華嚴經傳記 4.22

4.22

師子國長季沙門。釋迦彌多羅者。第三果人也。此土云能友。麟德之初。來儀震旦。高宗天皇。甚所尊重。請在蓬萊宮。與長年真人懷化大將軍。同處禁中。歲餘供養。多羅請尋聖迹。遍歷名山。乃求往代州清涼山。禮敬文殊師利。甞至京師西太原寺。時屬諸僧。將轉讀華嚴妙典。乃命譯語問云。此是何經。答是華嚴。多羅肅然改容曰。不知此處亦有是經耶。合掌歡喜。讚歎久之而言曰。此大方廣功德難思。西國相傳。有人以水盥掌。將讀此經。水之所霑灑。及虫蟻。因此捨命後得生天。何況受持讀誦。蓋不思之福也。

The elder śramaṇa Śākyamitra of the country of Siṃhala was an adept of the third fruit, translated in this land as "Able Friend." At the beginning of the Linde era, he came to grace China. Emperor Gaozong revered him exceedingly, inviting him to stay in the Penglai Palace and dwell within the imperial precincts together with the Long-Lived Daoist Master and the Grand General Huaihua, making offerings to him for over a year. Mitra requested permission to seek sacred traces and travel widely to famous mountains, asking to go to Mount Qingliang in Daizhou to pay homage to Mañjuśrī. He once arrived at the West Taiyuansi in the capital. At that time, the monks were about to chant and read the wondrous scripture of the Avataṃsaka. He then ordered an interpreter to ask, "What sūtra is this?" They answered, "It is the Avataṃsaka." Mitra solemnized his expression and said, "I did not know that this place also possessed this sūtra!" Joining his palms in joy, he praised it for a long time and said, "The merit of this Great Expansive Sūtra is difficult to conceive. In the Western Countries it is traditionally told that a person washed his palms with water when preparing to read this sūtra; the water that splashed upon insects and ants caused them, after relinquishing their lives, to be reborn in heaven. How much more so for upholding, reading, and reciting it! Truly, it brings inconceivable blessing."