English (machine translation)
Translation of 華嚴經傳記
- Language
- English
- Extent
- 150 passages, 36,372 words
- Text
- complete digital text
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- pramana-mt · Machine translation by Gemini 3.8 Flash (2026-10-21) of in.bauddha.taisho.2073 · Machine output without human authorship: no copyright is claimed (CC0 1.0). The original text keeps its own…
Contents
Text
1.1
Compiled by the monk and śramaṇa Fazang of Chongfusi in the capital.
1.2
Divisions and Classes
Concealment and Manifestation
Transmission and Translation
Branch Currents
Treatises and Commentaries
Expositions and Lectures
Chanting and Recitation
Recitation through Turning
Copying and Transcribing
Miscellaneous Accounts
1.3
Part One: Divisions and Classes
1.4
Upon examination, this sūtra is the dharmadhātu body-cloud of Vairocana Buddha, preached for the great bodhisattvas within the sāgaramudrā-samādhi in the Padmagarbha-alaṃkāra-lokadhātusamudra together with the holy assembly vast as the ocean, including Samantabhadra and others. Every single word and every single meaning, every single chapter and every single assembly, pervades the empty space of the dharmadhātu of the ten directions, each and every dust mote, the tip of every hair, and every land, exhausting the minute worlds of Indra's net and reaching the oceans of all kalpas through past and future, each thought-moment possessing boundless kalpas, constantly preached and universally preached without cessation. It is sustained solely by the power of inexhaustible dhāraṇī, not something that can be recorded with brush and ink. This is the wheel of the complete Dharma, a discourse matching the dharmadhātu. Yet, because the root is never separate from the traces, the location is placed among humans and devas, and the time is set during the second seven [days]. Because the traces are never separate from the root, the nine assemblies pervade the ten directions, and the second seven encompasses the ten time-periods. Because the root and traces are non-dual, the boundless is made bounded, and the bounded is boundless. As in this sūtra, the Samantamukha-sūtra held by the monk Sāgaramegha, with brushes heaped like Mount Sumeru and ink like the great ocean's waters, could not be exhausted in copying each chapter. Furthermore, as the Tripiṭaka Master Paramārtha said, records of the Western Regions state that Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna went to the Dragon Palace and saw three versions of this Avataṃsaka Great Acintya-vimokṣa Sūtra: the upper version contains verses in number like the dust motes of thirteen thousand great-thousand worlds and chapters in number like the dust motes of the four continents; the middle version contains 498,800 verses and 1,200 chapters; and the lower version contains 100,000 verses and 48 chapters. The upper and middle versions, as well as the Samantamukha-sūtra and others, cannot be sustained by ordinary mortal power and remain concealed and untransmitted. The lower version is seen circulating in India. This is because capacities and awakenings differ, so what is heard must vary accordingly. Therefore, Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra directly received the complete teaching; Vasubandhu and Nāgārjuna only glimpsed the leftover fish-traps. The lesser sages sat in the same assembly yet did not hear it; the great beings were in different realms yet awoke to it first. The concealment or manifestation of the holy teachings and the superiority or inferiority of capacities can certainly be known from this. Furthermore, because the Buddha's departure from the world is now distant and the retributive capacity of sentient beings is inferior, their physical strength, mindfulness, and wisdom have all diminished; with regard to this lower version, they lack the capacity to receive it in its entirety. Consequently, according to their capacity and interest, they copied and upheld it in parts. In some cases, the full 100,000 verses of the large version still remain; in some cases, it was 36,000 verses, as translated in the Jin dynasty; or over 40,000 verses, as translated in this Zhou dynasty; or its chapters and assemblies were divided into separate fascicles, as distinguished under the branch currents; or it gradually fell into oblivion and its title was no longer heard—all this is brought about by the capacity of vessels. It is also like the bright sun shining in the sky: the brightness has neither superiority nor inferiority, but clear eyes behold it completely, dazzled eyes see it faintly, and the blind see nothing at all. How could the sun not be brilliant? Here it is just the same: extensive or abridged depends on the vessel, while the root Dharma suffers no loss.
1.5
Part Two: Concealment and Manifestation
1.6
According to the Mañjuśrīparinirvāṇa Sūtra, four hundred and fifty years after the Buddha departed from the world, Mañjuśrī was still in the world. According to the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa, the various Mahāyāna sūtras were mostly compiled by Mañjuśrī; this sūtra was compiled by Mañjuśrī. Soon after the Buddha departed, the worthy and holy figures followed into concealment, and heterodox paths flourished competitively. Lacking vessels of the Mahāyāna, this sūtra was collected and kept in the palace of the Dragon King of the ocean; for over six hundred years it was not transmitted to the world. Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna entered the Dragon Palace, saw this deep storehouse daily, committed it to memory, brought it out and transmitted it, and because of this it circulated. The Kaihuang Sanbao Lu states: In the past, more than two thousand li southeast of Khotan, there was the kingdom of Cakoka. Its kings throughout successive generations revered and honored the Mahāyāna. Whenever eminent monks of various countries entered its borders, they were all tested: if they studied the Hīnayāna, they were dismissed and not permitted to stay; if they were followers of the Mahāyāna, they were invited to remain and receive offerings. Inside the royal palace itself were sūtras such as the Avataṃsaka, the Mahāprajñāpāramitā, and the Mahāsaṃnipāta, each consisting of 100,000 verses. The king personally received and upheld them, holding the key in his own hand, opening [the treasury] only to chant and read them, making offerings of incense and flowers. Furthermore, within the sanctuary, all kinds of adornments and diverse jewels were fully provided, with various banners hung and fruits of both in-season and out-of-season arranged, inviting the lesser kings to enter and pay homage. Moreover, about twenty li southeast of this kingdom, there was a very steep mountain. In it were kept twelve texts, including the Avataṃsaka, Mahāsaṃnipāta, Fangdeng, Ratnakūṭa, Laṅkāvatāra, Fangguang, Śāriputradhāraṇī, Huaju Dhāraṇī, Dousaluozang, and Mahāprajñāpāramitā Dayun, all in 100,000 verses. Handed down according to the state law, they were guarded and protected. There was an Eastern Jin śramaṇa named Zhi Faling, whose demeanor was noble and magnanimous, cherishing an aspiration to stand out far above the crowd, and who loved the Mahāyāna so much that he forgot sleep and food. Thereupon, packing provisions and leaning on his staff, risking his physical life, he sought diligently there and obtained the first portion of the Avataṃsaka in 36,000 verses, which he brought back here—this is what was translated in the Jin dynasty. Now, that which Khotan presented to the Great Zhou exceeds 40,000 verses. In the first assembly, regarding the Padmagarbha World spoken of, the old translation was deficient and abridged, leaving no way to explain it; now the text is complete and radiantly intelligible. Regarding the assembly on the ten concentrations, the old sūtra had questions without answers; in the current version, it is clearly and fully provided. For this reason, formerly there were seven locations and eight assemblies, but now there are seven locations and nine assemblies. Although it is not yet complete when compared to the 100,000 verses, the principles of the 40,000 verses are without omission. Furthermore, Nāgārjuna memorized the full version to bring it upward, while Faling obtained only half to bring it eastward; although the ordinary and the holy are not the same, in propagating the Dharma they were non-dual. Yet, because territories have centers and borders and wisdom has depths and shallows, across several tens of thousands of li, what is seen and heard has been widely separated and more than half is missing—how can one not be grieved? The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says that the Acintya Sūtra has 100,000 verses. The Mahāyānasaṃgraha says that there are 100,000 verses, named the Sūtra of One Hundred Thousand. The commentary explains that this refers to the 100,000 verses of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, which make up one hundred thousand. Furthermore, the Nirvāṇa Sūtra names this sūtra Zahua. However, 'one hundred thousand' takes the number to formulate the title; 'Zahua' relies on the characteristics to manifest the name. One who takes the number misses the source; one who relies on the characteristics leaves out its sovereign. 'Acintya' points directly to the fundamental source, advancing straight to its inner courtyard; 'Buddhāvataṃsaka' indicates the Dharma through the Person, fully detailing its profound import. Among the four names, the latter two are fitting.
1.7
Part Three: Transmission and Translation
1.8
Buddhabhadra of Daochangsi in the capital under the Jin. Divākara of the Western Temple of Weiguo under the Tang. Śikṣānanda of the Foshoujisi in the Divine Capital under the Great Zhou.
1.9
Buddhabhadra of Daochangsi in the Jin capital: In Chinese, this translates to 'Enlightened Worthy' (Juexian). His original clan name was Śākya; he was a native of Kapilavastu and a descendant of King Amṛtodana. His grandfather, Dharmadeva—which translates as Fatian—once traveled through India and consequently settled there. His father was Dharmasūrya, which translates as Fari. Buddhabhadra lost his father at the age of three and his mother at eight, and was raised by his maternal relatives. His grandfather's cousin, Kumāri, heard of his intelligence and took pity on his orphaned youth, so he brought him back and ordained him as a novice (śrāmaṇera). By the age of seventeen, together with several fellow students, he took up recitation and study as his vocation. Where the others would labor for an entire month, Buddhabhadra could master the material in a single day. His master sighed in admiration, saying, 'In a single day, [Buddha]bhadra rivals thirty men!' When he received the full precepts, he applied himself diligently to his studies, learned extensively from the various sūtras, and attained a comprehensive mastery of most of them. In his youth he was renowned for meditation (dhyāna) and monastic discipline (vinaya). He lived and traveled for years together with his fellow student Saṃghadatta. Although Saṃghadatta admired his talents and virtue, he had not yet plumbed their depth. Later, while Saṃghadatta was sitting in meditation behind closed doors in a secret chamber, he suddenly saw Buddhabhadra enter. Startled, he asked where he had come from. [Buddhabhadra] replied, 'I briefly ascended to Tuṣita to pay homage to Maitreya.' As soon as he had spoken, he vanished. Only then did Saṃghadatta realize he was a holy sage. Afterward, he repeatedly witnessed Buddhabhadra's miraculous transformations, and through utmost sincerity came to know that he had attained the fruit of non-returning (anāgāmin). [Buddhabhadra] always wished to travel abroad to propagate the teachings and observe different customs. At that time, the Qin monk Zhiyan arrived in Jibin and inquired among the monastic assembly of that country as to who might be able to spread the transformation to the Eastern Lands. Everyone said, 'There is Buddhabhadra, originally born in the city of Nagarahāra in India. His clan has preserved its lineage for generations, following the study of the Way. He is intelligent and extensively learned, and his attainment and practice are hard to fathom. Leaving home in his childhood, he had already mastered the sūtras and treatises. He received instruction from the Great Meditation Master Buddhadeva (Fotuo Daxian).' Buddhadeva was also in Jibin at the time; hearing of Zhiyan's search, he told Zhiyan, 'The one who can uphold the monastic assembly and proclaim the meditation methods is Buddhabhadra.' After Zhiyan pleaded earnestly with great persistence, Buddhabhadra silently consented. Thereupon he took leave of his master, packed provisions, and headed east. Traveling for three years, he endured the full cycle of cold and heat. There were towering crags and dense shade, with continuous freezing temperatures for a thousand li. At clear dawn they traversed rugged and perilous ridges; when the hidden sun signaled dusk, they slept pillowed upon ice and snow. Over hanging ladders and suspended rock steps, they stepped sideways along cliffs; clinging to ropes and hanging cables, they looked up to reach cloud-covered peaks. Beyond the ice and snow, the hardships of the journey were manifold. When their provisions ran out en route, they shared individual grains to sustain their meals. Relying on holy protection, they barely managed to cross safely. Having crossed the Pamir Mountains (Congling), they passed through some six kingdoms. The kings of these kingdoms, honoring his mission to transform distant lands, all joyfully provided provisions and offerings. Reaching Jiaozhi, they boarded a merchant vessel and sailed along the coast. Passing beneath an island, Buddhabhadra pointed to a mountain and said, 'We may anchor here.' The shipmaster replied, 'A passenger values daylight, and favorable winds are hard to come by; we cannot stop.' Having traveled for more than two hundred li, they suddenly encountered a contrary wind that blew the ship back to the previous island. The mariners all realized his supernatural ability and treated him as their master, relying entirely on him for when to advance and when to halt. Later they met a favorable wind, and the other vessels all set sail. Buddhabhadra said, 'You must not move.' The shipmaster therefore stayed behind. Soon after, those who set sail first were all overturned and destroyed. Later, in the middle of the night, he suddenly ordered all the ships to set sail together, but none were willing to follow. Buddhabhadra himself arose, hauled up the cable, and departed alone on a single vessel. Shortly after, pirates arrived, and those who remained behind were all plundered and harmed. Next, he arrived at Donglai Commandery in Qingzhou. Hearing that Kumārajīva was in Chang'an, he set out joyfully to meet him, arriving in the fourth month of the tenth year of the Hongshi era of the Qin (408 CE). Kumārajīva was greatly delighted. Together they discussed the characteristics of phenomena (dharmalakṣaṇa) and brought out profound subtleties, leading to much awakening and insight. Thereupon [Buddhabhadra] said to Kumārajīva, 'Your explanations do not surpass ordinary conception, yet you have attained such a high reputation—why is that?' Kumārajīva replied, 'It is merely because of my advanced age; how could it be worthy of praise?' Whenever Kumārajīva had doubtful points, he would invariably discuss and resolve them with him. Monks such as Daocai, Tanchang, Sengrui, and Huiguan—six hundred persons in all—received meditation instructions together. What he taught was nothing other than the true essentials. In the more than four hundred years since the transmission of the bequeathed Dharma to the east, no deeper elucidation had ever matched this. In expressing principles and analyzing phenomena, he always sought the precise mean, never carelessly accommodating contemporary trends, nor seeking to best others in argument. What he had attained, he expounded clearly without omission; what he did not know, he left aside for the time being. The Qin Crown Prince Hong wished to hear Buddhabhadra preach the Dharma, so he summoned the monastic assembly to enter the Eastern Palace to engage in debate. Kumārajīva and Buddhabhadra exchanged arguments back and forth multiple times; these are too extensive to record here. The Qin ruler Yao Xing was wholeheartedly devoted to the Buddha-Dharma; more than three thousand monks were accommodated in the palace precincts, actively engaging in worldly affairs. Only Buddhabhadra maintained stillness, not conforming to the multitude. Later he told his disciples, 'Yesterday I saw five ships setting sail together from my homeland.' About a year later, foreign ships arrived, and upon inquiring, they turned out to be the five ships from India he had seen earlier. When the entire region heard of this, people competed to come and pay him homage and make offerings. Whatever was presented to him, he refused to accept. He carried his alms bowl to beg for food without discriminating between the noble and the humble. Once, together with his disciple Huiguan, he went begging for food in succession and arrived at the residence of Yuan Bao of Chen Commandery. Yuan Bao was usually lacking in respect and faith and treated them very poorly. Before [Buddhabhadra] was full, he prepared to take his leave. Yuan Bao said, 'You seem not to have had enough; please stay a little longer.' Buddhabhadra said, 'The patron's giving heart is limited, and so what you prepared is already exhausted.' Yuan Bao immediately called his attendants to add more rice, but the rice was indeed finished. Yuan Bao was deeply ashamed. Afterward, he asked Huiguan, 'What kind of man is this monk?' Huiguan said, 'The measure of his virtue is lofty and vast, beyond the fathoming of ordinary people.' Yuan Bao sighed in profound wonder. Buddhabhadra's deportment was plain and unadorned, differing from Chinese customs, yet his aspirations and spirit were pure and distant, possessing an elegant and profound tenor. The Dharma Master Sengbi wrote in a letter to the monk Baocai: 'The Meditation Master of the Douchang [Daochang] Monastery possesses a truly grand mind; he is truly a lord of India—what an extraordinary man of refined spirit!' By the fourteenth year of the Yixi era (418 CE), Meng Yi, the Governor of Wujun, and Chu Shudu, General of the Right Guards, invited Buddhabhadra to translate this sūtra. Holding the Sanskrit text in his hands, together with over a hundred monks including the monks Faye and Huiyan, he translated it at Daochangsi. They established the text's principles, reconciled the dialect, and marvelously captured the meaning of the sūtra; thus Daochangsi still has an Avataṃsaka Hall to this day. The propagation of this great teaching was indeed due to his efforts. When the sūtra was first being translated, two youths in green garments would regularly emerge from the pond in front of the hall, offering incense and flowers, which the entire assembly witnessed. There were also deities guarding them on both sides. Buddhabhadra passed away in the sixth year of the Yuanjia era (429 CE) at the age of seventy-one. With three fingers flexed on his hand, he clearly demonstrated that he had attained the fruit of anāgāmin.
1.10
The Tripiṭaka Master Divākara of Central India—translated into Chinese as Rizhao (Sun-illumining)—belonged to the brāhmaṇa caste. He left home in his youth and resided at the Mahābodhi and Nālandā monasteries. The Tripiṭaka Master was gentle and refined in deportment, with brilliant and exceptional natural wit. Carrying his satchel of scrolls, he followed masters, studying meticulously for many years. His capacity was like carved jade, and his learning surpassed his teachers. Having learned that the monk Xuanzang had returned east after propagating the teaching, he longed for the profound gateway [of the Dharma] and turned his thoughts toward China (Zhendan). Following the prevailing wind toward the sagely reign, he came holding his monk's staff to manifest his presence, propagating the Supreme Vehicle to aid in glorifying the imperial transformation. In the initial years of the Yonglong era (ca. 680 CE), he arrived at the capital. Emperor Gaozong promoted and manifested the Buddhist fold, successfully elevating the bequeathed legacy. He decreed that eminent dragons and elephants among the black-robed sangha, along with the foremost talents of the imperial city—the Vinaya Master Daocheng, the Dharma Master Baochen, and other Ten Great Virtues—should translate sūtras and treatises at the Western Monastery of Weiguo. At that time, Dharma Master Xianshou, whose primary focus had been the Avataṃsaka, frequently lamented that this sūtra was incomplete and lacked portions. He went to consult [Divākara], who said, 'I have brought the text of the Eighth Assembly and have now arrived here with it.' Xianshou thereupon compared and collated it with the Tripiṭaka Master, and they obtained the passages on Sudhana's more than ten spiritual friends, including Devendraraśmi (Tianzhuguang). They requested that the new text be translated to make up for the old deficiency. The monk Fuli held the brush, and the monk Huizhi translated the speech. They further translated more than ten treatises and sūtras, including the Ghanavyūha Sūtra, totaling twenty-four fascicles, all accompanied by imperial prefaces composed by the Empress Dowager, who added profound praise. These are currently circulating in the world. When the Tripiṭaka Master had departed his homeland, his mother was still alive; never forgetting the debt of her nurturing care, he constantly thought of repaying her maternal love. He thereupon went to the Divine Capital (Shendu) and presented a memorial to the imperial court, begging to return to his home country. At first this was not granted, but after he firmly requested it two and three times, an edict was issued granting permission. The venerable masters of the capital made a crimson silk jeweled kāṣāya and attached it as an offering to the image beneath the Bodhi Tree; an edict also bestowed a divine bell, and they requested banners, images, and offering vessels to accompany his journey. On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the third year of the Chuigong era (687 CE), although his body was quite healthy, he told his disciples, 'I must pass away.' Lying on his right side, he passed away without illness at the Eastern Monastery of Weiguo in the Divine Capital. Several tens of thousands of people gathered for his funeral. When the Sagely Mother (Empress Wu) heard of it, she grieved deeply and donated a thousand bolts of silk to cover the funeral expenses. Clerics and laypeople mourned him as if having lost their own kin. Carried on a litter amidst incense and flowers, he was interred on the sunny southern slope of Mount Longmen, to the left of the Yi River. His disciples refurbished the spirit shrine, embellished multi-storied pavilions, and built a monastic cell beside it, sweeping and making offerings there. Later, following a memorial submitted by the King of Liang, a saṅghārāma was established there, and by imperial decree its name was registered as Xiangshansi (Fragrant Mountain Monastery). Its towering buildings scraped the Milky Way, and its soaring pavilions braved the clouds; it had seven niches of stone images and an octagonal pagoda. The Emperor visited in person and personally inscribed poems and praises there.
1.11
Śramaṇa Śikṣānanda (translated into the Tang language as Xijue, 'Joyful Awakening') of Foshouji Monastery in the Divine Capital of the Great Zhou was a native of Khotan. His wisdom was broad and vast, and his intention was to benefit living beings. He was skilled in both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, as well as the treatises of heterodox schools. The Empress Dowager [Wu Zetian] brightly exalted the Sun of the Buddha and deeply revered the Mahāyāna. Because the old translation of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra had incomplete assemblies and locations, and hearing from afar that such a Sanskrit text existed in Khotan, she dispatched envoys to seek it out and request translators. Śikṣānanda and the sūtra arrived together at the imperial palace. In the first year of Zhengsheng (yiwei [695 CE]), Empress Wu had the Avataṃsaka Sūtra translated at Biankong Monastery within the Eastern Capital's imperial precinct. The Empress attended the Dharma seat in person, composed a brilliant preface, and wielding her divine brush, personally inscribed the titles of the chapters. The South Indian śramaṇa Bodhiruci and the śramaṇa Yijing jointly recited the Sanskrit text. Later, it was entrusted to śramaṇas Fulie, Fazang, and others, who carried on the translation at Foshouji Monastery until the work was completed in the second year of Shengli (jihai [699 CE]). Furthermore, in the first year of Jiushi (gengzi [700 CE]), inside the Sanyang Palace, he translated the Mahāyāna Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra; and at Qingchan Monastery in the Western Capital and Foshouji Monastery in the Eastern Capital, he translated sūtras such as the Mañjuśrī-vyākaraṇa Sūtra, translating in all nineteen works before and after. The śramaṇas Polun, Xuanzhi, and others recorded the brush transcription; the śramaṇa Fulie refined the text; the śramaṇas Fabao, Hongjing, and others verified the meaning; and Jia Yingfu, Director of the Heir Apparent's Household, supervised the translation bureau. In the fourth year [of Chang'an, 704 CE], because his mother was elderly, Śikṣānanda requested to return home to attend to her. He submitted memorials twice before obtaining permission. An imperial decree ordered Censor Cui Siguang to escort him to Khotan. Later, when Emperor Zhongzong ascended the dragon throne, renewing the brilliance of the Buddha's sun, he issued an imperial decree summoning him once more, whereupon he arrived back at the imperial capital. In the second year of Jinglong [708 CE], he reached this land. The Emperor set aside his imperial majesty and personally welcomed him outside the Kaiyuan Gate. The monks of the capital prepared banners and flags, lining the route to guide him, and adorned a blue elephant for him to ride into the city. He was ordered to reside at the Great Jianfu Monastery. Before finding leisure to engage in translation, he fell into a lingering illness. On the twelfth day of the tenth month in the first year of Jingyun [710 CE], lying on his right side with feet folded, he passed away at the Great Jianfu Monastery at the age of fifty-nine. The monastic community wept, lamenting the sudden collapse of the pillar of the Dharma; the laity wailed, grieving that living beings had lost their guide. An imperial decree permitted him to be buried according to the customs of foreign countries. On the twelfth day of the eleventh month, he was cremated at the Ancient Dīpaṃkara Terrace outside the Kaiyuan Gate. When the fuel was consumed and the fire went out, his tongue remained intact: this was an auspicious omen of his propagation of the Dharma. On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, his native disciple Beizhi and the imperial envoy Geshu Daoyuan escorted his remaining relics and this miraculous tongue back to Khotan, where a stūpa was erected to make offerings. Later generations also erected a seven-storied stūpa at the place of his cremation.
1.12
Part 4: Collateral Streams
1.13
The Dousha jing, 1 fascicle (corresponding to the 'Names [of the Tathāgata]' chapter of the Avataṃsaka), translated by Lokakṣema, śramaṇa of the Yuezhi nation, under the Later Han;
The Pusa benye jing, 1 fascicle (also called Jingxing pin jing; it is the 'Pure Conduct' chapter), translated by Zhi Qian, śramaṇa and upasaka of the Yuezhi nation, under the Wu;
The Zhu pusa qiufo benye jing, 1 fascicle (also the 'Pure Conduct' chapter), translated by the upasaka Nie Daozhen under the Western Jin;
The Pusa benyuanxing pin jing, 1 fascicle (also the 'Pure Conduct' chapter), also a retranslation by Daozhen.
1.14
All the above sūtras derive from the second assembly of this sūtra.
1.15
The Pusa shizhu jing, 1 fascicle (the 'Ten Abodes' chapter), translated by Gītamitra, śramaṇa of the Western Regions (rendered as Hezhi in Jin), under the Eastern Jin;
The Pusa shizhu jing, 1 fascicle (the 'Ten Abodes' chapter), translated by the śramaṇa Dharmarakṣa under the Western Jin;
The Pusa shidaodi jing, 1 fascicle (resembling the 'Ten Abodes' chapter), translated by Nie Daozhen;
The Shizhu duanjie jing, 10 fascicles (not the 'Ten Abodes' chapter, nor the 'Ten Grounds' chapter; it was probably attached mistakenly due to having the same name), translated by the śramaṇa Zhu Fonian of Liangzhou under the Later Qin.
1.16
All the above sūtras derive from the third assembly of this sūtra.
1.17
The Shidi duan jing, 10 fascicles (the 'Ten Grounds' chapter), translated by the śramaṇa Zhu Fonian under the Later Qin;
The Shizhu jing, 12 fascicles (the 'Ten Grounds' chapter), translated by Nie Daozhen under the Western Jin;
The Pusa shidi jing, 1 fascicle (resembling the 'Ten Grounds' and 'Ten Abodes' chapters), translated by Dharmarakṣa under the Western Jin;
The Dafangguang shidi jing, 1 fascicle (resembling the 'Ten Grounds' and 'Ten Abodes' chapters), translated by Kikkāya, śramaṇa of the Western Regions;
The Shidi jing, 1 fascicle (resembling the 'Ten Grounds' and 'Ten Abodes' chapters), translated by Hezhi under the Eastern Jin;
The Shizhu jing, 4 fascicles (completely matching the 'Ten Grounds' chapter), translated by Kumārajīva and Buddhayasas, Tripiṭaka master of Jibin (rendered as Jueming in Qin), under the Later Qin;
The Jianbei yiqie zhide jing, 5 fascicles (completely matching the 'Ten Grounds' chapter), translated by Dharmarakṣa, śramaṇa of the Yuezhi nation (rendered as Fahu in Jin), under the Western Jin;
The Pusa chudi jing, 1 fascicle (resembling the First Ground), translated by the upasaka Nie Daozhen under the Western Jin.
1.18
All the above sūtras derive from the sixth assembly of this sūtra.
1.19
The Dengmu pusa jing, 2 fascicles (the 'Ten Concentrations' chapter), translated by Dharmarakṣa;
The Xian wubian fotu gongde jing, 1 fascicle (the 'Lifespan' chapter), translated by the Tripiṭaka Master Xuanzang under the Tang;
The Rulai xingxian jing, 4 fascicles (the 'Tathāgata-origination' chapter, lacking the verse recapitulations, and arranged directly after the 'Ten Patiences' chapter without a title), translated by Dharmarakṣa in the Yuankang era of the Western Jin;
The Rulai xingxian jing, 1 fascicle (using Dharmarakṣa's translation title, titled by its broad or abridged chapter), translated by the śramaṇa Bo Fazu under the Western Jin;
The Dafangguang rulai xingqi jing, 2 fascicles (the preface is the 'Names' chapter, while the main exposition is the 'Origination' chapter), translator lost;
The Dafangguang rulai xingqi weimizang jing, 2 fascicles (another translation of the same original as the above), produced during the Yuankang era of the Western Jin, translator not indicated.
1.20
All the above sūtras derive from the seventh assembly of this sūtra.
1.21
The Dushi jing, 6 fascicles (the 'Transcending the World' chapter), translated by Dharmarakṣa under the Western Jin;
The Puxian pusa danan erqian jing (the 'Transcending the World' chapter), translator lost, under the Wu dynasty.
1.22
All the above sūtras derive from the eighth assembly of this sūtra.
1.23
The Luomojia jing, 3 fascicles (the 'Entering the Dharmadhātu' chapter, incomplete in text), translated by the śramaṇa Shengxian, also called Master Jian, under the Western Qin;
There is also a text in 3 fascicles translated by An Faxian under the Wei, and another text in 1 fascicle translated by Dharmakṣema under the Northern Liang.
1.24
All the above sūtras derive from the ninth assembly of this sūtra.
1.25
The Dafangguang huayan ru rulai busiyi jingjie jing, 2 fascicles (sometimes without the words 'Dafangguang');
The above was translated by the Tripiṭaka Master Jñānagupta of North India (rendered as Zhide in Sui; sometimes said to have been co-translated with Dharmagupta) under the Sui;
The Duzhufo jingjie zhiyan jing, 1 fascicle, translated by the śramaṇa Saṅghapāla of Funan (rendered as Sengyang or Sengkai in Liang) under the Liang;
The Duzhufo jingjie zhiguangyan jing, 1 fascicle, translator lost;
The Dafangguang ru rulai busiyi jingjie jing, 2 fascicles, translated by the śramaṇa Śikṣānanda of Khotan under the Great Zhou.
1.26
The four sūtras above are different translations of the same text; all state that it was spoken in the Hall of Universal Light.
1.27
The Dafangguang fo huayan fo jingjie fen, 1 fascicle, translated by the Tripiṭaka Master Devaprajñā of Khotan in the Zaichu era of the Tang;
The Dafangguang fo jingjie jing, 1 fascicle, translated by the Tripiṭaka Master Śikṣānanda of Khotan under the Great Zhou.
1.28
The two sūtras above are different translations of the same text, spoken beneath the Bodhi tree.
1.29
The Dafangguang puxian suoshuo jing, 1 fascicle (explaining that unspeakable numbers of worlds exist within the Buddha's body), translated by Śikṣānanda under the Great Zhou;
The Dafangguang fo huayan xiuci fen jing, 1 fascicle, translated by Devaprajñā in the Zaichu era of the Tang.
1.30
Although the above sūtras on the Acintya-gocara and so forth are not found among the chapters of the current Avataṃsaka edition, when checked against the Sanskrit originals, they are all present. They are indeed separately circulated chapters and assemblies of this sūtra; because the Sanskrit chapters did not specify their chapter sequence, they were not compiled into the major corpus.
1.31
The Xinli ru yin famen jing, 5 fascicles, translated by the Tripiṭaka Master Dharmaruci of South India (rendered as Xifa in Wei) under the Northern Wei.
1.32
Concerning the sūtra above, former masters passed down the tradition that it was a separate chapter of the Avataṃsaka. However, scrutinising its phrasing, from beginning to end it bears no resemblance to the genre of the Avataṃsaka. A recent collation against the Sanskrit texts also found no such chapter. Later scholars are invited to investigate this closely.
1.33
Excerpts from the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, 15 fascicles.
1.34
The above work was compiled by the former Minister of Education of the Southern Qi, Xiao Ziliang, Prince Wenxuan of Jingling. Naturally brilliant and dwelling with his mind in the realm of truth, he set his gaze toward countless kalpas and advanced far, rising alone across a thousand years. In expounding the scriptural teachings and opening wide the works of merit, all proceeded from his spiritual core and was put into practice with his very life. In the eighth year of Yongming [490 CE], moved by a dream of the Eastern Heavenly King Tathāgata, he received unseen sacred transmission and first drafted the regulations for pure dwelling. In another dream, a monk calling himself Zhisheng guided him before the Buddha and taught him how to chant and recite, through which he transmitted the rules of scriptural chanting. Furthermore, leading the court worthies, he initiated the merit of the Three Assemblies of the Dragon Flower, and respectfully encouraged both scholars and commoners to receive the Threefold Precepts of the Bodhisattva; all these were accompanied by abundant auspicious omens, difficult to recount fully. In addition, reading the Dragon Palace [texts] and following the footprints of the elephant [of the Dharma], he aided the mysterious transformation and maintained the turning of the wheel of awakening. In total, he compiled excerpts of more than three hundred fascicles of the above scriptures, wrote more than one hundred fascicles of essays beneficial for propagation, and copied more than seventy fascicles of scriptures in his own hand. Among his writings were the Huayan yingluo jing in 2 fascicles, which marked out the techniques of world-transcendence, and the Huayan qiji in 1 fascicle, describing the purport of the Dharma gatherings. Both may serve as mirrors for future generations and indelible traces of excellence.
1.35
The Huayan shi'e jing, 1 fascicle.
1.36
In the Sanbao lu by Scholar Fei Changfang of the Sui, this work is noted as spurious. Fearing that later worthies might mistakenly rely on it, it is appended here.
1.37
Part 5: Treatises and Commentaries
1.38
Tripiṭaka Master Prabhākaramitra stated: 'According to tradition in the Western Countries, after Nāgārjuna brought the sūtra forth from the Dragon Palace, he composed the Great Acintya Treatise, which also consisted of one hundred thousand verses, to comment on this sūtra. Yet since unseen conditions had not matured, its essential import remains unknown.'
1.39
The Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā-śāstra, 16 fascicles, composed by Nāgārjuna, explaining the meaning of the 'Ten Grounds' chapter. Tripiṭaka Master Yaśas of the Later Qin recited its text by memory, and together with Master Kumārajīva translated it. It explains the 'Ten Grounds' chapter up through the second ground; because Yaśas could not recite the remainder, the explanation breaks off. Tradition holds that this treatise is a portion of the Great Acintya Treatise.
1.40
The Shizhu lun, 10 fascicles, composed by Nāgārjuna, translated by Master Kumārajīva during the Hongshi era of the Later Qin.
1.41
The Daśabhūmikā-śāstra, 12 fascicles, composed by Bodhisattva Vasubandhu (translated as Tianqin). He commented on the 'Ten Grounds' chapter in the mountains, taking the root sūtra text and explicating it sequentially. When the Bodhisattva first completed the treatise, in response the sūtra emitted light and the mountains and earth shook. The king, ministers, and subjects of that country all came to offer congratulations, praising it as a rare and auspicious portent.
1.42
This is detailed in his own biography. Coming to the Later Wei, there was the North Indian Tripiṭaka Master Bodhiruci (in Wei called Xijue), who arrived here to translate. On the initial day of translation, Emperor Xuanwu personally served as the scribe for a day. It is also said that the Central Indian Tripiṭaka Master Ratnamati (in Wei called Baoyi) arrived here together with Bodhiruci, and to the north and south of the Luo River, each produced a translation. Thereafter, the Controller of Monks Huiguang requested the two worthy masters to compare the differences in detail and collate them into a single version. Furthermore, an alternate biography states that when Vasubandhu composed the commentary on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, he had not yet obtained the complete text; this Daśabhūmika may have been it, and he translated it as he obtained it. It also says that the Bodhisattva Asaṅga traveled back and forth to Tuṣita, where the Bodhisattva Maitreya instructed him in such scriptures as the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, and that its dissemination from there was likewise through his efforts. Recently, upon asking Indian monks and Tripiṭaka masters who arrived from the West, they all said that the Bodhisattva Vajrasena composed an explanatory commentary on the Daśabhūmika consisting of twelve thousand verses, which if translated would amount to more than thirty fascicles. Moreover, the Bodhisattva Sthiramati also composed a concise commentary; neither has yet been transmitted to this land. Manuscripts of them are seen to exist in the Kingdom of Khotan. When Śikṣānanda returned, a letter was already sent with him requesting them; if obtained, it is planned to translate them as well. In addition, the chapter on abodes within the Bodhisattvabhūmi of the Yogācārabhūmi extensively transcribes the text of the "Ten Grounds" chapter of this sūtra and systematically interprets it. This is truly because the divisions of the ranks of the three sages and ten saints in this sūtra are the most extensive; since it serves as a mirror for all other branches, those who compose commentaries on it are indeed not few.
1.43
Treatise on the Avataṃsaka in Six Hundred Fascicles. Formerly, in the first year of the Dahe era of the Northern Qi, the third prince sought Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva on Mount Qingliang and burned his body as an offering. The prince had a court eunuch named Liu Qianzhi. Having already lamented his own bodily mutilation and witnessing the prince's immolation, he presented a memorial requesting permission to enter the mountains to practice the Path, which was granted by imperial decree. He then took along a copy of this sūtra, striving day and night, performing repentances, chanting, and with focused mind praying to the Wondrous Virtue for unseen assistance. He abstained from grain and drank only water for nearly three weeks (twenty-one days). Although his physical energy grew faint, his sincere resolve became ever firmer. Suddenly, he was miraculously blessed: his hair and temples fully grew back, his masculine form was restored, his spiritual acuity was transcendent, and he penetrated these profound purports. Thereupon he pondered deeply and studied with refined devotion, then composing the aforementioned treatise. Weaving together its entire scope, he returned and presented it in a memorial to the throne. Emperor Gaozu, whose faith and reverence had always been deep, increased them beyond ordinary measure, and from this the Avataṃsaka Sūtra flourished all the more.
1.44
Dharma Master Huiyuan of Jinying Temple during the Sui composed a commentary on this sūtra in his later years. When he reached the chapter on Dedication, he suddenly felt pain in his chest, and upon looking, he saw blood flowing outward from the pores over his heart. He also dreamed that he held a sickle climbing a great mountain, systematically cutting and clearing; half-way through, his strength was exhausted and he could rise no more. Waking, he said to his disciples, "I dreamed that this commentary will certainly not be completed," and thereupon he ceased. Dharma Master Xiu of Xiangzhou listened to the Avataṃsaka over fifty times, yet the more he examined and recited the text and principles, the dimmer and vaguer they grew. He then reflected to himself, "These are truly the ultimate words of the supreme sage; how could an ordinary mortal fathom them?" Considering that these two worthy masters possessed vast erudition and immense learning rarely equaled since ancient times, yet even in working with this text could not exhaustively illuminate it—whereas Qianzhi, having studied it for less than several decades of days, annotated this magnificent treatise—how magnificent it is! This was truly an unseen transmission from the Great Sage, so it is not to be wondered at. According to the "Abodes of Bodhisattvas" chapter of this sūtra, in the northeast there is an abode of bodhisattvas called Mount Qingliang, where currently resides a bodhisattva named Mañjuśrī, who constantly dwells and expounds the Dharma with ten thousand bodhisattvas. Therefore, below this mountain today is the Qingliang Prefecture, and on a small peak to the south of the mountain is Qingliang Temple. Another name is Mount Wutai, because its five peaks are the highest and no forests or trees grow atop them; like mounds of piled earth, they are therefore called "terraces" (tai). The perimeter of the mountain is more than four hundred li, bordering Mount Heng to the east. Atop the central terrace is a great lotus pond, clear and pure, producing many omens. There are also refined abodes and stone stupas. On the northern terrace are two iron pagodas along with relics and images of Mañjuśrī. More than thirty li southeast down from the central terrace is Dafo Temple, established by Emperor Ming of the Han. Because of the long passage of time, it is exceptionally desolate, yet the remnants of its foundations can still be recognized. Within it are eastern and western halls where icons remain preserved. In front lies a flower garden of two or three qing, intricately interwoven with hundreds of varieties and thousands of names, dazzling like unfurled brocade and glowing like radiant clouds. As for transcendent, unheard-of varieties rarely known to the world, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, ten thousand kinds bloom all together. Next, eight or nine li to the north is the place where the former prince relinquished his body; a commemorative stupa currently stands there. Formerly in the days of the Northern Qi, widely opening the mysterious gate, more than two hundred monasteries were established on this mountain. Furthermore, the taxes of eight prefectures including Heng and Ding were allocated to supply the mountain assemblies with clothing and medicine. Today, divine dwellings and precious places are found here and there. According to a separate biography, because Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva constantly expounds the Avataṃsaka Sūtra there, from ancient times down to the Tang dynasty, Indian monks from the Western Regions have often traversed tens of thousands of li without regarding the distance to come here and pay homage, and the tracks of both monks and laypeople of this land follow one after another. At times, one may encounter divine monks and holy assemblies, immortal pavilions and jeweled terraces, brilliant spiritual lights, wondrous fragrant scents, bells sounding spontaneously in the empty air, and jeweled verses heard from afar—fleeting in an instant, shifting in thousands of variations—as fully recounted in the Records of Mount Qingliang. The mountain is one thousand six hundred li from the capital, within the borders of Daizhou. However, situated on the frontier, it is exceptionally severe and cold; hence before the fourth month and after the seventh month, hard ice and accumulated snow spread dazzlingly white. Unless it is the height of summer, there is no way to climb it. Strive, gentlemen who cherish the Path! How could one not hope to go there once?
1.45
Treatise on the Avataṃsaka in One Hundred Fascicles. Composed by the śramaṇa Shi Lingbian of the Later Wei. The Dharma Master was a native of Jinyang in Taiyuan. Having planted wondrous causes in past lives and long cultivated supreme goodness, he entered the Path in his youth and rose above the mundane as an adult. He constantly read Mahāyāna sūtras and set his mind on the bodhisattva practice. When he encountered the Avataṃsaka, he savored it with special devotion. Thereupon, carrying this sūtra upon his head, he entered Qingliang Temple on Mount Qingliang to implore the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī's compassionate protection and embrace, hoping for an opening of understanding into the meanings of this sūtra. Carrying it on his head and circumambulating the path, a full year elapsed: his feet broke open with blood flowing, and his flesh was worn away until bone was exposed. Moving forward on his knees with earnest exertion, he vowed and hoped for unseen divine response. Eventually, he heard a person say to him, "Cease your circumambulation, and contemplate this sūtra." Thereupon, opening the scrolls, he experienced a great and sudden awakening. In the first year of the Xiping era of the Later Wei (year Daliang), in the first month, he set his brush to work at Qingliang Temple, reverently composing the Treatise on the Avataṃsaka, expounding the meanings and explaining the text to exhaust its subtleties and penetrate its depths. In the second year, he initially moved to reside at Songyan Temple on Mount Xuandui, annotating as before. At that time, Empress Dowager Ling (née Hu) of Emperor Xiaoming honored the Path and admired the man, issuing a decree requesting him to come to the imperial palace. The Dharma Master declined on grounds of illness and had not yet met her. At the start of summer, she renewed the command with firm insistence; unable to decline and avoid it, on the sixteenth day he entered the Eastern Cypress Hall, and soon moved to the Shiqian Hall, later residing in the Huiyin Hall, drafting the commentary without interruption. In the summer of the first year of the Shenggui era, an imperial decree stated: "The great Dharma is vast and broad; its propagation awaits the right person. Currently, Dharma Master Lingbian, compiling the treatise in the Huiyin Hall, is of profound, refined virtue and vessel, and has long spread a noble reputation. Let him be invited to proceed to the Xuanguang Hall to lecture on the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra." Thereupon the fourfold assembly rejoiced together, and the ten directions celebrated. When the lectures concluded, an imperial edict instructed the Grand Tutor and Palace Attendant, Prince Yunyi of Qinghe, to accommodate the Dharma Master in the upper story of the Shiqian Hall, where he continued compiling the treatise as before. In the summer he lectured on the Avataṃsaka, and in the winter on the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā. The Dharma Master and his disciple Lingyuan seized the moments to compile and compose, forgetting sleep and food. In the ninth month of autumn in the third year of the Shenggui era, the work was finally completed. Abbreviating the sūtra and expanding into commentary, it totaled one hundred fascicles, spanning five years from beginning to end and forming ten cases. Later, the times met with multiple upheavals, and the voice of the Dharma paused midway. The Dharma Master ceased lecturing to preserve the truth, avoiding the troubles of the time to nourish the Path. On the eighth day of the first month in the third year of the Zhengguang era, at Rongjue Temple, his spirit departed in passing. He was then forty-six years of age. Thereupon Emperor Xiaoming issued an edict: "This treatise was composed by a bodhisattva of this land. It shall be consigned to all Tripitaka repositories, entered into the catalogues, and distributed for circulation." His disciples Daochang, Lingyuan, Tanxian, and others, lamenting their late master's early passing and aching that the spiritual records might be obscured, together with pure and faithful gentlemen, reverently copied clean manuscripts to circulate among both monastics and laity. Although this treatise was widely circulated in Fen and Jin, it had not reached the capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang. Eminent scholars of Chang'an were constantly longing for it. In the second year of the Yongchun era, there were the śramaṇa Shi Tongxian of Zhixiangsi and the layman Xuan Shuang of the Fang Xuande Temple, who both specialized in this sūtra and attentively praised it. They formed a shared aspiration to travel together to Mount Qingliang to pray to and worship the holy one Mañjuśrī. Passing through Tongzi Temple in Bingzhou, they saw this treatise manuscript, and after earnest and persistent requests, it was finally transmitted to them. Carrying it back to the capital, the elite scholars around the emperor's carriage were all astonished and delighted, whereupon they transcribed and circulated it.
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