釋迦方志 1.3

1.3

Now, the Great Tang has possessed the world for nearly forty years. Pure customs spread and decadent habits are reformed; civil virtue is cultivated and military achievements flourish. Thus, the lands of the green hills and the vermilion grottos have both been brought within the borders; the regions of the dragon sands and the wild-goose passes obediently comply with the civilising influence. Outstanding talents bow their heads, displaying the ceremonial insignia of paying court; they offer treasures and present tribute, manifesting the great virtue of embracing and pacifying [distant peoples]. Thus, both within and beyond the eight wildernesses, previous histories have expounded in full; yet the quarters of the Five Indias have from of old been rarely described. Could this not be a matter of the times? Even though King Mu of Zhou hunted in the west, he reached only as far as the Kunlun hills; though Shun and Yu toured in the south, they did not cross the vast ocean. The First Emperor of Qin drew borders extending in close breadth only to Lintao; Emperor Wu of Han opened frontiers with passes clearing the Iron Route. From then on, distant investigations were not detailed. For this reason, inquiring after the Way at Kongtong was confined to the region of Jiuquan; paying homage to the sage at Kunlun was truly only beside the Yumen Pass. As for the Weak Water and Lake Dongting, the Three Perils and the Nine Hills, the smoky beacon of Longle, and the sand barriers of the Li River, all are fully chronicled in the Documents of Xia, and all are charted in the province of Yong. When the Marquis of Bowang sought the river, the name of Bactria was first heard; when the Yellow Emperor journeyed in dream, the state of Huaxu was initially recounted. The General of Ershi struck Dayuan; the Marquis of Dingyuan opened the Iron Gate. Youyu entered Qin; Jin Midi served the Han. Their fame and glory spread over the Pamir mountains; the imperial virtue reached the Vulture Peak. Glorious were the imperial emissaries, and their retinues were numerous! Yet the records of local lands, the customs suited to the people, the historical changes in manners, and the marvels of mountains and rivers—though recorded on silk—offered almost nothing worthy of note. Is this not because the journeys were far and those who visited were few? Sifting through the facts, even when there were tales, they all traced back to travellers and were certainly not seen with one's own eyes; following and vying with one another, falsehoods were taken for authentic records. How do we know this to be so? Thus, gazing westward toward the Red District from the source of the River at Jishi, or looking eastward toward the Divine Continent from the celestial pillar of Kunlun, all beyond the Singing Sands is called barbarian lands; what use is far-fetched calculation, transmitting empty words on yellowed bamboo? From this we know that accounts of Shendu were only reached through repeated translation, and texts such as the Tales of the Divine and Extraordinary can certainly be judged accordingly. Since the Buddhist teachings travelled east, their glorious light has illuminated the Han. Through ten dynasties, the transmission has lasted nearly six hundred years. Light carriages have continuously connected, thoroughly observing every quarter; more than a hundred states have submitted to the transforming influence, scaling mountains to offer tribute and turning toward the sun to pay homage to the king. Yet earlier and later transmissions and records conflict and differ: holy traces are rarely described, and designations cause much confusion. Upon tracing back the cause of this, the fault lies with the translators. Formerly, under the Sui dynasty at the Translation Bureau of the Shanglin Garden in the Eastern Capital, the śramaṇa Yancong composed the Records of the Western Regions in one work of ten chapters. It extensively laid out local customs but was sparing on Buddhist matters; it succeeded in broad hearing, but fell short of the faithful root. In my humble view, the eight aspects manifest the path, the three vehicles refine and transform; what is established by the four postures invariably accords with capacities, and what is covered by the two adornments all takes wise understanding as its ancestor. Now, the holy traces and spiritual forms crowd into the realm of Huaxu; the divine radiance and auspicious shadows suffuse the universe. It is necessary to elucidate the shapes and measures to arouse the mind and spirit. In the Zhenguan era, I once joined the ranks of the translation bureau; the Western Records that were separately produced contain full details. But because paper and ink easily become verbose and mirror-like scrutiny is hard to exhaust, and because the legacy of the Buddha is what the assembly of Śākya together takes refuge in, I have therefore epitomised the main outline into a concise single roll to pass on to future students, introducing it as such.