華嚴經傳記 4.22

4.22

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."