宋高僧傳 3.30

3.30

Shi Wukong was a native of Yunyang in Jingzhao; his secular surname was Che, and he was a remote descendant of the Tuoba of the Later Wei. Endowed by nature with intelligence and keen perception, he aspired to the classic canons; his reputation for filial piety and fraternal respect was renowned throughout his home village. It happened that Emperor Xuanzong's virtue extended to distant regions, and the country of Jibin wished to attach itself to the Great Tang, sending the great chieftain Sabao Dagan together with the Tripiṭaka master Śarīravarma to present themselves at the imperial palace in the ninth year of the Tianbao reign period (750), requesting that an envoy make an inspection tour. In the following year, the palace envoy Zhang Taoguang was imperially commissioned, leading more than forty diplomatic mission officers, travelling officials, and attendant scribes to march westward. At that time, Wukong had not yet left secular life; his secular name was Fengchao, and he held the post of Biejiang in the Simen Garrison of Jingzhou in the Left Guard, ordered to accompany the imperial envoy along the Anxi route. In the twelfth year (753), they reached the country of Gandhāra, the eastern capital city of Jibin, whose king received the Tang envoy with courtesy. When the envoy returned, Wukong fell gravely ill and remained in Gandhāra. During his illness, he made a vow that upon recovery he would enter the monastic life. Thereupon he placed himself under Śarīravarma and shaved his head, receiving the monastic name Dharmadhātu, which in Chinese means Fajie (Dharma Realm); this was in the second year of the Zhide reign period (757) of Emperor Suzong. Upon reaching the age of twenty-nine, he received upasampadā in the country of Kaśmīra, with Wenshushinieti (Mañjuśrīśānti) serving as his preceptor (upādhyāya), Wubuxiantidi (Upasānti) as his karman ācārya, and Tuoliweidi as his instructor. At the Mengdi Temple, he recited the śrāvaka precepts and studied the fundamental monastic regulations. Indeed, the countries of Northern India all adhered to the Sarvāstivāda school. Afterward, he traveled and made pilgrimages for several years, paying homage everywhere to the eight stupas. Because he longed for his sovereign and parents, he consulted his root master, Śarīravarma, and only after asking three times was he granted permission. Śarīravarma personally handed him Sanskrit manuscripts of three scriptures—the Daśabhūmika, the Pariṇāmacakra, and the Daśabala—bound in a single case, together with a Buddha-tooth relic to present as parting gifts. Wukong traveled along the northern route and reached the country of Tokhāra; among the fifty-seven barbarian regions there was a walled city called the country of Khottal, to the east of which lay a small sea. As Wukong reached its southern shore, the earth suddenly shook, dense dark clouds brought torrential rain, thunder struck, and hail flew about. He then fled to take shelter among the roots of a great tree, where a group of merchants had also gathered. The caravan leader addressed the crowd, saying, "Who is carrying a Buddha relic or an extraordinary, rare treasure? If not for that, why would the dragon deity be so enraged? If there is any such thing, cast it into the sea so that the people will not be terrified. If anyone conceals it, he will bring calamity upon himself." For the sake of benefiting the Eastern Xia, Wukong secretly prayed to the dragon deity to pardon his transgression. From the hour of the rabbit to the hour of the monkey, the rain and hail finally cleared. Returning as far as Kucha, he stayed at Lianhua Temple, where he met the Tripiṭaka master Mutitixianyu, who was skilled in translation. Wukong therefore took out the manuscript of the Daśabala-sūtra and requested that he translate it. Soon after, he reached Beiting, where the Grand Commissioner again ordered Wukong to produce his Sanskrit leaves; with the Khotanese Tripiṭaka master Jiefa serving as chief translator, Wukong verified the Sanskrit text and interpreted the spoken language, translating them into the Daśabhūmika and Pariṇāmacakra scriptures. Once the work was completed, he accompanied the palace envoy Duan Mingxiu to arrive at the capital in the fifth year of the Zhenyuan reign period, a jisi year (789), where an imperial edict ordered him to be accommodated in the Yaolongmen Imperial Envoy Compound. He presented the Buddha-tooth relic and the scripture texts to the throne; an imperial command directed the Left Shence Army to copy them, and the Commissioner of Merit and Virtue Dou Wenchang, having completed the copying, submitted them to the Emperor. An edict appointed Wukong as General of Resolute Might (Zhuangwu Jiangjun) and Probationary Chamberlain for Ceremonials (Shi Taichangqing). He then returned to Zhangjing Temple. Next, he returned to Yunyang to inquire after his parents, but the trees over their graves were already a span in circumference. His travels back and forth had spanned forty years, and by that time he was over sixty. The scriptures he translated amounted to three texts in eleven fascicles. The Great Virtuous translator Yuanzhao compiled them all into the Tripiṭaka in his Continuation of the Kaiyuan Record and furthermore recorded Wukong's conduct and deeds.