his depths, and naturally submitted to him.

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From the seventh year of the Kaiyuan era, when he first reached Panyu and gradually made his way to the imperial capital, [Vajrabodhi] widely propagated the Secret Repository and established maṇḍalas. Constructed in accordance with the Dharma, they all elicited wondrous auguries. The śramaṇa Yixing deeply revered this teaching and repeatedly went to inquire of him; Vajrabodhi instructed him in every detail, never holding anything back. Yixing himself erected an altar and received initiation (abhiṣeka), respectfully adopting this teaching. Knowing that it would benefit all beings, he requested that it be translated and circulated. In the eleventh year, by imperial decree at Zisheng Temple, he translated the *Yujia niansong fa* in two fascicles and the *Qi juzhi tuoluoni* in two fascicles, with the East Indian Brahmin grand chief and Court Secretariat Draughtsman Īśvara translating the spoken words and the Mount Song śramaṇa Wengu serving as scribe. In the eighteenth year, at Great Jianfu Temple, he further brought out the *Manshushili wuzi xin tuoluoni* and the *Guanzizai yujia fanyao*, each in one fascicle, with the śramaṇa Zhizang translating the spoken words and Yixing serving as scribe, editing and arranging them into literary texts. Furthermore, observing that there were lacunae in the verses of the older edition of the *Suiqiu* [dhāraṇī], he supplemented them so that it was complete. The dhāraṇīs and mudrās translated by Vajrabodhi were efficaciously verified wherever they were applied; in the circulation of the Esoteric [teachings], he was preeminent. In both capitals, those who received his instruction and obtained deliverance were exceedingly numerous, and both laypeople and monastics transmitted them one after another.

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On the sixteenth day of the eighth month in the twentieth year, the *renshen* year, at Guangfu Temple in Luoyang, he instructed his disciples, saying: 'When the bright moon is full, I shall depart.' He then bowed to Vairocana Buddha, circumambulated seven times, retired to his quarters, burned incense, made vows, and placed upon his head the Sanskrit palm-leaf manuscripts along with the newly translated teachings. Having completed his entrustment, he peacefully passed away. His age was seventy-one, and his dharma age was fifty-one. On the seventh day of the eleventh month of that year, he was buried to the right of the Yi River, south of Longmen, and a stūpa was erected to commemorate him. His lineage disciple Amoghavajra submitted a memorial, and an imperial decree posthumously bestowed upon him the title of National Preceptor. His initiation disciple Du Hongjian, Vice Director of the Secretariat, who had always taken refuge in and revered him, composed an inscription recording his virtues.

1.38

An appraisal states: The maṇḍala rituals of the five families, when used to summon and control ghosts and spirits, must attach themselves to young boys and virgin maidens; dispelling illness and eliminating baleful anomalies is exceedingly easy thereby. People of recent generations use them to seek personal profit in livelihood and reputation, yet their verifications are few, and they are generally treated with contempt by their contemporaries. Alas! How thin and degenerate the true Dharma has become, to have reached such a point!

1.39

Biography of Amoghavajra of Great Daxingshan Temple in Jingzhao under the Tang (Huilang)

1.40

The śramaṇa Amoghavajra, whose Sanskrit name was Amoghavajra, which in Chinese means 'Unfailing Diamond' (Bukong Jingang), commonly went by the two characters [Bukong] as an abbreviation. Originally of a Brahmin clan of North India, he lost his father at an early age and accompanied his uncle to visit the eastern realm. At age fifteen, he served the Tripiṭaka Master Vajrabodhi as his teacher. At first, he was instructed in the Sanskrit *Siddham* syllables and the science of linguistic sounds (śabdavidyā), and within a ten-day period he had fully mastered them. His master marveled greatly at him, conferred upon him the bodhisattva precepts, and led him into the great maṇḍala of the Vajradhātu; verifying the outcome by the casting of a flower, he knew that [Amoghavajra] would later greatly cause the teachings to flourish. When he received the full precepts, he thoroughly understood the Sarvāstivāda and was conversant with the scripts and languages of foreign realms. Whenever his master translated scriptures, he always had him assist in the translation. In studying the science of linguistic sounds, what normally required twelve years of effort he completed in six months. In reciting the *Mañjuśrī-Samantabhadra-praṇidhāna*, which had a term of one year, he finished it in two evenings. His keen intelligence was uniformly of this sort. Desiring to study the new yoga, the five families, and the rituals of the three mysteries, three years elapsed, yet his master had not taught him. Amoghavajra planned to return to India. His master dreamed that the images of Buddhas and bodhisattvas in the various temples of the capital were all moving eastward. Upon waking, he realized that Amoghavajra was a true vessel of the Dharma, and thereupon granted his request. He conferred upon him the five families' initiation, the homa rites, the ācārya practices, as well as the *Vairocana Sūtra* and the *Susiddhikara Rituals*, transmitting all of them to him. Later, his master went to Luoyang, and while attending upon him there, he met with his master's manifestation of nirvana; this was in the twentieth year of the Kaiyuan era. After the portrait hall was completed and the posthumous honors were finalized, having once received the final behest instructing him to go to the five regions of India and the Lion Country (Siṃhala), he subsequently deliberated on an expedition to far-off lands.

1.41

Upon first arriving in Nanhai Commandery, the Surveillance Commissioner Liu Julin earnestly requested initiation; thereupon at Faxing Temple he successively delivered hundreds, thousands, and myriads of people. Amoghavajra himself prayed before his primary deity for ten days, and elicited a personal manifestation of Mañjuśrī. When he was about to board the ship, the Surveillance Commissioner summoned and admonished the grand chief of the foreign merchants in the Panyu borderlands, Yixibin, and others, saying: 'Now the Tripiṭaka Master is traveling to the Lion Country in South India. You must instruct the ship's captain to take good care of the Tripiṭaka Master, along with his twenty-one disciples such as Hanguang and Huibian, and the official state credentials, and deliver them thither, allowing no negligence or mishap.'

1.42

In the twelfth month of the twenty-ninth year, he boarded a Kunlun merchant vessel and departed Nanhai. Reaching the borders of the kingdom of Heling, they encountered a great black tempest. The myriad merchants were terrified; each performed the apotropaic rituals of their own native lands, but with no effect. They all prostrated themselves, pleading for mercy and begging for deliverance and protection; Huibian and the others also wept bitterly. Amoghavajra said: 'I now possess a method; do not worry.' He then held a five-pronged bodhicitta vajra in his right hand and the text of the *Prajñā-buddhamātā Sūtra* in his left hand, and performing the ritual, he chanted the *Great Suiqiu* [dhāraṇī] once, whereupon the wind subsided and the sea became calm. Then they encountered a great whale emerging from the waters, spouting waves like mountains, worse than the preceding calamity. The merchants resigned themselves to death. Amoghavajra performed the ritual as before, ordering Huibian to recite the *Sāgara-nāgarāja Sūtra*; in moments, all the calamities were stilled.

1.43

Having arrived in the Lion Country, the king dispatched an envoy to welcome him. As he was about to enter the city, infantry, cavalry, and honor guards lined the thoroughfares. When the king saw Amoghavajra, he prostrated at his feet and invited him to reside in the palace, providing offerings for seven days. Each day, filling golden bushels with perfumed water, the king personally bathed Amoghavajra, followed by the crown prince, the queen and consorts, and the chief ministers, all performing the same rites as the king. Amoghavajra first met Ācārya Samantabhadra, whereupon he presented offerings of gold, jewels, brocades, and embroideries, requesting the opening of the yoga teachings of the eighteen assemblies of the *Vajraśekhara*, the Vairocana Great Compassion Garbhakośa, and the ritual procedures for establishing altars, and he also obtained permission for Hanguang, Huibian, and others to receive the initiation of the five families together. From then on, Amoghavajra did not rely on a single teacher; he broadly sought out the Secret Repository and various scriptures and treatises, totaling more than five hundred texts. Concerning the original samaya, the secret mudrās of the various deities, their visual forms and bodily appearances, the altar procedures and emblems, and the texts, meanings, natures, and characteristics, there was nothing whose source he did not exhaustively plumb. One day, the king held an elephant-taming spectacle; everyone climbed to high ground to watch, and no one dared approach. Amoghavajra, chanting with his mouth, forming mudrās with his hands, and abiding in the concentration of loving-kindness, stood directly in the thoroughfare. Several mad elephants immediately stumbled and fell; the whole country marveled at him. Next, he traveled through the regions of the five Indias, repeatedly manifesting auspicious responses.

1.44

In the fifth year of the Tianbao era, he returned to the capital, presenting a memorial from King Śīlamegha of the Lion Country along with gold, jewels, necklaces, Sanskrit palm-leaf manuscripts of the *Prajñāpāramitā*, various pearls, and white cotton cloth. By imperial decree, he temporarily lodged at the Court of State Ceremonial (Honglu). Subsequently, he was summoned to the palace to erect an altar and bestow initiation upon the emperor. Later, he moved his residence to Jingying Temple. That year, the late summer suffered from drought, and an imperial decree ordered him to pray for rain. The edict stated: 'The time must not be delayed, and the rain must not be violent.' Amoghavajra memorialized to erect a Mayūra-rāja altar; before three days had passed, copious rain fell everywhere. The emperor was greatly pleased, and personally holding a jeweled casket, bestowed a purple kaṣāya, personally putting it on him, and further granted two hundred bolts of silk. Later, when a sudden violent wind arose one day, an edict ordered Amoghavajra to suppress it. He requested a silver vase, performed the ritual, and empowered it; in a moment, it was calmed. Suddenly, a pond goose accidentally knocked the vase over, and the wind arose again, even more violent and sudden than before; an edict ordered him to stop it again, and wherever he applied the ritual, it was efficacious. The emperor thereupon bestowed upon him the title 'Zhizang' (Treasury of Wisdom).

1.45

In the eighth year of the Tianbao era, he was permitted to return to his native land, riding on five relay horses; arriving at Nanhai Commandery, an imperial edict detained him once again. In the twelfth year, an imperial decree ordered him to respond to the invitation of Geshu Han, Military Commissioner of He and Long. In the thirteenth year, he arrived in Wuwei and stayed at Kaiyuan Temple. The military commissioner and his attendants all wished to receive initiation; several thousand gentlemen and commoners all climbed the bodhimanda, and his disciples Hanguang and others also received the teachings of the five families. He separately conferred the Dharma upon Li Yuancong, Commissioner of Merit and Virtue and Grand Master of the Opening of the Office, transmitting to him the great maṇḍala of the Vajradhātu. On that day, the bodhimanda shook with an earthquake; Amoghavajra said: 'This is the utmost sincerity of the multitude's hearts.'

1.46

In the fifteenth year, he was summoned back to the capital and stayed at Great Daxingshan Temple. At the beginning of the Zhide era, when the imperial entourage was at Lingwu and Fengxiang, Amoghavajra regularly sent secret memorials offering imperial greetings; Emperor Suzong also secretly dispatched envoys to seek the secret rituals. When the capital was recovered and order restored, events unfolded just as he had predicted. During the Qianyuan era, the emperor invited him to the palace to establish a bodhimanda and perform homa rites, receiving from him the seven-treasure initiation for the station of a wheel-turning king (cakravartin). Late in the Shangyuan era, when the emperor was indisposed, Amoghavajra performed apotropaic purifications with the Great Suiqiu Dhāraṇī up to seven times; on the following day he recovered, and the emperor treated him with even greater extraordinary courtesies. Amoghavajra submitted a memorial asking to enter the mountains; Li Fuguo proclaimed an imperial decree ordering him to cultivate merit at Zhiju Temple on Mount Zhongnan. On the evening of his intonation and recitation, he elicited Mahāsukhasattva extending a brow-curl and emitting light to verify his attainment, approaching the rank of siddhi. Amoghavajra said: 'Since sentient beings are not yet delivered, how can I deliver myself alone?'

1.47

Emperor Suzong passed away and Emperor Daizong ascended the throne; the imperial favors grew all the more bountiful. When the translations of the *Ghanavyūha* and *Renwang* sūtras were completed, the emperor wrote prefaces for them. On the day they were promulgated, auspicious clouds suddenly appeared, and the entire court submitted memorials of congratulation. On the first day of the eleventh month in the first year of the Yongtai era, by imperial decree he was appointed Specially Advanced (Tejin), Acting Director of the Court of State Ceremonial, with the title Tripiṭaka Master Da Guangzhi (Great Broad Wisdom) added. In the third year of the Dali era, he established a bodhimanda at Xingshan Temple; an imperial decree bestowed twelve embroidered silk mattresses, thirty-two embroidered silk banners, and two weeks of vegetarian rations for the monks of the bodhimanda. An edict directed the close ministers and all commissioners of the Imperial Guards to enter for initiation. In the winter of the fourth year, Amoghavajra memorialized that Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva be placed as the senior seat in all dining halls throughout the realm, and an imperial decree granted this; this was because he was dissatisfied that Kauṇḍinya was the first to be converted in the Hīnayāna teachings. In the summer of the fifth year, an imperial decree requested Amoghavajra to go to Mount Wutai to cultivate merit; at that time, a comet appeared. When the ritual service ended, the comet also disappeared. In the autumn, Amoghavajra returned from Wutai; the emperor dispatched palace envoys outside the city to welcome him in, bestowing a 'Lion Steed' with imperial saddle and bridle, and provided traveling tents and feast supplies along the route.

1.48

On the second day of the tenth month in the sixth year, on the emperor's birthday, he submitted a memorial presenting the scriptures he had translated, which read: 'From my youth I attended upon my late master, the Tripiṭaka Master, for fourteen years, receiving the yoga teachings. I further traveled to the five Indias to seek what had not yet been conferred, along with various scriptures and treatises, totaling more than five hundred texts, returning to the imperial capital in the fifth year of the Tianbao era. The Retired Emperor issued an edict summoning me to the palace to establish an initiation bodhimanda, and permitted all the Sanskrit scriptures I brought to be translated. Emperor Suzong established homa and initiation rites within the palace. I repeatedly received the decrees of the two sagely sovereigns ordering me to assemble the Sanskrit texts brought from foreign lands by earlier generations, repairing those whose binding cords had detached and translating those not yet translated. Your Majesty reverently complies with the bequeathed wishes, again having them translated and transmitted to benefit and deliver all beings. From the Tianbao era up to the present sixth year of the Dali era, totaling over one hundred and twenty fascicles in seventy-seven works, together with a catalogue and the names of the monastics and laymen who served as scribes and in other roles, along with an abridged presentation of the ritual procedures for intonation and recitation, their transcription is now complete. Encountering your birthday festival, I respectfully present them.' An imperial decree circulated them inside and outside the court, and incorporated them into the *Catalogue of All Scriptures*. Li Xiancheng proclaimed an imperial decree bestowing eight hundred bolts of brocade and variegated silk upon Amoghavajra, and thirty bolts each to the ten great virtuous monks who assisted in the translation. The śramaṇa Qianzhen submitted a memorial of gratitude. The monastic and lay disciples were also bestowed items according to their ranks.

1.49

Furthermore, because there had been no rain in the capital throughout spring and summer, an imperial edict summoned Amoghavajra to pray [for rain]: "If it rains within three days, it will be the monk's Dharma-power; if torrential rain falls after three days have passed, it will not be Dharma-power." Amoghavajra received the edict and erected an altar; on the second day, a heavy downpour brought an abundant soaking. To reward his merit, the emperor bestowed a purple silk robe and a hundred bolts of patterned multicolored silk, seven sets of robes for his disciples, and hosted a feast for a thousand monks. Amoghavajra submitted a memorial requesting the construction of a Mañjuśrī Pavilion, and the edict granted his petition. The Noble Consort, the Prince of Han, and Princess Huayang jointly completed it, donating approximately thirty million cash from the imperial treasury. He also translated the Scripture of the Garuḍa King; imperial edicts and bestowed gifts succeeded one another, crisscrossing the roadways.

1.50

When it came to the ninth year [of Dali], from spring until summer, he propagated the wondrous Dharma and admonished and exhorted his disciples. Whenever he spoke of the Vows and Practices of Samantabhadra and the Scripture on the Sprouting of Boundless Dharma Gates, he urged them to recite and uphold them, sighing in admiration repeatedly. To those who had previously received the Dharma, he specifically instructed them to set their minds on contemplating the bodhicitta and the great seal of the tutelary deity, and through direct exposition of the syllable *A* to comprehend that all phenomena are unborn and realize the body of great awakening, as clear as pointing to the palm of one's hand, earnestly entrusting this to them again and again. One night, he instructed his disciple Zhao Qian: "Bring pen and inkstone; I shall briefly outline the ritual procedures for nirvāṇa and cremation to pass down to future generations, so that they may send me off according to this." Qian bowed his head and thrice requested: "We humbly pray that out of compassion you will remain long in the world. Otherwise, upon what shall sentient beings rely?" Amoghavajra merely smiled. Soon after, he manifested illness and submitted a memorial taking his leave. The emperor dispatched an envoy to express solicitous regard, bestowed medicines, advanced him to Specially Promoted with the Same Dignity as the Three Excellencies Opening an Office, enfeoffed him as Duke of the State of Su with a fief of three thousand households; [Amoghavajra] firmly declined, but it was not granted. Amoghavajra was quite displeased and said: "The holy host solemnly stretches forth their hands to comfort me; when the waxing moon is full, I shall pass away. How can I, at the end of life, further purloin titles and ranks?" He then presented, as parting gifts via the palace envoy Li Xiancheng, the five-pronged vajra bell and scepter transmitted by his former teacher, along with a silver dish, bodhi seeds, and crystal rosary beads. On the fifteenth day of the sixth month, having bathed in scented water, he lay reclining with his head to the east, looking north toward the palace court, and entered quiescence while in the samādhi of the Great Seal Body. He lived for seventy years, with a saṅgha age of fifty.

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宋高僧傳 — 贊寧, Classical Chinese