法華傳記 10.20

10.20

逍遙園記云。外國法師鳩摩羅什。弘始七年冬。譯新法華竟。一部七卷二十八品。明年春正月。本齊挍定。造金字經。七寶以為莊嚴。光色映園。道俗如市。瞻仰禮拜。感夢云。闕一塵一劫四字。更勘梵本如所夢。秦王歡喜曰。什師深得經旨。良會聖心。先所寫者。闕此四字。尋經綴之。王謂什云。朕如法供養經卷。法式何等。什曰。若欲如說供養經卷。須依經說。略備十種供具。一華二香三瓔珞四抹香五塗香六燒香七幡蓋八衣服九妓樂十合掌也。王曰。未審。何等香華。什曰。香者海岸香麝香欝金香蘇合香等。用淨潔香。去不淨香。非抹為微塵類。華者水陸時華。如蓮華等類。若無時華。以七寶成。擬曼陀羅等四華及時妙華。外國用優鉢羅華蘇摩那華等。瓔珞者用珠寶成。擬如意珠瓔珞摩尼珠瓔珞等。外國用一百雜寶瓔珞。抹香者抹檀木根莖等。若和水以為塗香。擬沈水等。若合火為燒香擬薰。幡蓋者用淨潔疊。外國用藕糸等絕服。擬天妙衣。妓樂者用鼓簫笛琴箜篌等。合掌者以敬心為供。用蓮華合掌。皆用淨潔。寄事悟理。王曰。其果報一何。什曰。果報有遠近。近依局情不關善體。遠得常住佛果。王曰。其局情近果及遠妙果一何。什曰。如此供養果報微妙。諸佛所歎。且昔佛在世時。有旃檀香口比丘。九十一劫。在人中天上。身諸毛孔。出旃檀香。口中常出優鉢羅華香。最後值佛。得阿羅漢。三明六通。具八解脫。此毘婆尸佛滅後。以香供塔所得果報。迦毘羅城一百童子。昔同在一邑。作伎樂持香華。供養佛塔。九十一劫不墮惡道。同受快樂。值佛盡苦。華天昔以野澤草華。用散眾僧。所生之處。常雨天華。威德比丘。以萎華散塔上。亦復如是。外國有一婆羅門。造三逆殺父母阿羅漢也。後生悔心。以香華供養經卷。罪垢微薄。以餘業故。雖墮地獄。猛火如溫水目謂溫泉。入中快樂。身有異香。罪人聞之。得生天上。善化王以幡蓋覆支佛廟。感輪王業。華蓋比丘。以草蓋覆塔。九十一劫。華蓋覆護其身。妙音以伎樂供佛。乃至過去諸佛。皆成佛道。初發心時。一華一香等。以供養佛。如賢劫千佛中。執華如來。從悅意佛。初發心時。以好衣名香。貢上其佛。自致正覺。善思如來。從普觀佛。初發道心。採一蓮華。貢上彼佛。自致正覺。賢重如來。從大清喜佛。奉上雜香。自致正覺。閑靜如來。從無上佛。初發心時。奉上瓔珞。自致正覺。如此遠近所得果報。不可稱記。何況於法華。而為供養。以佛智慧。不得其功德邊。王聞此說。心開意解。調供具嚴淨道路。散華灑水。王臣大眾懸列大道。金匣收經。安置案上。王自頂戴。三千比丘。唱讚前遵。安詳修行。入於大寺。以十種供。而供養之。眾星來下乘雲在空。見者蓋多。五色雲蓋靉靆。垂覆逍遙園上。見未曾有。于時白月十五日。入夜秦王后妃王母婇女。並在翻經館傍淨室中。王自夢。逍遙園地。如廣博嚴淨土。文殊在高開題目。菩薩大眾。從九方來。所設供具。遍於九方。以事啟什。什曰。此是陛下信所致。法華大教緣在茲國。滅後之中。此感難有。明日各散。什歎曰。於閻浮提。第三佛事矣（記文煩廣之取意而出耳）。

The Records of the Xiaoyao Garden says: In the foreign lands' Dharma master Kumārajīva's winter of the seventh year of Hongshi, the translation of the new Lotus Sūtra was completed, in one set of seven fascicles and twenty-eight chapters. In the spring of the following year, the first month, the copy was collated and finalized; they produced a golden-lettered sūtra, adorning it with the seven precious jewels. Its radiant colors shone upon the garden; monks and layfolk crowded like a marketplace, looking up with reverence and prostrating. An inspired dream said: 'It lacks the four characters "one dust particle, one kalpa" [一塵一劫].' When they re-examined the Sanskrit manuscript, it was just as in the dream. The king of Qin rejoiced and said: 'Master Jīva has profoundly grasped the import of the sūtra, truly matching the holy mind. What was previously copied lacked these four characters; let them be sought in the sūtra and inserted.' The king said to Jīva: 'If I am to make offerings to the sūtra scroll in accordance with the Dharma, what are the ritual forms?' Jīva said: 'If you wish to make offerings to the sūtra scroll as spoken [in the text], you must rely on what the sūtra says, summarily preparing the ten kinds of offering utensils: first, flowers; second, incense; third, necklaces; fourth, powdered incense; fifth, ointment incense; sixth, burning incense; seventh, banners and canopies; eighth, garments; ninth, music; and tenth, joining the palms.' The king said: 'I do not yet know what kind of incense and flowers.' Jīva said: 'As for incense, there are seashore incense, musk, saffron, storax, and the like; use pure and clean incense, discarding impure incense, not ground down to microfine dust. As for flowers, there are seasonal flowers of water and land, like the lotuses and their kind; if there are no seasonal flowers, fashion them of the seven precious jewels, imitating the four flowers such as the māndārava, as well as seasonal wondrous flowers; in foreign lands they use utpala flowers, sumanā flowers, and the like. As for necklaces, make them of pearls and jewels, imitating the cintāmaṇi pearl necklaces, maṇi pearl necklaces, and the like; in foreign lands they use necklaces of a hundred assorted jewels. As for powdered incense, powder the roots, stems, and parts of sandalwood; if mixed with water it becomes ointment incense, imitating aloeswood and the like; if combined with fire it becomes burning incense, meant for perfuming. As for banners and canopies, use pure, fine fabrics; in foreign lands they use lotus-fiber and other peerless garments, imitating wondrous heavenly robes. As for music, use drums, vertical and horizontal flutes, zithers, harps, and the like. As for joining the palms, take a reverent mind as the offering, using the lotus-bud handclasp. All must be pure and clean, relying on physical forms to awaken to the principle.' The king said: 'What is its retributive reward?' Jīva said: 'The retributive rewards are distant or near. The near ones are based on limited feelings and do not pertain to the good essence; the distant ones obtain the permanent Buddha fruit.' The king said: 'What are the near fruits of limited feelings and the distant wondrous fruits?' Jīva said: 'The retributive rewards of such offerings are subtle and wondrous, praised by all Buddhas. Furthermore, formerly when the Buddha was in the world, there was a monk whose mouth smelled of sandalwood incense; for ninety-one kalpas, among humans and in the heavens, sandalwood fragrance issued from all the pores of his body, and an utpala flower fragrance constantly came from his mouth. At last he met a Buddha, attained arhatship, the three knowledges, the six abhijñās, and was complete in the eight liberations. This was the retributive reward he obtained after the parinirvāṇa of Vipaśyin Buddha from offering incense to a stupa. In the city of Kapilavastu, a hundred youths were formerly together in one village; they made music and held incense and flowers to make offerings to a Buddha stupa; for ninety-one kalpas they did not fall into the evil destinies, shared in happiness together, and upon meeting the Buddha brought an end to suffering. The god Huatian formerly scattered wild marsh flowers over the Sangha; wherever he was born, heavenly flowers constantly rained down. The monk Weide scattered wilted flowers over a stupa, and it was also like this. In a foreign land there was a brahman who committed the three rebellious acts, killing his father, mother, and an arhat. Later, generating remorse, he offered incense and flowers to a sūtra scroll; his defilements of sin were lessened and reduced, yet because of remaining karma, although he fell into hell, the fierce fire was like warm water, termed a hot spring, and entering into it he felt bliss, his body possessing an unusual fragrance; when the sinners smelled it, they obtained rebirth in heaven. King Śāntikara covered a pratyekabuddha shrine with banners and canopies, which resonated in the karma of a wheel-turning king. The monk Huagai covered a stupa with a canopy of grass; for ninety-one kalpas, a canopy of flowers covered and protected his body. Gadgadasvara offered music to the Buddha, and so on up to all the Buddhas of the past: all attained the Buddha path when, upon first resolving their minds, they offered a single flower, a single incense, and the like to the Buddha. For instance, among the thousand Buddhas of the Auspicious Kalpa, the Tathāgata Kusuma-dhara, at the time of first resolving his mind under Buddha Priyanandana, offered fine garments and famous incense to that Buddha, and of himself attained right awakening. The Tathāgata Sudhī, at the time of first resolving his mind on the path under Buddha Samantadarśin, plucked a single lotus flower and offered it to that Buddha, and of himself attained right awakening. The Tathāgata Bhadradatta, from Buddha Mahāviśuddhaprahāsa, offered various incenses, and of himself attained right awakening. The Tathāgata Śāntamukuṭa, under the Unsurpassed Buddha, at the time of first resolving his mind, offered necklaces, and of himself attained right awakening. The retributive rewards obtained thus, both near and distant, cannot be calculated or recorded; how much more so for making offerings to the Lotus Sūtra! Even with the Buddha's wisdom, one cannot reach the bounds of its merit.' When the king heard this exposition, his mind opened and his intent was resolved. He prepared the offering utensils, swept and purified the roadways, scattered flowers and sprinkled water. The king, ministers, and the great assembly lined the grand boulevard; they collected the sūtra in a golden box and placed it on a table. The king carried it upon his own head. Three thousand monks chanted praises and walked ahead; moving serenely in practice, they entered the great monastery and made offerings with the ten kinds of offerings. Stars descended and rode the clouds in the sky; those who saw this were very many. Five-colored clouds formed a dense canopy, hanging over and covering the Xiaoyao Garden, a sight never seen before. At that time, it was the fifteenth day of the bright half of the month; entering the night, the Queen of Qin, the consorts, the Queen Mother, and the court ladies were all in the pure room beside the translation hall. The king himself dreamed that the grounds of the Xiaoyao Garden were like a vast, pure land; Mañjuśrī was on high explaining the title, and the assemblies of bodhisattvas came from the nine directions, the offering utensils they prepared filling the nine directions. He reported this matter to Jīva. Jīva said: 'This is brought about by Your Majesty's faith. The affinity for the great teaching of the Lotus Sūtra resides in this land; during the time after the parinirvāṇa, such a resonance is rare indeed.' The next day they each dispersed. Jīva sighed and said: 'In Jambudvīpa, this is the third Buddha-activity!' (The original text is verbose and extensive; I have only extracted the gist and presented it).