宋高僧傳 2.56

2.56

Shi Divākara, whose Chinese name means ‘Sun-Radiance’, was a native of Central India. He had a penetrating understanding of the eight piṭakas and comprehensive knowledge of the five sciences. His observance of the precepts was lofty and extraordinary, his scholarly pursuits diligent and untiring, and he was especially adept in incantations. He came to travel in this country during the reign of the Heavenly Emperor [Gaozong]. In the fifth month of the fourth year of the Yifeng era [679], he submitted a memorial requesting permission to translate the scripture bundles he had brought. Following the precedent of Xuanzang, he was accommodated in a separate cloister of a great monastery, and three to five eminent monks were assigned to assist him in the translation. Through to the end of Empress Wu’s Chuigong era, at the Eastern and Western Taiyuan Temples of both capitals (the Western Taiyuan Temple was later renamed the Western Chongfu Temple, and the Eastern Taiyuan Temple was later renamed the Great Fuxian Temple) and the Guangfu Temple in the Western Capital, he translated eighteen works in all, including the Mahāyāna-vijñāna-prakāśa-sūtra and the Mahāyāna-pañcaskandhaka-śāstra. The śramaṇas Zhantuoprajñā and Prajñādeva translated the spoken words, and the śramaṇa Huizhi verified the Sanskrit texts. An imperial decree commanded various celebrated and virtuous monks to assist in this dissemination of the Dharma: the śramaṇas Daocheng, Baochen, Jiashang, Woncheuk, Lingbian, Mingxun, and Huaidu verified the meaning, while the śramaṇas Sixuan and Fuli composed the text and served as scribes. The Heavenly Empress personally composed elegant prose to crown the head of the translations as a preface. Divākara had previously translated the Uṣṇīṣa-sūtra together with Buddhapālita; he had a deep appreciation of the Chinese language and was skilled at conveying the Buddha’s intent. Whenever new scriptures were presented [to the throne], imperial gifts and rewards were lavish. Later, he died in the small translation chamber at the age of seventy-five. By imperial order of the Heavenly Empress, he was buried at Mount Xiang at Longmen in Luoyang, where his stūpa still stands.